Our Zamasana of the Month for May 2014 is the Half Moon Pose, or Ardha Chandrasana.

We recently experienced a total lunar eclipse, which was rather spectacular, so to celebrate this rare occurrence this month’s pose is derived from moon symbology. Adrha means ‘half’ and candra means ‘glittering’ or ‘having a brilliant hue of light’ – which is often translated as ‘moon’. Both the sun and moon have rich symbolic meaning in yoga, and represent two differing energies of the human body.

This standing pose requires strength and grace, and is quite a challenging balance posture. Ardha Chandrasana requires mental focus to both perform the balance, and come out of it with control.

1. Begin in Triangle pose, on the right side.
2. Take your left hand to your sacrum. Bend the right knee and place the right fingertips on the floor, about 30 cm in front of the right foot.
3. Slide the left foot toward the right heel, letting your body weight shift into the right foot.
4. Allow the time to breathe here, and stabilise your foundation.
5. Exhale, and straighten the right leg, at the same time lifting the left leg up until it is parallel with the floor.
6. Let the left arm lie against the left side of the body before turning the left shoulder, chest, and hip up toward the ceiling.
7. Stretch the left arm to the ceiling and gaze up over the left shoulder toward the top hand. Breathe and maintain focus to feel the effect of this centering pose.
8. Slowly swap the hands, for a twisted variation.
9. To release, lower the left leg to the ground, straighten the right leg and return to Triangle pose.
10. Repeat on the opposite leg.

Half Moon is a challenging balance pose, which can be tricky for beginners and practiced yogis alike. You can use the wall for balance, by aligning and resting your back to it, or a block to give your supporting arm extra height. To increase the challenge of Half Moon, raise the lower hand away from the floor and rest it on the supporting thigh.

Enjoy and appreciate the feeling of strength in your buttocks, thighs, ankles, abdomen and spine, the stretch in your spine, shoulders, calves, hamstring and groin, and the release of stress and centering of this balance.

A drishti is a point on which to focus the eye gaze. There are nine drishtis in yoga:

– Angushta Drishti (tip of the thumb, as used when the arms lift in Namaskar)
– Hastagra Drishti (tip of the middle finger or at the hand, as in Trikonasana)
– Padagra Drishti (tip of the big toe, as in Janu Sirasana)
– Nasagra Drishti (tip of the nose, as used in forward bends)
– Nabi Drishti (navel, as in Adho Mukha Savasana/Downward facing dog)
– Parshva Drishti (right side, as used in a twist)
– Parshva Drishti (left side, see above)
– Urdva Drishti (up to space, as in Utkatasana)
– Brumadya Drishti (third eye, as in Matsyasana/fish pose or meditation)

A gazing or focal point draws your attention inwards and towards one point, which helps still the mind and control prana (life force). The body tends to follow the eye gaze, so a drishti can also deepen a posture and maintain alignment. Often a drishti is chosen for a particular pose based on the alignment of the head and therefore where the eyes should be positioned. Practice your drishti and notice how it changes your body and your mind.

Chair plies work the legs and core, toning and sculpting the thighs and calves!

How to practice a chair plie:

Stand facing the barre with the legs parallel, either together or hip width apart. You have the option of using a Pilates ball in between the thighs to work on the inner thighs. Lightly touch the barre, releve the heels (lift the heels high, coming up on the toes), and squat to 90 degrees.

Chair plies can also be done in reverse, by facing away from the barre, extending the arms and placing the hands on the barre. Or if you gently rest the elbows on the barre (as long as not too much weight is put on the barre), this adds triceps to the movement.

See you at the barre!

Lam is from the Bija set of chakra mantras. The Bija mantras (lam for muladhara, vam for svadhisthana, ram for manipura, yam for anahata, ham for vishuddha, and om or aum for ajna and sahaswara chakras) are chanted in succession to clear the chakras and create a neurological response.

Chakras are energy centres in the body and the mantra Lam is specifically related to the muladhara chakra, which is located at the base of the spine. The mulahdara chakra relates to our basic needs and sense of belonging. It is known as the earth chakra and when clear, provides a sense of grounding and stability, reducing worry and anxiety. The mantra Lam helps clear any blockages at this energy centre through sound therapy.

Specifics sounds create different responses in the brain and the Bija mantras balance or tune the brain by altering the predominant brainwave frequency. Research shows that the Bija mantras evoke the alpha state of the brain, which is the state of calm with a brainwave frequency of approximately 10 cycles per second. It is also said that the “m” sound also resonates with the right side of our brain – the side that carries intuition, emotion and creativity.

Lam is our pose, or mantra, of the month for February 2014!

Bhujanasana is a wonderful pose for flushing out the kidneys, opening the heart and strengthening the back. This pose also opens and clears the throat chakra in the full variation with the head extending gently backwards, aiding the functioning of the thyriod gland.

It is a backwards bend that is accessible to most people, as it can be varied to prevent over-compression of the lower spine. Backwards bending is important for spinal mobility, which is vital to our health for for pain prevention.

To begin, lie face down, chin tucked, with your legs straight out behind you. If you have lower back pain or injuries, take the feet wide apart.

Press the pubic bone to the earth, drawing up Mula Bandha or the pelvic floor (to about half way) and activate the abdominals.

Place your hands on the floor directly underneath your shoulders, spreading your fingers on the floor with your index fingers facing forward, and hug your elbows to your ribs. If you have lower back pain, or wish to take a softer variation of the pose, take the elbows under the shoulders instead of the hands.

Keeping the shoulders down the back and the buttocks soft, inhale and lift the chest, using the back rather than the arms to lift the body, and if you are attempting the full variation, begin to straighten your arms, keeping a small bend in the elbows so prevent hyper extension of the joint and to ensure you are not using your arm strength more than necessary. If you feel any compression or pain in the lower back, slowly come out of the pose and take a forward bend.

Do work deeper into the pose, keep a focus on the pubic bone pressing to the earth, and open your heart forward. If you feel comfortable and there are no neck injuries, look upwards, gently taking the head backwards. Remember the head is an extension of the spine, so it should only go back as far as your spine is bending (i.e. do not drop the head all the way back on the upper back).

Hold for 15 to 30 seconds. Release by lowering one rib a time to the mat, tucking your chin as you release your head. In Pilates, this pose is practiced repetitively as Cobra Push Ups to strengthen the back.

After practicing a backwards bend, always practice a forward bend, such as child’s pose or uttanasana, to counter the pose and balance the body.

We often carry emotional stresses in the form of tension in our backs, and backwards bending is a wonderful way to let go of the past to help us be in the present moment, to be in yoga.

If you have any questions about this pose, please ask us in class 🙂