Breaking Down Pigeon Pose by T.t. Ho

Yoga Practice

Breaking Down Pigeon Pose By Lindsay Jang

Pigeon – Kapotasana – a pose that you frequently come across in group class. As a student, I always wondered why each teacher taught the pose differently in terms of the distance you place your foot from your hip and the direction your front knee ends up facing. When I decided to study to become a teacher, I asked my guru the simple question, “why do I sometimes keep my heel near my hip and other times place it further away?” Being the endless source of knowledge that he is, he explained it to me in great detail and I am overly happy to share this insight with you …

Key alignment tips for ALL pigeon variations:

back leg, so work on bringing your upper body square with your hips.

• Work towards keeping both hip joints on the ground and in line with each other. This usually involves rolling or leaning towards the back leg to bring that hip closer to the ﬂoor.

• In back bending variations, make sure your front knee is pointing directly forward and in line with the hip in order to avoid injury on your lower back from your hips being misaligned.

• Your back leg should be in line with your hip and the back knee, thigh and eventually, the front of your pelvis, should rest on the ﬂoor.

• Once your hips are on the ground, regardless of how far away your heel is from your hip, tuck your back toes under and move your hips backwards in order to increase the stretch on your outer hip and improve the rotation of your hip joint.

• In straight variations, your shoulders and hips should be facing the same direction. We tend to turn towards our

• If you don’t have a teacher or assistant to help push your hips down to the ﬂoor, you can twist in any variation. This will use your own body’s weight and force to bring your hip down. Always twist towards your front leg, that is, if your right leg is forward, take your left armpit towards your right knee and press your palms together in prayer. Beginner’s Variation: 1. Bring your left leg forward, right leg back, in line with your hip. Keep your left heel close to your right hip, left knee pointing forward. 2. Roll towards your right; try to bring

your right hip to the ﬂoor, right knee and thigh facing the ground. 3. Inhale, raise your arms up, lengthen your spine. Exhale, fold forward. 4. After a few breaths, tuck your back toes under and slide your right leg back. 5. Hold for 5 breaths and release. Change sides. 6.With your legs in this alignment you can bend your back knee and hold your ankle or foot to stretch your quadriceps. Intermediate Variation: 1. Bring your left leg forward, right leg back, in line with your hip. Push your left heel away from you and try to take

your left shin up, parallel to the top of your mat. Your left knee will naturally move to the left, out of line with your hip; that’s ok. You may need to hold your left heel in place with your right hand if your hips are tight. 2. Again, roll to the right side. 3. Inhale, raise your arms up, lengthen your spine. Exhale, fold forward; try to get your chest ﬂat on your shin, chin forward. 4. After a few breaths, tuck your back toes under and slide your right leg back. 5. Hold for 5 breaths and release. Change sides.

twisting option

Advanced Variation: 1. Bring your left leg forward, right leg back, in line with your hip. Push your left heel away from you as much as you can. Your right knee will naturally move to the left, out of line with your hip; that’s ok. If your hip is very open, your face will meet your foot when you bend forward. 2. Again, roll to the right side. 3. Inhale, raise your arms up, lengthen your spine. Exhale, fold forward; try to get your face near your foot.

4. After a few breaths, tuck your back toes under and slide your right leg back. 5. Hold for 5 breaths and release. Change sides.

*This variation will especially help you with eka pada sirsasana (leg behind the head) and eka dandasana (one leg staff pose) due to the extreme rotation of your hip joint. Remember that your body needs time to open and that you need to master the initial practice before attempting to do the advanced variation. Don’t rush your body or your joints – they will open with time, dedicated practice, and patience.