Richard Rosen's Asana Breakdown: Half Moon Pose

HALF MOON POSE (ardha candrāsana)

ardha = half

candra = glittering, shining; the Moon 

Look up at the full Moon and what do you see? The Person (formerly Man) in the Moon, right? But if you’re a Hindu swooning over the Moon, what you’ll likely see is a Hare (śaśa). The story behind this goes...

Once upon a time, Indra, disguised as a beggar, descended from Heaven to test the Hare’s charity. He asked the Hare for food, but the poor creature had nothing to give except some grass, totally unsuitable for a human. So he built a fire and jumped in, intending to cook himself for his guest’s lunch. Fortunately for the Hare, the fire god Agni froze the fire and saved her life. 

Needless to say, Indra was mightily impressed with his host’s rather extreme show of hospitality, so he resumed his godly form, picked up a mountain, squeezed out some juice as we might squeeze juice out of an orange, and painted a picture of the Hare on the moon in her honor. 

Another name for the Moon is Soma (juice, extract), which interestingly enough gives us the Sanskrit somavāra, the day of the moon, or as we say in English, Monday. The Indians believe it’s particularly auspicious to be born under the full Moon, which assures that the child will grow to be rich and powerful and have many friends. 

PRACTICE

1. Half Moon is typically entered from Triangle Pose (trikonasana). Start with your right foot turned out, left foot turned in, about a yard apart, and a block sitting on one end outside your right foot. Rest your left hand on its hip.

2. From Triangle, inhale, bend your right knee, and stretch the block as far away from the foot as you can reach. Then slide the left foot forward slightly, and reach the block out even farther. Once you’re in the pose, the block should be well away from the right foot on the little toe side. This gives you a wide base of support. 

3. Inhale and slowly straighten the right leg, being sure not to push back on the knee cap to do this. Resist the calf to the shin to avoid locking the knee, and press firmly back on the femur head. Also be sure not to “flatten” the hips. The top hip should roll slightly down toward the floor, as the upper torso turns left. 

4. I was taught to bring the raised leg parallel to the floor, but some students like to bring the leg parallel to the spine, which generally moves it above parallel. In either case, reach actively out from the tailbone and press through the raised heel. Soften the standing toes, and press firmly on the base of the big toe and inner heel. 

5. If you care to, raise the top arm parallel to the line of the shoulders. Be sure not to reach that  arm back to open your chest. Keep the upper back and upper chest equally broad. Imagine there’s a wall in front of the top hand, and press into the imaginary resistance. Ideally, this will help bring the scapula more firmly against your back. Roll the bottom shoulder down and away from the ear. 

6. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute. Then exhale, bend the right knee, and slowly lower the left foot back to where it started on the floor, returning to Triangle. Finally, come up with an inhale and repeat to the left for the same length of time.

BEGINNER’S TIPS

There are two simple ways to stabilize Half Moon at a wall. The first of course is to perform the pose with your back against the wall. Alternatively, start standing with your back to the wall, one of your leg’s lengths away from the wall. Exhale into a standing forward bend, and raise your left foot and firm the sole to the wall, toes pointing down. As in the free-standing pose, have your block a good ways ahead of the foot on the little toe side. 

Check that the standing knee is aligned with the ankle, center of the knee directly over the center line between the inner and outer ankles. You may need to rotate the right thigh out a bit to get this. When ready, pivot on the left heel and turn the toes out to the left, inner foot parallel to the floor. With an exhale, spin the upper torso to the left, initiating the movement from the right sit bone, so the twist is rooted in the groins. Keep the left hip releasing slightly toward the floor.

If you still feel unstable, you can look at the floor, or instead of a block under your bottom hand, rest your forearm on a chair seat. You can rest the top hand on your hip, or raise it parallel to the line of your shoulders. Gradually lighten the heel’s pressure on the wall, until you take it half-a-moon-inch away and balance. To exit, de-rotate the body first, bend the right knee and lower the left leg to standing forward bend (uttanasana). Repeat on the left side for the same length of time.

Where’s the half moon? Look at the picture of Mr. Iyengar in Light on Yoga (plate 19 in my edition). Start with the top hand and draw a half circle across the raised foot to the standing foot. See it? Half Moon is one of the balancing standing poses we’ll be working on in my next Nest Flight, Stand on Your Own One Foot, Wednesday, 24 February, from 9 to 11 AM PST.

Period Power: Making peace with your period

Do you dread ‘that time of the month’? Do you ever feel like you are out of commission for a week every month because of your period? Are you tired of your period symptoms controlling your life?!

