POW! (Pose of the Week)

Pose of the Week: Ardha Chandrasana - because it's fate.

Half Moon pose does a whole heck of a lot! It improves circulation, improves balance and coordination, opens the chest and hips, while stretching the hamstrings and strengthening ankles, knees, and thighs.

What does this have to do with "Fate", you may ask? Well, I *was* going to do something clever this week having to do with the "dog days of summer" (I guess that will have to be put aside until next week....), but I went to yoga class on Sunday - always a special treat to practice with Heidi! - and she got us into Half Moon pose about 3 times on each side. And each time she got us there a different way. And the final time, she transitioned us into King Dancer Pose, a pose which I feel is chock FULL of grace, and I'm rather pleased with my personal growth in this pose.

So, while I was really, really resenting Ardha Chandrasana the first two rounds in class (I just wasn't balancing quite as well as I usually do because I was visiting the pose from a different approach than I normally do), the last round sort of redeemed itself. But I still wasn't loving it. I mean, I LOVED the practice. I am always, always challenged by something or other in Heidi's class...and she knows when she has me, because she'll say "Ah-HA!". She's totally not talking to me personally...but she knows that I have some experience and she seems to enjoy when I'm enjoying a challenge in a practice. I know it's not a personal practice just for me (the class is always packed with 20+ people), but it feels like it, and that's fun.

Now, back to why this is "fate". I didn't get to practice on Monday, despite the fact that there was a class, and I vowed not to miss any classes all summer long, but it was the first day of camp for my kids and I didn't want them to be late, so I didn't make it to the class, and instead I did the elliptical. But I DID read Yoga Journal while I was on the elliptical! And lo-and-behold, what do they feature, not once, but twice in this month's issue? Ardha Chandrasana! There it was, demonstrating that it keeps your knees in tip-top shape (page 26). And there it was again on page 81, showing how it's great for "Partner Yoga" (and btw, despite this article, I'm still not a fan of partner yoga).

Half Moon Pose really doesn't look like anything special. You're still "standing" on two limbs. They just aren't the two you're used to standing on. One foot is grounded, and the same-side hand is placed in front of the foot so that the opposite foot can soar out parallel to the ground and the opposite hand can stand tall. It's kind of like a broken H or a weird K. On the other hand, when you get yourself into Half Moon Pose, no matter how you got there, and you feel yourself balancing against "tradition", it really feels like an accomplishment and you can reap all the benefits it offers!

I'm really looking forward to practice tomorrow morning (with Josh!), and darn it, those kids will be a little late to camp. For now, I'll leave you with a thought offered up by Heidi somewhere about 3/4ths of the way through practice:

there's no wrong way to do yoga, unless you do it without intention or purpose.