The Half Moon yoga pose, or Ardha Chandrasana in Sanskrit, is a dynamic posture. With one leg on the ground and the other leg extended in the opposite direction with the corresponding arm, the practitioner should feel a sense of openness and strength. It engages various muscle groups — from the legs to the core to the shoulders — while also stretching the chest, hips, and hamstrings. A block can be placed on the ground to help stabilize.
How do you do Half Moon?
Step 1.
Usually entered from another open hip posture like warrior II, side angle, or triangle, begin by shifting your weight onto the front leg (right).
Step 2.
With your front foot facing forward, bend your front knee to lean your torso forward, placing your left hand on your left hip to stabilize, and shifting your weight into the right hand and foot as you reach the right hand 12-14” forward and diagonal in front of your right toes (or on a block).
Step 3.
Peel your torso open to face the left side of the space and extend your spine, while lifting the back leg and externally rotating the back hip to create a long line between the crown of head and flexed back foot.
Step 4.
With active legs, stack your left hip over the right, left shoulder over the right so that chest and hips are both open to the left side of your space.
Step 5.
Extend your arms energetically apart from each other, with bottom hand grounding on the mat or block for support, top arm reaching up to the sky.
Step 6.
Gaze can be down to the bottom hand for more stability, or lifted toward the top hand once you feel stable. Use your breath and focus on a fixed point (drishti) to help maintain balance.
Step 7.
Engage your core to help with stability, and keep a micro-bend in your standing leg to avoid locking the knee.
Step 8.
To exit, bend the standing leg, stepping the left foot down.
Benefits of Half Moon
Tool to practice and improve balance
Strengthen the entire body, especially the legs
Stretches the groin, opens the hips
Builds strength and confidence towards more advanced poses like inversions
Variations of Half Moon
Chapasana: Grab the lifted foot with the top hand behind you and kick the foot into hand for front body opening.
Use a block under your bottom hand to bring the floor up
Practice near a wall for added support and balance
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