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