Ardha Chandrasana is one of my favorite poses. It involves externally rotating the standing hip while keeping the elevated hip in neutral. It is also a standing balance which I consider a “leg behind balance.” What this means is the torso stays in line with the elevated leg. Other poses in this category include revolved half moon, standing split, and dancer’s pose. The emphasis is often placed on the flexibility of the standing leg but really should be focused on the strength required in the spine to maintain neutral (or in the case of dancer’s, spinal extension) and also the elevated leg. All of the leg behind postures help build strength and flexibility for entering inversions such as handstands, forearm stands and even headstand.
Back to Ardha Chandrasana, the hip alignment is very much the same as triangle pose and also Warrior 2. In these postures, the rotation is happening in the front hip but a lot of work is in maintaining neutral in the back. When you raise the back leg you take the stretch out of the lateral muscles and in becomes more strengthening for them. The opportunities for variations with this pose are endless! We will work this alignment on the knees, standing, on the wall and even upside down! Looking forward to many moons of fun all month long.