This was me six years ago. I would PMS for a solid 7-10 days, then be in bed with debilitating cramps for three more days. I hated my period and dreaded its arrival every month. One day, while wishing I felt like myself, I realized that if my period symptoms lasted for two weeks and there were four weeks in a month, then half of my life was spent not feeling like myself. I decided that I needed to learn about my cycle and support my hormones better.

I started researching cycle syncing and learned that women’s hormones change drastically throughout the month. When female hormones are imbalanced, we suffer from all sorts of ailments such as PMS, cramping, mood swings, aches, migraines, UTIs, vaginal infections - basically any recurring female issue can be linked to a hormonal imbalance. What a relief! There was finally a reason and a solution for all my suffering!

I immediately started implementing my discoveries and noticed significant changes in my life. For instance, I use to get a UTI every month right before my period. I learned that hormones are at their lowest during the menstrual (bleeding) phase which makes the vagina more susceptible to infections. Another example my partner reflected back to me is how I use to make him cry every month during my luteal (PMS) phase only to come back crying and apologizing a few days later during my menstrual phase. I can’t be alone in this sentiment, right?! Luckily, through cycle syncing, I have cured my recurring UTIs, am a better partner, and can more fully support my hormones. 

The best way to start cycle syncing is through diet as food has the biggest impact on our hormones. A simple way to start cycle syncing is by adding in different vegetables throughout the month that supports hormones for each phase. Here is a simple guide: 

As you start cycle syncing you will notice a profound shift in your life. Your mood will stabilize and you will gain a greater understanding of your body. You will naturally begin to work with your body instead of against it. From there you can begin to cycle-sync every area of your life including:

•  working out - strenuous exercise during certain times of the month triggers fat storage!

•  managing your energy

• supporting your brain

• planning your life in accordance with your cycle

• understanding your sex drive

• diving even deeper with food and supplements. 

I cover all of this plus yoga and rituals for each phase in my upcoming course Period Power! Here’s what others are saying about this course:

“My greatest takeaway from this course was the realization that I can shift the way I interact with my menstrual cycle and use that natural rhythm as a way to honor and know myself more deeply. For years, I only thought of my period as a burden, but now I am able to see it as a tool to help me cultivate my own inner wisdom and power.” - Christina H.

“Bekah is a thoughtful, knowledgeable, and delightfully approachable teacher. She skillfully creates a safe space for us to talk about some very personal and intimate subjects in this class. I found the course to be full of useful information that Bekah was able to share in a caring and informed manner. It's one of the most empowering courses I've taken in a long time and I only wish I would have learned this information earlier in life! I think this course is a must for anyone with a menstrual cycle!” - Erika H.

“I cannot tell you how mind-blowing amazing this has been. If I could buy this course for all the women in my life I would.” - Laura Q.

Next round of Period Power! Starts Monday, March 8th. You can learn more about the course and sign up here: https://www.benditwithbekah.com/period-power

Staff Spotlight: Baxter Bell

Nest Staff Spotlight allows fellow teachers, staff members and our yogis the opportunity to delve into the life of a selected community member. We hope this gives everyone a chance to learn more about our teachers and staff.

Baxter has been studying Hatha yoga since 1994 and teaching since 1999 after graduating from the Piedmont Yoga Studio's 680-hour Advanced Studies 2000 program. He has studied with Rodney Yee, Patricia Walden, Donald Moyer, Erich Schiffman and TKV Desikachar. Baxter combines Western medicine and yoga therapeutics to create safe and healing yoga classes. His teaching style is nurturing and focuses on re-awakening our curiosity. Read more about Baxter below!

Tell us about yourself. Anything you want people to know. 

I’ve been practicing yoga for 27 years and loving it! And I have been lucky to also be teaching yoga for about 21 years now, and still enjoying the chance to share what I know with all of you. 

If you could instantly be an expert in something what would it be?

Gypsy Jazz Fiddle! 

What is your favorite book/movie/tv show/podcast?

My recent favorite show is “Away” about a fictional first space flight to Mars, not only because I wanted to be an astronaut as a kid, but because each episode is so emotionally moving...now, keep in mind, I’m only 3 episodes in so far!

One of my favorite books of all time is “The Power of Myth”, a conversation with Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell- blew my mind the first time I read it. 

What would you like the community to know about your classes, teaching style or you?

I’ve been exploring the idea of Yoga for Healthy Aging for the last decade, and right up front, you should know that it’s for people of all ages! I blend my experience with Iyengar yoga and the Yoga of Krinshmacharya (you might know this as Viniyoga) and my yoga therapy and medical backgrounds to create unique classes that are pretty accessible to students of all levels. And we have a lot of fun in class, too!

