Deep Abiding

While most yoga teachers in the US are women (72% in fact), yoga lineage and ancient texts are
 extremely male-dominated.  Traditionally, there was very, very little room for women.  The popular
 flow known as Sun Salutations, as we know it today, was created in 18th century India by the military
 as a strength-training for soldiers.  

Sun Salutations are based on male anatomy.  They aggravate a woman's body while she is pregnant or
 menstruating, to say nothing of the heating yang energy that is created by the constant forward and
 backward motions .  So where does that leave women?  Some enterprising female yoga teachers at
 Kripalu tackled this issue in the 1980s, and developed Moon Salutations, which feature side to side
 movements that cool and soothe a woman's body.

This arrived in my mailbox a few days ago and I started reading it immediately.  The story of Moon
 Salutations is so interesting, and I love the collaborative female energy in this book.  

As far as the Moon Salutations themselves go, the book tells that in the Kripalu course built around
 them, the teachers would introduce one or two poses of the flow in each class.  One student remarked
 that she thought this was boring and unnecessary, but once they put the flow together toward the end of
 the course, she was glad for the intense preparation.

So that's what I'm doing.  The book goes through each pose, discussing the alignment, but also the
 physical, psychological, and energetic benefits.  Each day I do one new pose, really letting myself sink
 into it.  I go from the previous day's pose to the new one, and back again.  It feels... luxurious.  And
 really, that's how yoga should feel: like a delicious treat for the body.