In my investigation of what makes this “half” pose “full,” I explored the traditional form of ardha dhanurasana as well as variations that helped me find a ...Yoga|Practice3WaystoUsePropsinArdhaDhanurasana(HalfBow)AllisonRayJeraci5min.Oneday,afterteachingabackbendclassthatincludedardhadhanurasana(halfbowpose)butnotdhanurasana(bowpose),astudentapproachedmeandaskedwhyIhadn’ttaughtthe“fullpose.”Itwasanintriguingquestion.Ardhameans“half,”soitcanbeeasytodeducethatardhadhanurasana isbuthalfofanequation.SoIbegantowonder:Whatmakesonepose“full”andanother,well,“lessfull”?Afterthinkingaboutitfordays,Itookthequestiontothemat.Isetasidesometimetopracticegoingbackandforthbetweenhalfbowandbow.Iwantedtounderstandandexperienceformyself,inmyownbody,whatmadebow“full”andhalfbownot.WhatIdiscoveredwasthatwhilehalfbowdidnothaveanything less tooffer,itdidoffersomethingdifferent. Ialsofoundthattheposerequiresjustasmuchfocusandeffortasdhanurasana,andthatitisinfacta“fullpose”initsownright.TheBeautyofArdhaDhanurasanaArdhadhanurasanais,ofcourse,afantasticprepfordhanurasana.Butpracticingitconsistentlyonitsowncanalsoteachusalotaboutourbodies.Reachingforonefootatatimeletsuscomparetheeaseordifficultyfromonesidetotheother,allowingustogaugehowtightthefrontofourbody—say,ourquadsandpsoas,orouranteriordelts—feelsontheleftversustheright.Wecanalsogaugewhetherornotthemusclesononesideofthebackbody(suchastheparaspinalmuscles,glutes,hamstrings,andtriceps)engagemorethantheother.Wemightalsofindagreatersenseofopeninginthebodywhenwearen’tstrugglingtoclaspbothfeetorankles (ifdhanurasanaissomewhatlessaccessibleforus).Inmyinvestigationofwhatmakesthis“half”pose“full,”Iexploredthetraditionalformofardhadhanurasanaaswellasvariationsthathelpedmefindagreatersenseofbalanceandeasebetweentherightandleftsidesofmybody.Idiscoveredwhatmakesthisposeshineonitsown,andIamthrilledtosharethosediscoverieswithyou.First,let’slookat theclassicversionofardhadhanurasana.HowtoPracticeArdhaDhanurasanaBegininsphinxposebylyingonyourbellyandplaci