Sugarcane Pose – The “difficult” variation of the half-moon pose

If the half-moon pose is already a complicated pose, the difficulty of the cane pose is also multiplied when you have to stretch your quads, bend your back, and at the same time keep your balance with a foot.

Sugarcane Pose has the English name Sugarcane Pose and the Sanskrit name Ardha Chandra Chapasana. This is an advanced variation of the half-moon pose (Ardha Chandrasana) with increased difficulty many times over. If you are curious to know how the sugarcane pose is different from the half moon pose or how this pose is more difficult, take a few minutes to look through the sharing below of easyhealthylive.com for the answer.

Benefits of the sugarcane pose in yoga

The cane pose has the following effects:

• Strengthen the core of the body
• Stretch the quadriceps and hamstrings
• Improve leg strength
• Expand your hips and chest.

In addition, practicing the cane pose also helps you get out of your comfort zone and forces you to re-adjust your balance. In particular, this pose also helps to improve the health of the legs and increase balance, thereby improving mobility in daily activities.

Detailed instructions on how to perform sugarcane in yoga

Half moon pose

You can practice this pose anywhere as long as you have enough space to straighten your arms.

• Start in half moon position, balancing on right foot, left leg parallel to the floor and left arm raised overhead, right hand touching the floor.
• Bend your left knee and release your left arm to grab the top of your left foot behind your back
• Keep the left thigh almost parallel to the floor until the body is stable. If your thighs are elevated, don’t worry too much, it’s still important to focus on stabilizing your body with your legs straight before going deeper.
• Use your left hand to pull your left leg forward. Try to open the ribcage forward to create a bow.
• Hold the pose for 1-5 breaths before releasing the left leg back into the half-moon pose.
• Bring the left foot back to the floor and try with the right foot.

Note when performing the action

When performing the sugarcane movement, you need to keep a few things in mind for the best results and minimize the risk of injury:

• The most important part of this pose is opening the chest towards the ceiling like in the half moon pose. If you can grab your left leg but this causes your chest to face the floor, the cane pose will not be as effective.
• Do not immobilize the knee of the balancing leg. Relax a little, but don’t bend your knees.

Variations of the cane pose in yoga

The cane pose can be done in many ways to increase or decrease the difficulty

• Placing an exercise block under your right hand (hand on the floor) can give you enough force to expand your chest.
• If you have trouble balancing when entering the pose, slightly bend your standing leg as you reach back to grab your feet. Then, straighten up once you’ve grasped the foot.
• If you feel off balance, look down. You can practice near the wall in case you need support.
• If you want to increase the difficulty, you can lift your right hand off the mat and place it in the center of your chest. At this point, you will only balance on one leg.
• You can also slowly switch to the dancer pose from the cane pose

Avoid doing the pose if you have an ankle, knee, hip, or lower back injury. Because it is a position that needs to be balanced, the cane pose is also not suitable for pregnant women.

Reference source

How to Do Sugarcane Pose (Ardha Chandra Chapasana) in Yoga https://www.verywellfit.com/sugarcane-pos-ardha-chandra-chapasana-3567053 Accessed: 12/3/2021