Yoga Sun & Moon Salutations: A Daily Practice to Restore Strength, Balance, and Inner Calm

Educational only—not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment; read the full agreement.

Every morning, before the noise of the world takes over, there is a short window where your body is still honest. It tells the truth about what hurts, what feels stuck, what needs attention, and what needs softening. And if you listen closely enough, you’ll notice something remarkable:

Your body already knows the way back to balance. It just needs the right prescription.

For many of my clients—men and women trying to reclaim strength after injury, busy professionals craving restoration, seniors protecting their independence—the simplest and most transformative daily practice is a pairing as old as yoga itself:

Sun Salutations and Moon Salutations.

Two sequences. Two energies. Two opposing biomechanics that bring your body back into equilibrium.

But in my studio, we don’t teach these as spiritual rituals or trendy flows. We teach them as clinical movement prescriptions—a safe, structured, restorative way to keep your joints healthy, your muscles balanced, and your nervous system regulated.

Today, I want to take you inside the experience.

☀️ The Sun Salutation: Waking the Body, Rebuilding Strength

Imagine Post-Rehab Paul—a 55-year-old golfer who stopped playing because his back “went out again.” He’s afraid of pushing too hard, but he wants to move again without risking re-injury.

When he steps into a Sun Salutation, he steps into a system designed for controlled strength, posterior-chain activation, and precision.

Tadasana — Mountain Pose

He stands tall. Feet rooted. Hips stacked. This one moment of alignment activates the stabilizers that protect his knees, hips, and spine.

Uttanasana — Forward Fold

He hinges—not collapses—into a fold. Hamstrings lengthen, lumbar fascia decompresses. His breath reminds him he’s safe to move here.

Ardha Uttanasana — Half Lift

The spine reaches long. Deep neck flexors engage. The back body wakes up in a way that feels strong, not scary.

Plank + Chaturanga

He learns what controlled load really feels like. Serratus. Triceps. Core. Not a gym bro push-up—this is clinical shoulder stability in motion.

Upward-Facing Dog → Downward Dog

Extension. Then length. Opposing lines of tension teaching his body how to work as a system again.

By the time he returns to Tadasana, his body feels organized, not overwhelmed.

This is the essence of the Sun Salutation:

Extension, strength, activation, heat. A way to build resilience safely and systematically.

🌙 The Moon Salutation: Cooling the Body, Releasing Tension

Now imagine Holistic Heather—a 42-year-old professional juggling work, kids, emails, stress, and the constant feeling that she must take care of everyone else first.

When she steps into a Moon Salutation, something shifts.

Standing Crescent Moon

She arcs gently to one side. She feels her ribs expand into a space she forgot existed. Obliques lengthen. QL unwinds. Breath softens.

Goddess Pose

She drops into powerful but grounded hip opening. Adductors lengthen. Pelvic floor learns not to grip. Her breath drops from the chest into the belly—her first nervous-system reset of the day.

Star Pose

Arms open wide, chest lifting without force. It feels like the heart-space version of “I can finally breathe again.”

Side Lunge + Wide-Leg Fold

Deep adductor stretching meets slow, controlled transitions. Her mind stops racing. Her body stops bracing.

Low Crescent Lunge

This one always gets her. Hip flexors melt. Psoas releases its emotional grip. The front-body tension she carries from long days at a desk finally lets go.

By the time she returns to standing, her whole system moves differently—quieter, more grounded, more regulated.

This is the essence of the Moon Salutation:

Flexion, lateral opening, cooling, release. A full-body exhale.

🌗 Why We Practice Both: The Biomechanical Harmony

Now picture Sam—a 76-year-old who wants one thing more than anything else: To stay independent.

When he practices both Sun and Moon Salutations together, he receives what the body is designed for:

• A cycle of activation followed by release

• A balance of flexion and extension

• A strengthening of agonist–antagonist pairs

• A restoration of lateral-chain mobility (critical for balance)

• A nervous system that moves from “fight-or-flight” to “rest-and-restore”

Most people stretch what’s tight and strengthen what’s weak.

Salutations do something smarter.

They restore the relationships between muscle groups.

Every time you reach up into extension, you lengthen the anterior chain. Every time you fold forward, you lengthen the posterior chain. Every time you move laterally, you inform your balance system. Every time you breathe intentionally, you regulate your vagus nerve.

This is the daily practice that protects joints, prevents re-injury, and keeps you moving freely as you age.

🌞🌙 Your Daily Prescription: 10 Minutes to Change Your Body

Here’s what I tell my clients:

“Do five Sun Salutations and five Moon Salutations every day for 30 days, and your body will change in ways you didn’t think were possible.”

Why?

Because repetition teaches the nervous system safety. Safety creates mobility. Mobility creates strength. Strength creates independence.

Whether you're recovering from injury, rebuilding energy, or wanting to feel more grounded in your day-to-day life—this practice meets you exactly where you are.

And if you want to deepen the benefit?

Sun and Moon salutation practice

Pair your practice with nervous system–supportive habits:

• Slow nasal breathing

• Hydration with electrolytes

• Foundational nutrition support

• High-quality supplements (I recommend Thorne’s)

Thorne Store: https://www.thorne.com/u/HealthAndExercisePrescriptions

Studio & Wellness Services: https://www.healthandexerciseprescriptions.com

This is how you build a sustainable lifestyle—not just a workout routine.

🌤️ Final Thoughts: Movement Is Medicine When It’s Done With Intention

Your body doesn’t need punishment. It doesn’t need extremes. It doesn’t need you to “crush it.”

It needs structure, safety, and consistency.

Sun Salutations teach your body to rise. Moon Salutations teach your body to soften. Together, they teach your body—and your life—how to stay in balance.

If you're ready to rediscover your strength, your mobility, your confidence… this is where we start.

Author: Jaime Hernandez LMT, MES, CPT

Thank you for your time and energy... Be well.