What would be your personal motto?

Engage, educate, inspire! And have fun doing it!

If you were to describe yourself as ice cream, which would you be? 

Caramel sea-salt (because it’s so delicious!)

What is your least favorite yoga pose? Favorite yoga pose? Why?

I have always fancied Half Moon Pose, the balance version, as it combines strength, length, balance, focus, even agility to enter and exit it gracefully. It feels like a giant “YES” to the universe when I am in it! 

For least favorite, see my response below to next question.

What’s something that was once important but is now becoming less and less relevant?

Wow, I just wrote a blog post on this as it relates to yoga about the 6 poses I no longer practice or teach, so if you are interested check out www.baxterbell.com. On a non-yoga level, I am less interested in being right, and more interested in connecting with others. 

How did you find yoga?

It’s a good story...ask Vickie Russel Bell about that one!

What’s a goal you have for yourself that you want to accomplish in the next year?

I have really gotten into playing my violin daily since the Pandemic began and I’d like to master a series of songs and share them with others in person or online live!

What are three things still left on your bucket list?

Too many to really list...if you are engaged in life fully, it’s not really a bucket list, it is just life unfolding! I’d love to live in Italy for at least 3 months some time, if you need one! 

What is one thing you can’t resist? Why?

Tortilla chips...who can resist the salty, crunchy goodness???

Have you ever gotten super lost? What happened?

Yes, hiking in the Red Rock Arches state park in Kentucky once...and as if by magic, this man and his son showed up out of nowhere with bottled water on ice (!!!) and guided safely out. Felt very blessed that day.

Baxter teacher’s Hatha Yoga Mondays at 5:00 pm and Yoga for Healthy Aging Tuesday and Thursday at 11:00 am!

Richard Rosen's Asana Breakdown: Warm-up Sequence

WARM-UP SEQUENCE

in preparation for Roots of Modern Yoga - January 27th with Richard Rosen

I’ve had a copy of BKS Iyengar’s Light on Yoga now for 40 years. When I bought my first copy of this book (I’m probably on my fourth one by now), yoga instructional manuals were few and far between, and the 198 asanas (there are also two mudras) were just about the only ones we knew about. And of those 198, there are at least a quarter of them that are far beyond the ability of most students. Today of course, there are countless manuals available – I have at least 60 in a bookcase in my practice space. That’s just the tip of the iceberg – but the asanas included in them are pretty much the same as those in Light on Yoga.

So it’s not widely known that there are literally hundreds of traditional asanas that haven’t been known and practiced for a very long time. One of the manuals I own is titled The Encyclopedia of Traditional Asanas, published by the Lonavla Yoga Institute in Lonavla, India. The editors of this book searched through over 160 manuscripts, many of them unpublished and so unavailable in English translation, and found over 900 asanas. A few of them are rather strange. Take, for example, dikshasana, the pose of “initiation” (diksha). If you’d like to try, simply stand under an ashoka tree, the “sorrowless” tree, which conveniently grows in the foothills of the Himalayas, and pull five handfuls of hair out of your head. This is a practice performed by Jaina monks as a preparation for their initiation. By doing this, the book assures us that “one attains peace.”

About half the poses in the book are far beyond the average student’s ability, but the other 450 offer a rich store of asanas to choose from. A good many of them are familiar to us, but there are also several hundred that have dropped out of use that could very profitably be rescued from oblivion. Such is the goal of the upcoming workshop on January 27th: Roots of Modern Yoga. In this workshop, we’ll have a go at some of the more accessible of these forgotten asanas. 

Here’s a simple sequence that we’ll use as a warm-up for the class. Lie on you back with your heels stretched away from your pelvis and your arms overhead, stretched out in the opposite direction. Three hundred years ago this exercise was initially known as tadagi mudra, the “pond seal,” because in doing the stretch, the lower belly naturally hollowed out like a “pond.” Somewhere along the way, it transmogrified into an asana, yashtikasana, the “stick pose.” Hold for a few minutes, directing your inhales into the back of your sternum to open the chest. On the exhales, reach out a bit more through the feet and hands.

Next with an exhale, draw your thighs to your belly and wrap your arms either around the shins or back thighs, whichever you prefer. Today we know this pose as pavana muktasana, the “wind-freeing pose,” but tradition calls it the “millstone pose” (drishadasana). One of the texts including this exercise recommends rolling from side to side. Hold for about a minute. If you’d like to challenge yourself a little more (and who doesn’t want more challenge in their lives nowadays?), exhale and curl into a ball shape by lifting your nose to your knees. Would you like to guess this pose’s name? I’ve already given a hint – that’s right, “ball pose” (kandukasana). Hold for 30 seconds or so, feeling the length growing along your back torso from the tail bone to the base of the skull. 

