Above the Surface: The 3 Must-Do’s

1.) Keep actively pulling your top hip up over the bottom.  This pose becomes instantly easier when you get the hips to stack directly over one another because gravity will keep you right in place.

2.) You should have an approximately straight line from your lifted heel all the way though to the crown of your head.

3.) Your hand does not have to be flat on the ground, you can be on fingertips or you can elevate it onto a block.  Create as much space along the right side of your torso as you can.

Under the Surface

Think about Half Moon as Triangle Pose rotated on its side.  Fundamentally, the actions in the two poses are the same but your body is oriented differently in each.

Front Foot

Your toes are facing straight forward.  The tendency is to sometimes turn the toes in.  Don’t allow that to happen it takes the work out of your hip.

Also, pay particularly close attention to the arches of your foot.  When balancing on one leg, its much easier to accidentally collapse the arches and bring undue stress to your inner knee.

Back Foot

Your back foot is facing sideways or slightly down.  Imagine what the back foot is like in Triangle Pose, do the same thing in the air with your back foot.

Theoretically, your front heel is lined up with the lifted arch.

What to do if you Feel Pain in your Lower Back

Simply turn your back toes in just a tiny bit.  When you turn the toes in, you allow extra room for your tailbone to draw back and this effectively gives the lower back more space.

Front Leg

Make sure you are grounding through your front foot correctly, then firm up your right leg as much as possible.

What does it Mean to Firm the Grounded Leg?

It’s one thing to balance on a leg and its another thing to engage the leg you are balancing on properly to hold the rest of the body stable.

First thing, imagine your shin bone moving back slightly.  Not a lot, obviously, just enough to where you can feel like its helping to move your upper body forward.  Also make sure this cause the weight on the body to move into the heel of the foot.

Second thing, lift your quadriceps up toward your hip socket as much as you can.  Try not to allow your body weight to rest in your bones, utilize your muscles to help you balance as much as you can.

Back Leg

Again, theoretically, the grounded heel is lined up to the lifted arch.  You are reaching out though your foot as much as possible and your foot is dorsiflexed (drawing your toes toward your heel).  This should provide you grounding sensation similar to pressing the edge of the foot down into the ground.

Squeeze the leg muscles around the bones as much as possible.

Watch Out for This: Hyperextension in the Knees

In either leg, be careful.  Especially the grounded leg.  It’s very easy when you’re balancing to accidentally over straighten the leg.  Just watch out for it.  In general, you want the leg to straight, but not locked.  A micro-bend does the trick nicely.

Hips

Do your best to pull the top hip up over the bottom.  When you can accomplish this, the pose gets exponentially easier.

Gravity. Gravity. Gravity.

One thing you cannot prevent is gravity.  It’s going to pull down on you no matter what position you are in.  However, if aligned smartly, you can use it to your advantage.

The second the top hip stacks over the bottom gravity will keep you in place effortlessly.  However, if you can’t get it quite there, gravity will start to pull the hip off the side.  This position is infinitely harder to hold.

Torso

Like Triangle Pose, in Half Moon you want to lengthen both sides of the torso as much as possible.

A major part of creating length in the right side of your torso is by elevating the right hand appropriately.  There is no need to get the hand flat on the ground.  Doing that compromises the pose in too many ways.

The rib cage acts similar to the hips.  Work on stacking the left rib cage over the right the best you can.  Then stretch the whole rib cage forward.

Shoulders & Arms

Reach out through the top arm as much as you can, you have lots of space.  This will facilitate a natural spread in your chest and a broadening of your collarbones.

Make sure your shoulders stay soft and back.  Space in the neck is what we are going for here.

Head & Neck

Lengthen from both side of the neck equally.  You can take your gaze down, to the side, or up.

One thing you want to avoid in this pose is allowing the right ear to collapse down toward the shoulder.  Normally, this causes a crunching in the neck and the shoulders to cave in toward one another.

Master the Feel: Homework Questions

1.) In what direction do the hips naturally want to move?

2.) In your body, how does it change the pose if you point the back foot rather than flex it?

3.) What happens if you allow the back toe to turn up?

4.) How does it change the pose if you lift your right hand off the ground all together?