How To Do Ardha Chandrasana - Half Moon Pose: Meaning, Benefits & Steps

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June 30, 2022

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Over the years, yoga has become a popular method of wellness all over the world. Be it kids or older people, everyone is practicing yoga as home workouts to have a healthy body and mind. Even during the pandemic, people enrolled in online yoga classes to continue their fitness journey.

The popularity of yoga comes from its wide range of yoga poses and the benefits they offer. In this article, we are going to discuss one of such yoga poses that can be done if you have an intermediate level. It is none other than Ardha Chandrasana. Let’s learn everything about it – from Ardha Chakrasana steps and benefits to precautions and tips to do it.

For beginners, there is a simple variation of Ardha Chandrasana too. Read till the end to find out.

What is Ardha Chandrasana?

The word “Ardha Chandrasana” comes from Sanskrit in which ‘Ardha’ means Half, ‘Chandra; means Moon, and ‘Asana’ means Pose. Thus, it is known as Half Moon Pose in English. The Half Moon yoga pose explains the way your body balances during this pose.

The way you balance your body while standing makes it quite a challenging pose to try. This is why Chandrasana yoga is an intermediate pose and should be done by those who have a clear understanding of yoga benefits and can easily perform Trikonasana or Triangle Pose.

If you are a newbie or beginner, we would suggest that you should rather work on the preparatory poses for Ardha Chandrasana yoga before shifting to it right away.

Some of the basic poses beginners can do to prepare are:

Utthita Trikonasana (Extended Triangle Pose)
Vrksasana (Tree Pose)
Vasisthasana (Side Plank Pose)
Utthita Hasta Padangustasana (Extended Hand-to-Big Toe Pose)
Virabhadrasana III (Warrior III)

What Are the Benefits of Ardha Chandrasana?

Before we delve into the Ardha Chandrasana steps, let us tell you about the benefits you can enjoy from this yoga. Below are some of the most coveted Half Moon Pose benefits you should know:

1. Improves Body Posture

During Half Moon Pose, you have to stretch your whole body and this helps in realigning your body to improve the body posture. This is especially essential for people who have long sitting hours and often suffer from bad posture. Including Ardha Chandrasana in their daily routine can alleviate that and maintain a good body posture.

2. Better Body Balance

This is probably one of the most famous Ardha Chandrasana benefits. This yoga pose encourages you to focus on your body and keep it still during the pose. A better body balance also improves body to mind connection and prevents future injuries that may occur due to poor body balance.

3. Stronger Core Muscles

You are required to use your core muscles to balance your body during Ardha Chandrasana yoga and this can improve core strength effectively. Just make sure you also keep breathing and engage your core through every step.

4. Stretches The Body

Almost all yoga poses aim at stretching and relaxing stiff muscles. The Half Moon yoga pose also does that. It can stretch the hamstrings, opens up the chest, heart, hips, and also arms. In short, it is a great full-body stretch to try at home.

5. Alleviates Back Pain

By stretching your back and improving body posture, Ardha Chandrasana yoga can also provide relief in back pain. You can also see improvement in shoulder and neck pain if you follow Ardha Chandrasana pose on a regular basis.

6. Reduces Anxiety, Stress, and Depression

Yoga poses also improve your mental health. Ardha Chandrasana pose can also reduce issues such as anxiety and stress by calming your mind and releasing happy hormones.

Some other Half Moon Pose benefits include the following:

Improves digestion
Boosts self-awareness
Improve body coordination
Tones hips and abdominal muscles
Removes fatigue and tiredness

How to Do Ardha Chandrasana Step-by-step?

Here is a simple step-by-step guide to doing Ardha Chandrasana at home:

Step 1: Start the yoga by maintaining the Triangle pose with your right leg forward and knee bent softly as you bring your left hand to the hip.

Step 2: Now, slowly put your right hand to the floor in front of your right foot. The hand should be under the shoulder so that you can follow the right posture. Tent your hand so that only your fingertips are touching the floor.

Step 3: Try to straighten your right leg while lifting your left foot off the ground. Your left leg should be as straight as possible.

Step 4: Open your hips such that your left hip point is stacked on the right hip point.

Step 5: Now, your left leg will be parallel to the ground. Make sure you flex your foot so that the toes point towards the left.

Step 6: Once it is balanced, raise your left arms up and open the chest to make a straight line with your left hand and right leg.

Step 7: In the final step of Ardh Chandrasana, turn your head up so that you can see the left hand’s fingertips. Hold this pose for at least 5 breaths. Repeat the pose on the other side.

What Are the Tips and Precautions for Ardha Chandrasana?

Learning about Ardha Chakrasana steps and benefits is not enough. You need to keep a few things in mind while performing the pose to make sure you perform it the right way and avoid any complications:

If you are still doing yoga for beginners and want to do this yoga, use a chair for support. You can also use a block to support your hand as you lower it down.
Those who have injuries in the legs, hips, shoulders, or back should avoid Ardha Chandrasana.
Pregnant women and those who have just given birth should also avoid this yoga.
Do not eat heavy meals at least 40 minutes before this yoga.
Always perform warmup poses before Ardha Chandrasana.
If you have low bp, performing a Half Moon pose is not advisable.

To know more about the precautions and best tips, it is best to seek guidance from a yoga expert. They can also teach you about other yoga poses to improve your health.

To Sum Up

Incorporating yoga poses such as Ardha Chandrasana is an incredible way to boost your body’s mental and physical health. And now that you have a quick guide available, it is time to start performing it. Just make sure you follow the right steps and tips.

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