Ardha Chandrasana (Half-Moon Pose)
Introduction
Ardha Chandrasana, commonly known as Half-Moon Pose, is a standing yoga posture that cultivates balance, strength, and flexibility.
Over the years, yoga has evolved into a widespread approach to wellbeing all over the world. Be it youngsters or senior folks, everyone is doing yoga as a home workout to have a healthy body and senses. People continued their fitness journeys by enrolling in online yoga classes even during the pandemic.
The variety of yoga poses and their health advantages make yoga popular. If you are intermediate, you can perform one of these yoga poses, which we will discuss in this article. It’s Ardha Chandrasana, of course. Let’s study everything there is to know about Ardha Chakrasana, including its benefits, steps, safety measures, and how to perform it.
There is also a basic interpretation of Ardha Chandrasana for novices.
What Is Ardha Chandrasana?
An advanced standing posture that strengthens the muscles and nerves in the leg up to the hips and lower spine is a half-moon pose (Ardha Chandrasana). The Sanskrit term Ardha Chandrasana, which means “half” (Ardha), “moon” (Chandra), and “pose” (asana), alludes to the shape that the body takes on being in this position. Standing on one knee with your torso parallel to the floor, you can reach for the earth with one arm and the sky with the other in this yoga stance.
The half-moon position is a fantastic method to develop focus and ongoing strength on your yoga journey if you practice it frequently. For yogis who lack the strength to balance in standing postures and support their entire body weight on one leg, a half-moon pose is not advised.
Which muscles are used in Ardha Chandrasana?
- Core Muscles
- Quadriceps
- Hamstrings
- Calf muscles
- Hip flexors
- Adductors
- abductors
- Shoulder and Arm Muscles
- Erector spinae
- Latissimus dorsi
What Are the Benefits of Ardha Chandrasana?
Let’s offer you some advice regarding the benefits of Ardha Chandrasana before we get into the steps. Here are some of the most sought-after Half Moon Pose advantages you should be aware of.
1. Improves Body Pose
You must amplify your entire body in the Half Moon stance, which helps you realign your body and improve your posture. This is particularly significant for persons who have extended sitting hours and typically suffer from poor posture. By including Ardha Chandrasana in their everyday routine, they can ease that and maintain proper body posture.
2. Better Body Balance
This is arguably one of Ardha Chandrasana’s best-known advantages. You are encouraged to focus on your body and keep it still while performing this yoga stance. In addition to improving the body-mind connection, improved balance also reduces the risk of future injuries caused by poor balance.
3. Stronger Core Muscles
During Ardha Chandrasana yoga, you must use your core muscles to balance your body, which can successfully strengthen them. Just be careful to keep breathing and use your core during each step.
4. Stretches The Body
The goal of every yoga practice is to lengthen and ease tense muscles. That’s even what the Half Moon yoga pose does. It can stretch the hamstrings as well as the arms, hips, chest, and heart. To put it briefly, it’s a fantastic full-body stretch that you can do at home.
5. Alleviates Back Pain
Ardha Chandrasana yoga can even alleviate back pain by improving posture and stretching your rear. If you practice the Ardha Chandrasana stance daily, you may even feel an improvement in your neck and shoulder pain.
6. Reduces Anxiety, Stress, and Depression
Even yoga poses improve your mental well-being. Because Ardha Chandrasana’s stance calms your mind and releases pleasant hormones, it can also help reduce problems like stress and anxiety.
Some other Half Moon Pose benefits
- enhances digestion
- Increases awareness of oneself
- Boost your body’s coordination
- strengthens the abdomen and hip muscles.
- eliminates weariness and exhaustion
How to Do Ardha Chandrasana?
- Place your feet slightly less than shoulder-width apart as you stand.
- To transfer your weight to your right leg, turn your right foot out 90 degrees.
- Bend gently at the waist and glance to your right as you extend your right arm downward toward the floor or a yoga block.
- At the same time, slowly raise your left leg until it is parallel to the floor.
- Make sure your back is long and straight, like a thread passing through your left leg from your head.
- To make your arms create a straight line, steadily raise your left arm into the air while opening your chest.
- You can look up or down, depending on how comfortable you are.
- Breathe in and extend your limbs and body away from your abdomen.
- After exhaling, let your body align with your center of balance and waist.
- Hold for as long as you can, then balance on the other leg to repeat.
Ardha Chandrasana Video:
What are the Beginners’ Tips for Ardha Chandrasana?
- This is a powerful stance that incorporates many distinct aspects. It tests and enhances your flexibility, strength, and balance. Because you may experience cramps or soreness in your standing leg and buttocks, gradually increase the length of time you stay in the pose.
- One excellent approach to practicing various aspects of the position is to use a wall. Sitting in Dandasana, align the short edge of your mat with the wall and place your feet against it. Mark the location of your hips with a block or other object. After that, place your right foot with the block while standing with your back to the wall. Press into the wall with your raised foot and enter the position as described above. Bring both hands to the floor and move your front foot forward or backward until your back foot is flat against the wall if you need to change positions. Put your palm on the block’s short edge at its “highest” position. You can then practice all of the pose’s many movements with greater stability.
What are the Variations for Ardha Chandrasana?
- Half Moon Pose on a chair
- Half Moon Pose with the knee down
- Half-Moon Asana with a chair and a block
Half Moon Pose on a chair
Try the stance with your hand or forearm on a chair seat to ease the strain on your lower back. Without using any force, raise your leg as high as you can. You can hold your upper hand on your hip or reach it directly to the ceiling. Look up, down, or directly ahead.