Want to go even further? Clasp your hands on the back of your head, and press your elbows to your knees, hold for 30 seconds to a minute. This is called – and this will seem odd to us – uttanasana, the “intense stretch pose,” which we know as the standing forward bend. Here’s an example of how, throughout the long yoga tradition, sometimes the same name is given to two much different poses. The opposite will also occur, the same pose given two very different names. 

Finally, for all you cat lovers, squeeze your elbows between your knees. This is marjara uttanasana (majarottasana), the “intecat pose.” Again hold 30 seconds to a minute, then slowly release your spine to the floor one vertebra at a time – the head comes last. Stretch your hands overhead once again, raise your legs to perpendicular, and stretch your torso between the thigh bones and fingertips. 

One more time hold for about a minute, letting the legs weigh down on the pelvis, and widening the back torso on the floor. This is called the “scorpion pose” (vrishikasana). As you may know, the two poses with that name today are much different and much more challenging. When done, lower your legs slowly to the floor and let yourself release. Take a few breaths and smile. 

The sequence for the class continues on from here. Do you want to learn the “sandal pose” (padukasana)? How about the “potter’s wheel” (kulala cakrasana)? Or the original “camel pose” (ushtrasana)? See you on January 27th, 9 AM sharp...

~ Richard Rosen

Richard Rosen's Asana Breakdown: Vīrabhadrāsana 3

GREAT HERO POSE 3 (aka WARRIOR POSE 3) (vīrabhadrāsana 3)

vīra = a brave or eminent person, hero, chief

bhadra = blessed, auspicious, fortunate, prosperous, happy; good, gracious, friendly, kind; excellent, fair, beautiful, lovely, pleasant, dear; skillful in; great

Vīrabhadrāsana is popularly known as the Warrior Pose, though it doesn’t seem to me that the character of Vīrabhadra is either a warrior or great hero. There are several different versions of his story. They usually involve the deity Śiva, his spouse Satī (virtuous, faithful), and Satī’s father Daksha (able, intelligent), a son of Brahma and one of the fathers of the human race. 

As characters, Daksha and Śiva are at opposite ends of a very broad cultural spectrum. The former is a member of the elite Vedic establishment, while the latter is a rebellious counter-culture type, once known as a hippie, with the difference being this particular hippie is in charge of the Universe. Predictably Daksha and Śiva don’t get along, and in the various stories about them, one always seems to be offending the other. So it happens that Daksha organizes a great sacrifice and invites all the sages and gods except one–can you guess who? Śiva couldn’t care less, but Satī, whose name means faithful, feels insulted that her husband was left out and crashes the sacrifice to give her father several pieces of her mind. Daksha though has his own ax to grind about his reprobate son-in-law and publically humiliates his daughter. Satī decides to teach him a lesson he’ll never forget, and jumps into the sacrificial fire where she’s immediately burnt to a crisp. So there. 

Now Śiva, who loves his wife dearly, goes berserk, and boiling over with anger and craving revenge creates the monster Vīrabhadra, intending to sic him on Daksha and his sacrifice.  Vīrabhadra is pictured in various ways, some fairly tame, others over-the-top extreme. In a latter  description, he’s given a thousand heads and eyes, is armed to the teeth, smeared with ashes, and burns like the hellish fire that devours the universe at the end of its cycle. In the course of disrupting the sacrifice, he pulls out the Sun god’s teeth, cuts off the Fire god’s hands and tongue, crushes the Moon god with one of his toes, chases off the king of the eagles, and for the crowning blow, so to speak, he separates Daksha’s head from his body. 

After all this there’s often a relatively happy ending. Satī is reborn as Parvati and is re-united with her husband. Daksha is revived though his head is nowhere to be found, so it’s replaced by that of the first living creature that wanders by, which turns out to be a goat. Well, I did say “relatively happy.”

PRACTICE

1. Vīrabhadrasana 3 is by custom entered into beginning with Vīrabhadrasana 1. In this practice though, we’ll start with a simple lunge. Bring your right foot forward, fix the knee over the heel, press your hands on the floor on either side of the foot, stretch back from your tail bone (coccyx) along the back of the left leg through the heel, and rest your torso on the right thigh. As you reach back through the left heel, think of lifting oppositely through the top sternum (manubrium). 

