Morning Yoga, Evening Yoga
janita stenhouse
From yoga comes one of the oldest systems of exercise, perhaps the oldest, we have. The length of the tradition is one of the things that most appeals to its followers in the West.
MORNING YOGA, EVENING YOGA presents two sequences of postures for today. One, the Surya Namaskar or 'Salutation to the Sun', is probably the earliest such sequence in the tradition. The second of them, Chandra Namaskar, is much more recent and less well-known. It translates as 'Salutation to the Moon'. Where Surya Namaskar is traditionally an early morning routine to awaken the body, Chandra Namaskar is to still the body before sleeping.
MORNING YOGA, EVENING YOGA appeals to both the larks and the owls among us. It is designed to help owls face the morning, and larks cope with the evening - to help both types become more balanced in their routine and get more out of each precious day. In addition, Janita writes with a rare depth of understanding about the history of the sequences. She enlarges on traditional teaching and provides alternative postures with authority.
The book also contains the mantra chants that traditionally accompany the sequences, taken from the original Sanskrit texts.
Janita Stenhouse writes a column for YOGA AND HEALTH and also has had a regular strip cartoon feature there and in other yoga journals. Born in Christchurch, near Bournemouth, she was brought up in New Zealand and has made prolonged visits to India, where her husband studied Indian miniature painting and she learned Hindi. She currently teaches yoga in the South of France.
REVIEWS:
This excellent book is designed for people who find it difficult to find time for yoga practice. Based on extended versions of the two sequences Surya Namaskar (Sun salute) and Chandra Namaskar (Moon salute), together with the bija mantras, chakras focuses and breathing techniques. It offers advice on adapting these powerful routines for personal needs and goes into the practices in great depth, including the history of their development.
YOGA SCOTLAND
Janita is well-known to our readers. She has been contributing her wonderful cartoons/yoga metamorphoses and regular gardening column for many years.
This welcome book is written in her characteristic chatty and humorous style, which cannot mask the depth and detail of the content. Janita lives yoga and has been practising for over 40 years. During this time, she has been fortunate to have studied with many fine teachers, and this practical personal experience, combined with authentic teachings, make this a very helpful., no-nonsense guide packed full of tips and information and clearly illustrated throughout with black and white photographs. Our taster extract gives only a tiny glimpse of the scope of this book. An interesting opening chapter explains what makes our body-clocks tick and why some of us are by nature 'owls' or 'larks'. The following chapters give in-depth descriptions with background historical detail of the familiar Sun Salutation sequence, and the not-so-familiar Moon salutation. A whole chapter is devoted to mantra, including those which accompany both sequences. There a also detailed descriptions of various kinds of pranayama and kriya or cleansing practices, as well as the foundations of yoga, the yamas and niyamas or ethical precepts. A useful glossary and quick reference guide to both sequences concludes this excellent little book.
Yoga and Health, May 2006
UK and USA release May 2006
64 pages, photos and line illustrations
178 x 144 mm landscape, paperback
ISBN 1-905398-09-3
UK £6.99 - US $12.95