Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana)
Today I want to show you some of the biggest form mistakes and problems I see when people practice Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana)!
In the before photo above there are some major issues here that could cause pain, discomfort and hurt your yoga practice:
- In the before photo I am resting all of my weight on my bottom hand to balance - causing me to collapse in my side body and round my shoulders. In Half moon pose, you want your wrist under your shoulder and you want to be lifting up through your side body and keeping it even with your shoulders. I use a block to prop myself up, if you don’t want to use a block come to your finger tips and hold yourself up using your side core and energetically pressing through your top finger tips!
- In the before photo I am twisting using my top arm instead of my chest. In any twist, lead with your heart (not your head or arm!). Think inhale lengthen through the top arm and then exhale twist leading with your chest. This will help you balance more and get the benefits out of the pose!
- In the before photo my lifted leg is unengaged AND I’m not flexing through my back foot (not seen in the picture). To stay balanced (and not hurt your lower back) your lifted leg has to be engaged. Flex the entire leg, keep your hips stacked and press out as hard as you can through your foot. I promise this will help with your balance! Leg should always be hip height!!
Modifications: You can use a block like I am here or press your standing back foot into a wall to help you engage your leg! This is a great pose to modify so you can actively focus on engaging your core, top arm and leg. Was this helpful? Make sure to let us know in the comments below!