2. Bring your hands to your right knee, right hand on the outer knee, left hand on the inner, and squeeze. While doing so, twist your torso a bit to the right, and lay as much as you can the mid-line of the torso down on the mid-line of the thigh. This should help bring the right foot directly under the pelvis in the pose. This means if you could see yourself in the pose head on, the standing foot is below the mid-pelvis (perineum), not below its hip. The standing leg then should be slightly angled relative to the floor, not perpendicular. Then with an inhale, stretch your arms forward, parallel to the floor. You can either keep the arms shoulder width apart, or press the palms firmly together. 

3. Now comes the key adjustment for the pose. Look down to see where your torso is relative to the floor. Shift slightly forward onto the right foot, but don’t disturb the torso, keep it fixed in place where it is. Inhale, and again, without moving the torso forward, push back on the head of the right thigh bone (femur), and lift the strong left leg parallel to the floor as you straighten the right knee. Put another way, the torso ideally shouldn’t move forward as you lift into the pose, the thigh bone should move back, “locking” the head of the bone in its socket. 

4. You can look at the floor or forward as you prefer. Make sure your pelvis is more or less parallel to the floor, the raised leg hip tends to tilt higher that the standing leg hip. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute. Then with an exhale, slowly bend the right knee and lightly lower the left foot to the floor, back to the lunge. Reverse the legs and repeat on the left side for the same length of time.

PREPARATORY EXERCISE

Vīrabhadrasana 3 is without doubt one of the more challenging of the standing poses. As I noted in (3) above, the key to its success is the “locking” of the femur head in its socket. To learn to do this try the following:

1. Stand with your feet slightly apart and parallel to each other. Inhale, lift the top sternum, then exhale into standing forward bend (uttanasana). Bend your knees slightly and cross your forearms behind your thighs and hold the elbows. Resist the crossed forearms into the thighs, and against that resistance, push back on the very top thighs. Be sure you’re NOT simply pushing back on the knees. Repeat several times until you’re confident you can re-create the movement without using the forearms. If you have the right idea, when you push back on the thighs, you’ll feel a spontaneous lengthening of the lower belly away from the pelvis. 

2. Then touch your hands to the floor (or a block support if you can’t easily reach the floor). Bend your right knee slightly and step your left foot back a foot or so. Very slowly against the now imagined resistance, inhale and push back on the top thigh to straighten the knee. As you do this, lift the left leg parallel to the floor. Hold briefly, then exhale, bend your right knee and slowly lower the tips of the left toes to the floor. 

3. As soon as the toe tips touch, immediately inhale and straighten the knee against resistance and lift the left leg again. Repeat several times, then switch legs and repeat for the same number of times. Remember it’s important here to learn to push back on the topmost thigh, NOT the knee. Once you feel comfortable with this exercise, apply it to the main pose.

FOR BEGINNERS

It just might be, despite your best efforts, that you’re not quite ready to complete the full pose. Here are two simple variations that will approximate the pose and give you a feel for what it’s like. 

WITH A CHAIR

1. Position the chair in front of you, its back side turned toward you. Ideally, the chair needs to slide on the floor, so place it off your sticky mat. I even like to place a folded blanket under the chair’s four feet to help with the sliding. 

2. Starting again in lunge, first squeeze the knee and turn the torso. Then reach out and either hold the top edge of the chair back, or press the outer wrists on the top edge of the back, palms facing. Repeat the instructions for the full pose, except of course, as you straighten the front knee and lock the femur head in place, push the chair away from you and lenghten the arms fully. You can stay a fairly long time if using a chair support, one to two minutes. When you have your balance, you might try releasing some or all of your contact with the chair back. To come out, either lengthen back to lunge or stand the left foot on the floor beside the right.

WITH A WALL.

1. Press and spread your hands on a wall about hip height. Be sure the hands are equally distant from the floor. If your shoulders are tighter, you can turn your hands outward slightly. In any case, press the bases of the index fingers firmly into the wall. Step back to a right angle, arms and torso parallel to the floor, legs perpendicular. Be sure not to sag into the space between the shoulder blades (scapulas). Resist the undersides of the arms away from the floor. 

2. Slide your right foot to the left so the inner feet touch. This should position your right foot under the center of the pelvis. Inhale and raise the left leg parallel to the floor, pelvis remaind parallel. Press back through your raised heel, and at the same time press your hands into the wall. Imagine there’s a string attached between the left heel and the right femur head. As you reach strongly through the heel, imagine it’s tugging on the femur head, drawing it deeper into the socket. 

3. Hold for a minute or so, lower the left foot to the floor, back under its hip. Then slide your left foot to the right and repeat on the second side for the same length of time.