The Moon Salutation (Chandra Namaskar), just like the Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar) are both very popular yoga sequences, mainly because they are the only classical or traditional sequences that involve flow. One can find few more asana sequences that involve flow in non-vedic yogas, like those of Tibetan origins, but they are used as a direct way to control the prana and less as pure physical activity. These sequences are quite rare and are the exception to the rule that yoga is about mastering static poses.
In this video, I performed the classical moon salutation and a more modern one, that consists of a series of poses found on various videos online. I have not been able to track a source to the sequence of moves but if you know a definite origin please let me know. The classical moon salutation consists of 14 poses that relate to the 14 phases of the moon. Just like the Sun Salutation consists of 12 poses that represent the 12 months of the year.
The modern sequence, which I call the “choreography” consists of a lot of side stretches and triangles as opposed to the classical one that stretches forwards and backwards.