Half-Moon is a challenging pose no matter how you look at it.
Not only are you standing – bent to one side – on one arm and one leg, you’re
expected to look up, as well. Egad. Usually
balance poses require that you look down or out at a focal point – the nearer
the focal point the easier it is for most. (Although, I have a skier who – from
her experience – looks at the horizon and this works for her since we practice
in front of large windows.)
My students have been practicing Half-Moon for several weeks
and progress has been steady – but slow up until now. We remedied it through
visualization. Before we attempted the pose, I had them close their eyes and
preview every single solitary muscle movement required – one movement at a
time: stand, bend knee, lift knee, step forward, bend front knee, bend back knee, extend arm,
bend forward, plant arm on ground on same plane as forward foot, find
equilibrium, extend back leg, turn chest upward, extend non-balancing arm
toward ceiling, regain equilibrium and…. Look up! Then I had them all execute
the move at their own pace as they inwardly reviewed and executed the steps.
Oh, my gosh. It worked like a charm. For the first time, each
yogi was able to take her eyes off the ground during the hold period. Some were
even able to look up. Yippee!
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