Ashta Chandrasana (crescent lunge pose)

Ashta Chandrasana (crescent lunge pose)

To do this pose:

Come to a downward facing dog. Extend one leg up behind you and take a step forward with it between your two hands, grounding that foot with your toes facing forward. Keep your back heel up, ground through your front foot and once you find your center, bring your upper body up and reach your arms up over your head, bending deeply into your front leg. If you feel comfortable, start to arch your upper back and let your arms fall back to create that crescent shape with your body and breath.

How this pose is especially beneficial for nurses: 

• It improves balance! Pose with the back toes tucked provides a much more precarious pose so you have to engage that core and focus on the balance. This helps improve your stamina in general, helping your body get through your 12 hour shifts without feeling exhausted. 
• It strengthens your thigh, gluteal, and shoulder muscles! This is a full body pose so perfect for when you’re short on time but need some activation to some muscles either before a shift to wake up or after a shift to wind down or even on a day off as a good full body workout. 
• It improves joint function. Strengthening the muscles around the knees, hips, shoulders, and even elbows helps prevent injury and even wear and tear to those joints that occur with a high activity job like nursing.