Half Moon: Alive and Adventurous

My favorite pose. Grounding down into our standing foot, we twist and open our chests and hearts, expanding upward toward our outstretched arm.

This pose combines balance, strength, and opening. And when it all comes together -- gaze up, breath flowing -- it feels to me like freedom. Freedom to be open, alive, unstoppable. To me, Half Moon embodies Wholeheartedness. To stay in the pose requires the courage to show vulnerability. We all feel vulnerable when exposing our heart. It doesn’t take yoga to know this. But yoga allows us to practice it.

The other thing that speaks to me in this pose is that it requires a playful sense of RISK to balance. If you’re really bold about the pose, you can easily lose your balance and topple out if it. As we move through the Baptiste-inspired sequence, Half-Moon is the first post we take that embodies adventure. I love that.

I have created a very grounded life for my family, but I love adventure. Not the kind that would lead me to be a journalist in a war zone, or swim with sharks, or trek solo anywhere. I like my creature comforts too much, and scary animals or the threat of frostbite would sideline me instantly. However, my true self unfurled when I moved to California alone, where I knew no one. My favorite way to navigate the world is on a vespa. And ziplining high about the trees, suspended over waterfalls, is dizzyingly scary AND when I relax into it, I find joy. Adventure, to me, is a bodily sensation of freedom, daring, and flow. And here’s the crazy thing about yoga: I can access this felt experience every single time I take Half Moon.