Half Moon Pose with Hands to Feet Pose

Half-Moon Pose with Hands-to-Feet Pose: Ardha Chandrasana with Pada Hastasana (NOTE: These are 2 poses.)

Purposes and Benefits:

• Provides quick energy and vitality for your practice session
• Corrects any issues with posture or with lower-back pain
• Strengthens thighs, calves, and all of body’s central muscles
• Exercises circulatory, glandular, pancreatic, muscular, respiratory, renal, and skeletal systems
• Improves bowel activity by toning abdominal organs and spinal nerves
• Firms and trims abdomen, buttocks, hips, and waistline
• Lessens anxiety and mental stress
• Increases spinal flexibility

How to Do:

More detailed instructions & video here

• Lock arms and fully engage arm muscles
• Straighten body towards ceiling
• While bending backwards, evenly distribute this bend over all of your spine
• During Hands-to-Feet pose, glue body to legs and move elbows as close to each other as possible behind calf muscles
• Lift hips up towards ceiling while moving face increasingly further down your shins