Day 2: Half Moon (Ardha-Chandrasana)

Bloody, bawdy villain! Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!

-Shakespeare, Hamlet

If I could actually move my mouth during Half Moon pose, I’m pretty sure these words, or something like them, would crawl out of it.

I have a love-hate relationship with Half Moon Pose. I love it when I’m not doing it, and hate it when I am. Every second of it, I’m fighting to keep my arms and legs locked out, my hands together, my hips pushing out to the side, and my chin unglued from my chest (a problem even young Bikram had to deal with, judging from the picture above). Because it’s the first proper pose, designed to start warming you up, and because the form is so demanding, you’re being taxed every second.

This is not to say I’m unaware of its benefits. You get a deep stretch along the outside of your body. You demand a lot of your hear and lungs. You work your core muscles. You ask your legs to deliver a lot of power from a standing position. And you tighten and push you hips forward, which is good for, well, things where you might have to push your hips forward.

And the truth is, it’s only the side-to-side parts of Half Moon I hate. Weirdly enough, I look forward to the backward bend. Who looks forward to the backward bend? Every teacher tells you, “Your back is gonna hurt like hell. Don’t be afraid.” And I’m looking forward to it?

 Yes, this is the part I look forward to. In case you were still wondering if I was crazy.

Probably because the first two parts of Half Moon are Robitussin. It’s the medicine you take at the beginning that lets you start working your way through the nooks and crannies of your body. The backward bend is at least designed to offset all the hunching over you do at your desk each day, and it makes demands on my weakest point, balance, which I very much want to improve.

Or maybe Half Moon is like Kobe Bryant; I don’t like it, but I know how good it is, and I have grudging respect for it. But like Kobe, I’m not sad to see the back of it. (Though, come to think of it, I have to say I like Half Moon pose a lot more than ol’ #24. Posture #2 and I may yet warm to each other.)