The Crescent Moon Pose strengthens your legs, back, shoulders, and arms, building stamina. It opens your hips and chest, and improves balance. This is an excellent exercise to start a number of backbends with. The lower back gets relaxed, the leg muscles are stretched and you build up strength in your legs. You also improve your coordination and concentration.
This moon pose is useful in strengthening your muscles of legs, back, shoulder and arms. It is also improve your concentration and coordination.
How to do:
- Kneel down and keep your back straight.
- Step forward with your right foot until the foot is a little in front of the knee and your upper leg should be parallel with the floor. The left foot (the one at the back) rests on the floor with its toes and your lower leg on the mat.
- You can increase stretching your leg in front part of your left hip by twisting your front leg more and more.
- Raise your both arms and lock both thumbs together. At the same time you stretch your arms upwards and you pull the thumbs slightly apart.
- Now raise your knee at the back so that your weight will be equally divided between the leg in front and the leg at the back.
- Your chestbone should be remaining low and that you do not make your lower back too hollow.
Extra: At first you can also do the asana without raising the hind knee from the floor. That makes the exercise less hard for the leg muscles and easier for your balance. Extend the hindleg fully and be careful not to compensate by bending the knee.
Make the most of the exercise by bending deeper with your front leg, by stretching your hind leg even further, by making your breathing as relaxed as possible and by stretching your arms as much as possible.
