Hi there.  I have been practising for about 6 weeks, 4-5 times a week.  Rather than improving, I seem to be having more & more problems with my half moon.  As I move to the left or right, I can see that my shoulders are not aligned as they should be, but I can not seem to adjust the alignment of my shoulders so they are evenly facing the mirror.  I also find stretching to the left almost impossible.  It feels like I am doing something fundamentally wrong in this pose.  any ideas ?  I do have problems keeping my arms completely straight during this pose.  Thanks

Hello Jacquie

This may take a little to-ing and fro-ing.

Re your arms: when you say you are difficulties keeping arms straight can you tell me what happens and at what point?  Can you get your arms ‘behind’ or near the ears? Are you trying to squeeze your head with your arms? Are you trying to drop your shoulders away from the ears or are you shrugging your shoulders? What if any tension do you have in your neck?

Re the pose in general: Read the ideas below. Generally those who have problems with this pose are newbies. However I have a feeling that you are not in this category and it is a problem unrelated to ‘ego’ or newness. New students often strive to get the same depth as the regulars around them. Their torso twists, the chin drops, the eyes look down a bit, the arms move forward, the weight falls forward toward the toes forcing the body forward. The fixes below will take care of all that.

The first thing that comes to mind is that I think that we can look at setting up well because in this pose, the set-up IS the pose. I have a feeling that your body may be too far placed toward the mirror. It may mean that adjusting your shoulders makes you feel a little unstable. So I will give you some distinctions so that you can feel as if you are lifting up and out but also bringing the weight back.

@ arms over head, steeple grip, arms back and chin parallel to ground
@ squeeze bottom and push hips forward
@ bring arms back and make sure chin is kept lifted
@ very importantly bring the weight back into the heels a bit.

Let me explain… you feel as if you are arching your spine and standing in a little bit of a back bend. Imagine that there is a ‘hook’ under your sternum and as it pulls up, your chest lifts, but it also has the effect of opening the chest AND dropping the shoulders down and back and opening your shoulders. In effect your body is quite active in set-up and stays that way for the pose in this configuration as well as working the side bend in on top.

To go into the pose
@ Inhale stretch up very tall to keep space in vertebrae and as you exhale move your body to right and hips to left. You know the score.
@ Instead of moving the ‘right shoulder forward’ as most will command, try instead to move the left shoulder back, while keeping that ‘hook’ under your sternum, the hips forward and the weight back a little in the heels. You had a slight backbend in set-up so you want that in the pose. Think LIFT, think hips forward, think arms back, think chin up.

This may change a little depending on what answers you give me regarding your arms. So just let me know.

If you have returned from a practice hiatus then perhaps your mind wants your body to go where it used to go and not where it should go. That is always a possibility. If you are having continual difficulty then don’t go in as far, just work on the alignment before depth.

The left side issue is interesting. Usually students have an easy side. And that is going to be due largely to imbalances in the spine or muscle development or both. For example left side alignment is more challenging for me due to my underlying scoliosis. I can never go as far in left side as the right. And, after I had my daughter, with years of child carrying, the scoliosis returned to a degree because of the way I was using my body. The pose became more difficult again. So perhaps you can think of something that has occurred in your life that has you using your body differently. Just a thought

Hmmm… a little homework!

Look forward to hearing from you
Namaste
Gabrielle

Such a great response, Gabrielle! I read it twice to make sure I had everything, because half moon is one of the more challenging poses for me. It’s taken me nearly a year and a half to fully appreciate it.

I’ve moved very, very slowly in this posture and kept the line “length is more important than depth” as my mantra. I spent months focusing on just getting my shoulders to open up and to make sure my arms were perfectly straight and my biceps were behind my ears. Then, I spent a few more months working on pushing my hips out slightly *before* bringing my body out and down to the side. Then, I concentrated on “flattening” my body to the mirror--this is where I am now. Trying to make sure my shoulders and hips are all in one line is so hard!

I’m confident my set up is strong, and I usually feel okay in the pose so long as I remember to breathe, but what I’ve begun to notice lately is a strange cramping sensation in my back. If we’re going down to the right, the dull ache is in on my left side, right at the base of my back. I asked one of my teachers about it, and he told me to make sure I was reaching and stretching up and not “sinking” into or creating compression in my back.

Hmm. The thing is, I *do* feel as though I’m lengthening, to the point where I’ve noticed muscle soreness along my armpits and ribs. Do you think the soreness could be from trying to “flatten” my hips and shoulders? If so, how do I correct/avoid that? Or could it be because I’m coming down too far?

A bit of an all-over-the-place question and post--apologies. But, as always, any and all insights are appreciated. 

Thanks Gabrielle for such a detailed response. It definitely warrants reading through a few times
Re my arms, I start off ok, (ie. they start off behind my ears) but after a little time stretching to the side, the arm which is the same as the side to which we are stretching starts to bend at the elbow.  It is partly because my arms get tired I think.  I definitely don’t feel any back bend going on.  I think maybe the leaning into the toes is the problem, as u suggest. I don’t do too much with bringing my shoulders down, as I am constantly try to adjust the alignment of the shoulders & I can see I am not succeeding.  I will probably do a mini class today so I will try the adjustments you recommend & report back what is going on.  I should mention that I have a very long torso - maybe that is related.  Thanks so much for all that you put into your responses.

Hi Jacquie

I await the results of your experiments today. It is fairly normal for the inside arm to bend a little as you move to the side. It will improve when you sort out the other issues. But it is always something that needs a little attention with most students. So don’t get caught up on that for the moment.

Later then…

Namaste
Gabrielle

Hi again.  It was only a mini class today so I could only experiment with the one set, but I think my alignment was better.  It felt a bit odd, putting the weight back & trying to do all the other stuff, but I do think the adjustments you suggested have put me on the right track.  A full class tomorrow will confirm… Thanks so much for all your help.  I am now keen to experiment with it, rather than dreading it, as I was.  Not great to be dreading the first posture !  Namaste Jacquie

Hello Hannah

Re the pain lower left on first side of pose: It all depends on the symmetry of your sorenss. This could be important to know. So, does it happen BOTH sides or just first side only? Also is the ‘cramping’ right in along the spine or further out to the side (distally)? At the moment I don’t think it is about the sinking into your back.

Re soreness along armpits and ribs: Has this been occurring for a long time? Because it might simply be a step on your path (metaphorically speaking). This is an intense pose and there are not many places one works for such a long period of time opening their armpits as you do in Half Moon.

I know you are very particular: are your hips and shoulders in the same plane (are your shoulders stacked over your hips to the side) or hips more forward? Could it be that in your work that you are focusing so much on getting your alignment right that the surrender part of your pose is temporarily missing? By this I mean: when you inhale you lengthen the body and when you exhale you surrender (with control) to the stretch. Release those shoulders down and back.

Re too far?: I don’t think so. Going too far means your body contorts into a twist and shoulders and hips are swiveling; and neither one nor the other is square to the mirror. Beginners often go too far and have a multitude more that needs to be fixed and I know this is not you. The other thing that shows you have gone too far is the inability to come out of your pose with grace and relative ease.

A few questions that need answers… we’ll get there…

Namaste
Gabrielle