Half Moon Pose

Muscles worked by the Half Moon Pose

Primary

Glute MediusGluteus MediusObliquesOblique Abdominals

Secondary

Lower BackErector SpinaeQuadsQuadriceps Femoris

Also called: glute med, gluteus medius, side glute, hip abductor glute, oblique, obliques.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Half Moon Pose

1. From a wide standing stance, bend the front knee and place the bottom hand on the floor or a block ahead of the front foot.
2. Shift the weight forward and lift the back leg until it is parallel to the floor.
3. Straighten the standing leg and stack the top hip over the bottom one, reaching the top arm to the ceiling.
4. Hold the balance for the prescribed time with the lifted foot flexed.
5. Lower the back foot down and repeat on the other side.

Form tips

• Use a block under the bottom hand; reaching the floor is not the point of the pose.
• Press the lifted heel towards the wall behind you to keep the leg switched on.
• Look at the floor instead of up if the balance keeps breaking.

At a glance

Half Moon Pose in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Ball Pike
• Bicycle Crunch
• Cable Pallof Press
• Cross-Body Crunch
• Dumbbell Side Bend
• Human Flag
• Kettlebell Russian Twist
• Pilates Side Bend

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "half-moon-pose",
  "name_en": "Half Moon Pose",
  "name_de": "Halbmond-Haltung",
  "name_es": "Postura de la Media Luna",
  "description_en": "A standing side balance on one leg and one hand, with the top leg lifted to hip height and the chest turned open towards the ceiling.",
  "description_de": "Eine seitliche Standbalance auf einem Bein und einer Hand, mit auf Hüfthöhe angehobenem oberem Bein und zur Decke geöffneter Brust.",
  "description_es": "Un equilibrio lateral de pie sobre una pierna y una mano, con la pierna de arriba elevada a la altura de la cadera y el pecho abierto hacia el techo.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "advanced",
  "body_part": "core",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_medius",
    "obliques"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae",
    "quadriceps"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "endurance",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "core",
    "calisthenics"
  ],
  "is_unilateral": true,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "From a wide standing stance, bend the front knee and place the bottom hand on the floor or a block ahead of the front foot.",
    "Shift the weight forward and lift the back leg until it is parallel to the floor.",
    "Straighten the standing leg and stack the top hip over the bottom one, reaching the top arm to the ceiling.",
    "Hold the balance for the prescribed time with the lifted foot flexed.",
    "Lower the back foot down and repeat on the other side."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Beug aus dem weiten Stand das vordere Knie und setz die untere Hand vor dem vorderen Fuß auf Boden oder Block.",
    "Verlager das Gewicht nach vorn und heb das hintere Bein, bis es parallel zum Boden ist.",
    "Streck das Standbein und stapel die obere Hüfte über der unteren, der obere Arm zeigt zur Decke.",
    "Halte die Balance für die vorgegebene Zeit, der angehobene Fuß bleibt angezogen.",
    "Setz den hinteren Fuß ab und wiederhole auf der anderen Seite."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Desde una base amplia, flexiona la rodilla delantera y apoya la mano de abajo en el suelo o un bloque por delante de ese pie.",
    "Desplaza el peso hacia delante y eleva la pierna trasera hasta dejarla paralela al suelo.",
    "Estira la pierna de apoyo y apila la cadera de arriba sobre la de abajo, con el brazo superior hacia el techo.",
    "Mantén el equilibrio durante el tiempo indicado, con el pie elevado en flexión.",
    "Baja el pie trasero y repite del otro lado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Use a block under the bottom hand; reaching the floor is not the point of the pose.",
    "Press the lifted heel towards the wall behind you to keep the leg switched on.",
    "Look at the floor instead of up if the balance keeps breaking."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Nimm einen Block unter die untere Hand; den Boden zu erreichen ist nicht der Sinn der Haltung.",
    "Druck die angehobene Ferse Richtung Wand hinter dir, damit das Bein aktiv bleibt.",
    "Schau auf den Boden statt nach oben, wenn die Balance immer wieder bricht."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Usa un bloque bajo la mano de abajo; llegar al suelo no es el objetivo de la postura.",
    "Empuja el talón elevado hacia la pared de detrás para mantener la pierna activa.",
    "Mira al suelo en lugar de hacia arriba si el equilibrio se rompe una y otra vez."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/half-moon-pose-main.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "half-moon-pose");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.