YOGA INFORMATION ARTICLES

Crescent Moon Pose

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.

	STEP 1: Kneel and keep your back straight.
	STEP 2: Step forward with your right foot until the foot is a little in front of the knee and your upper leg is 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 the stretching of your leg muscles in the front part of your left hip by bending your front leg more and more.
	STEP 3: Raise both arms, and hook both thumbs together. At the same time you stretch your arms upwards and you pull the thumbs slightly apart. Then you raise your knee at the back so that your weight is now equally divided between the leg in front and the leg at the back. Look forward and focus your attention on one point. This helps you to maintain your balance. If you find this easy, you can also look upwards or even backwards instead of looking in front of you. It is important that your chestbone remains low and that you do not make your lower back too hollow. By stretching your arms you also stretch your back. When doing that, try to maintain dynamism from the sacrum to the hip.

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.

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ARTICLE COMMENTS

Tuesday 20th November 2007 at 6:10:03 AM


Ghada
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There should be breathing instruction along with the asana movement. I expect from you to be more specific about should we inhale or exhale with each single movement.

Pure spirit

Sunday 13th April 2008 at 10:58:12 PM


white-waves
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I've noticed that there isn't sufficient information for when to exhale and inhale in any of the yoga poses I've come aross so far. Can you please include them in your instructions too? thank you.

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POSES OVERVIEW

These are all the Yoga Poses covered in this section:

1:	Cat Pose
2:	Triangle Pose
3:	Revolved Triangle Pose
4:	Crescent Moon Pose
5:	Warrior Pose I
6:	Warrior Pose II
7:	Warrior Pose III
8:	Wide-legged Forward Bend
9:	Chair Pose I
10:	Chair Pose II
11:	Standing Forward Bend
12:	Downward Facing Dog Pose
13:	Revolved Side Angle Pose
14:	Hands to Feet Pose
15:	Standing Side Stretch Pose
16:	Spread Leg Forward Fold
17:	Tree Pose
18:	Half Moon Pose
19	Sun Salutation Pose
20:	Spread Leg Forward Fold
21:	Hero Pose
22:	Lotus Pose
23:	Seated Forward Bend
24:	Child Pose
25:	Garland Pose
26:	Full Boat Pose
27:	Half Spinal Twist
28:	Sage Twist
29:	Leg Reclining Lunge
30:	Leg to Side Pose
31:	Leg Pulls
32:	Single Leg Raises
33:	Double Leg Raise
34:	Wind Relieving Pose
35:	Crane Pose
36:	Head Stand
37:	Shoulder Stand
38:	Plough Pose
39:	Hand Stand
40:	Bow Pose
41:	Wheel Pose
42:	Locust Pose
43:	Fish Pose
44:	Cobra Pose
45:	Dog Pose
46:	Bridge Pose
47:	Corpse Pose

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