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Half moon (ardha chandrasana) is one of my personal favorite yoga poses!
But in addition to classic half moon, I also like to practice and teach variations of half moon that add novelty and load to the pose.
Here are my top 3 favorite challenging variations of half moon – in both video format and in written format! Choose the form of content you prefer – or learn from both! 🙂
VIDEO
Top 3 Challenging Half Moon Variations
Variation 1: The Half Moon Squat
In this variation, we place our hands in front of our heart and lower down toward the floor into a single-leg squat and lift back up again:
This is a very novel movement – both as a variation of half moon, and as a variation of a single-leg squat.
In half moon pose, when do we ever preserve our half moon alignment as we dynamically bend and straighten our standing knee?
And a single-leg squat is generally performed in the sagittal plane of movement – the plane of movement in which we view the body from the side. (Think of a pistol squat!)
But in the half moon squat, we squat down and lift up while our body is moving in the frontal plane – the plane of movement in which we view the body from the front. And this is very unique indeed!
Half Moon Squat for Variability or Strength?
Now the body geek part of me must raise an important point here. 🙂
If our intention is to bring some fun, novelty, and challenge to half moon pose, then the half moon squat is an excellent choice!
But if our intention is to build strength in our squatting leg, the half moon squat might not be the best movement for this goal.
This is because half moon is a position of inherent instability. It’s already a challenge to find our balance in half moon itself, and if we add on the dynamic movement of lowering down and lifting up, this stability challenge is significantly magnified.
When it comes to building strength, unstable positions are not generally the best choice. We’re not able to produce as much force when our stability is challenged, and this negatively impacts our potential for strengthening.
But all is not lost! 🙂 If our goal is to build single-leg strength in a similar leg and hip position to half moon pose, I have a very effective alternate movement to propose: the Sumo Squat!
The Sumo Squat: better for strength than Half Moon Squats
The Sumo Squat utilizes a similar hip position to half moon (hip horizontal abduction + external rotation), but because both feet are on the floor here, the position is much more stable than half moon pose.
As yoga practitioners, we probably know this position as “horse stance” or “goddess pose”. In yoga, we practice this pose using our bodyweight only, which limits our ability to strengthen here.
If we add a weight, however – like the kettlebell I’m holding here in the “goblet” position in front of my chest – then we add more load to the movement, and have much more potential for creating strength adaptations!
To summarize: for movement variability and fun, practice the half moon squat! And for strength building, practice the Sumo Squat.
Variation 2: Half Moon to Warrior 3 Rotations
In this variation, we transition from half moon to warrior 3 and back again, rotating at our standing hip joint:
(Side note: In the yoga world, this type of movement is sometimes called a “closed-to-open hip” transition. And depending on the yoga circles you run in, you may have heard warnings that transitions like these are injurious and should not be taught.
These old school yoga alignment cautions are simply not supported by movement science, though. You can read all about why these warnings are biomechanical B.S. 🙂 in my blog post Are Closed-to-Open Hip Transitions Safe?)
Why Do I Love Half Moon to Warrior 3 Rotations?
This movement is a great stability and coordination challenge. And it has the potential to build some strength in our hip rotator muscles!
However, as with the Half Moon Squat in our previous section, our ability to build strength in Half Moon to Warrior 3 rotations is limited because the position itself is one of inherent instability.
If our main goal is to build strength here, I’d recommend placing your hands on a wall or the back of a chair for some help with balance. This will allow you to rotate your hips in a more stable position, which will be more favorable for strength building!
Use the wall for a better strength stimulus!
Variation 3: Half Moon Leg Lifts
In this half moon variation, we lift and lower our raised leg against the handy prop of a resistance band!
(I demonstrate how to set the resistance band up in this half moon variation in the video above – check it out for a quick tutorial!)
Once again, I’m a big fan of these resisted leg lifts because they add variability to our familiar half moon pose, they challenge hip stability in our standing leg, and they do load our raised leg’s hip abductor muscles somewhat!
But if hip abductor strength is our main goal here, I’d probably choose a different movement that would help us achieve that goal more effectively.
One example I like is Forearm Side Plank with Leg Lifts!
Forearm Side Plank with Leg Lifts: better for strength than Half Moon Leg Lifts
In this position, our body is more stable than half moon because we have more points of contact with the floor.
And although we don’t have a resistance band around our top leg like we do in the Half Moon Leg Lifts, that’s OK because the hip that we’re loading the most in this forearm side plank variation is the bottom leg’s hip! (I explain the biomechanics behind why this is the case in the video above.)
In Summary…
By adding variability to our yoga poses, we can bring an element of novelty and unique loading into our practice, and we can expose ourselves to coordination and stability challenges. (I love taking this approach in the yoga classes I teach in my yoga class library!)
And when building strength is our specific goal, positions of more stability will be preferable for cultivating this quality. (This is a guiding principle behind my strength program for yoga practitioners!)
I hope you enjoy these 3 half moon variations I’ve presented here (and/or their more strengthening counterparts 🙂 ) if you decide to explore them in your practice!