Half Moon Pose with the knee down
Try the floor posture with one knee down and the bottom shin stretching straight behind you like a kickstand if you want to concentrate on strengthening rather than balance.

Half-Moon Asana with a chair and a block
Allowing a chair to support your raised leg is another technique to employ. Using a blanket for support, place your raised leg on the chair’s back. Reach a block just under your shoulder with your lower hand.

Tips and Precautions for Ardha Chandrasana?
It is not enough to learn the steps and benefits of Ardha Chakrasana. When doing the pose, you must keep a few things in mind to ensure that you are doing it correctly and without any issues.
Use a chair to assist you if you are still performing yoga for beginners and wish to perform this yoga. As you drop your hand, you can even support it with a block.
Even ladies who are pregnant or just gave birth should refrain from doing this yoga. Eat nothing heavy for at least forty minutes before this yoga session. Warm-up poses should always be performed before Ardha Chandrasana.
It is not recommended to adopt a Half Moon stance if your blood pressure is low. It is advisable to get guidance from a yoga specialist to learn more about the best practices and safety measures. To improve your health, they can even teach you different yoga poses.
Risks of Ardha chandrasana
Under the guidance of experts, each yoga pose needs to be performed carefully. Chandra Namaskar shares some of the same issues as Ardha Chandrasana.
It is advised that elderly persons refrain from engaging in excessive physical activity. Women who are pregnant or menstruating should avoid performing any Chandra Namaskar postures.
This posture should not be done by anyone who has high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, or hernias. Each exercise should be performed easily, purposefully, and with awareness.
You have to avoid the strain of any kind. Begin slowly and deliberately, moving from one stance to the next like a ripple. It is not more helpful and is only done three to seven times.
Only two or three rounds are possible for novices. This yoga stance can be started by kids who are at least eight years old. After completing all of the Chandra Namaskar poses, achieve Shavasana and unwind.
People who have knee problems or ankle or knee discomfort may want to avoid the full range of Ardha Candrasana and its modifications.
Only your doctor’s and your yoga trainer’s directions must be strictly followed.
Contraindications
- Low blood pressure
- Pregnancy
- Diarrhea
- Headache
- back injuries
- knee injuries
Conclusion
A great yoga pose is Ardha Chandrasana, which is performed in combination with Chandra Namaskar. It may offer the potential advantages of yoga, which enhance your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
It may help pupils manage their aggressiveness, build muscles in people who do this posture frequently, and ease pregnant women’s discomfort.
It may stimulate the spinal nerves, help with balance, increase self-esteem, and preserve general health.
FAQs
What is the half-moon pose good for?
Benefits of Half-Moon Pose include better digestion, stress reduction, hip and back pain treatment, balance improvement, and menstrual symptom relief.
Why is the moon pose so hard?
Half Moon is an extremely challenging yoga pose, also called Ardha Chandrasana in Sanskrit. It tests your coordination and sense of balance in addition to your hip flexibility and core strength.
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What are the benefits of Ardha Chandrasana?
Strengthening core muscles.
Improves Body Balance.
Strengthens your legs.
Enhances flexibility of the spine.
Good body stretch.
Cellular regeneration.
Improve concentration, focus, and determination.
Eases constipation.
Which people should avoid ardha chakrasana?
This pose is not recommended for people with severe neck, hip, or spinal issues or injuries.
This stance is not recommended for anyone with high blood pressure or brain disorders.
If you have vertigo, proceed with caution when performing this pose.
What chakra is half-moon pose?
Bikram yoga’s Half-Moon Pose is a very beneficial pose that can help you balance and rebalance your entire body from everyday stresses like extended sitting. It relates to how the moon affects water tides and is linked to the sacral chakra, which is represented by a crescent moon.
References:
- Yoga Journal. (2022, December 30). Half Moon Pose. https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/half-moon-pose-3/
- EkhartYoga. (2020d, November 6). Half-Moon Pose – Ekhart Yoga. Ekhart Yoga. https://www.ekhartyoga.com/resources/yoga-poses/half-moon-pose
- JanviMangukiya, J. (2024f, October 23). Ardha Chandrasana – Health Benefits, How to do? Mobile Physiotherapy Clinic. https://mobilephysiotherapyclinic.in/ardha-chandrasana/
- Yoga India Foundation. (2024, January 30). Ardha Chandrasana (Half-Moon Pose) – Alignment, Benefits and Cautions. Yoga India Foundation. https://yogaindiafoundation.com/ardha-chandrasana-half-moon-pose/
- Smith, L. (2024b, August 21). Yoga How-To: The Half-Moon Pose. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/yoga-how-to-the-half-moon-pose