Yoga BLOG

The Standing Scales - Utthita Satyeshikasana / Ardha Chandrasana Hatha Yoga has a well-known balancing pose: the balance pose. It is also known as Utthita Satyeshikasana (also Virabhadrasana III) or, in a variation, Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose). Both exercises result in strong stretches of the entire body and train balance. Below, you will learn not only how to assume the poses, but also how they affect you. In your inner state, these exercises also strengthen your mental balance. Both Utthita Satyeshikasana and Ardha Chandrasana are therefore excellent exercises for grounding, centering, and strengthening you. Are you then centered, at peace within yourself, and grounded? Do stress fall away from you and do you gain strength? Trust in these special yoga exercises and discover their unique potential. Utthita Satyeshikasana and Ardha Chandrasana - Strength wins Both yoga poses are in line with the hero Virabhadrasana . These standing exercises are considered to bring strength and build energy. They ground and stabilize you as you breathe in and out powerfully. Both exercises are also suitable for beginners. They stretch and extend your spine in the most pleasant way. This alone provides renewed energy . For example, after long hours at a desk in which the vertebrae have sunk and become compressed. The vertebrae are nourished by the stretching and extension of the balance pose. Utthita Satyeshikasana - assuming the actual balance pose Two paths lead to the balance. 1. From Mountain Pose , with legs hip-width apart, inhale and raise your arms. Exhale and extend your upper body forward horizontally from the hip joint, placing your hands in a pistol position with your index fingers extended. If you can, straighten your standing leg; otherwise, bend it slightly. Stretch the other leg back. Keep your hips straight and breathe calmly. With your next inhalation, really lengthen your spine and, if necessary, improve the position a little as you exhale. Your neck is an extension of your spine; lengthen your neck and look at a point on the floor. Inhale and return to a firm standing position, swaying your upper body and legs as if on a scale. Feel the mountain pose. 2. Coming from the hero pose, exhale and rotate the upper body forward from the hip joint, then stretch the back leg upwards and push the body into a horizontal position as described. Repeat the balance pose with the other leg. Ardha Chandrasana - half moon pose Come out of the triangle . Your feet are about 1.5 meters apart. Turn your right foot and leg outwards 90 degrees. Stretch your arms out to the side. As you exhale, tilt your upper body to the right until you can touch your ankle with your right hand. Stretch your left arm straight up. Turn your knee away from your right foot. Now place your right hand far forward until your arm is almost directly extending your shoulders. As you inhale, raise your left leg from the hip until it is straight out into a horizontal position. You are a scale, feel it. Look at the ceiling on the left. Feel how your chest opens and how tension arises in your thigh, abdominal muscles and glutes. Breathe calmly and with focus. Lower your body again and work on the other side. Check in now and then. You may need a yoga block for support during this exercise. What do the balance / the half moon do to you? The balance pose promotes greater harmony and strength, balance, and inner peace. It strengthens the abdominal, back, and leg muscles. Those who jog or run benefit from the deep stretch in the balance pose. Your sense of balance is stimulated, and you gain peace of mind. Ardha Chandrasana particularly strengthens the spine and hip joints. You gain strength in your legs. Your sense of balance also benefits here. You become more stress-resistant, less anxious, and clearer in your thinking, as the half moon stimulates the third eye in the Ajna chakra. Image © byheaven / 123rf.com