Retiring Pigeon Pose – Hugger Mugger

I didn’t wish to do it. I’ve all the time loved Kapotasana (Pigeon Pose), or no less than the hip-opening variation that’s a preparation for Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (One-Legged King Pigeon). A lot of my college students prefer it too. For a few years Pigeon Prep was a staple in my lessons. After we’d observe vinyasa-style, it felt fantastic to swing ahead from Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Going through Canine Pose) into Pigeon. It’s a easy transfer that I miss.

The Drawback with Pigeon Pose

However the extra I started to delve into hip well being, the extra I notice that Pigeon Pose is probably going problematic for a lot of practitioners. I’ve stopped instructing it. Right here’s why:

• Pigeon Pose locations a really robust asymmetrical drive on the sacroiliac joints (SI joints). In Pigeon, the exterior rotators and abductors on front-leg aspect of the SI joint stretch, whereas the back-leg aspect of the SI joint compresses.
• Gravity. When the pelvis is off the bottom and even barely grazing the bottom in Pigeon, the load of the torso amplifies the asymmetrical drive on the SI joint.
• As a rule, the again leg’s place necessitates that the neck of its femur will press into the anterior border of the hip socket. Over time, this could put on down the labrum that rings the socket and the cartilage on the pinnacle of the femur.
• Tightness within the exterior rotators and abductors can switch into the knee of the entrance leg, placing shearing stress on the knee joint.

Can Pigeon Pose Be Saved?

Is there a solution to rectify the issues with Pigeon Pose? Previously few years, earlier than retiring the pose altogether, I recommended that everybody elevate the pelvis by sitting on a Yoga Block. This will relieve a few of the issues. For some although, these whose hips are already off the ground, a block could or is probably not excessive sufficient to forestall the load of the torso from exacerbating the asymmetrical results inherent within the pose. Additionally, there are practitioners who merely don’t wish to use a block, and can observe the pose with out it.

Kapotasana Options

So what to do as an alternative? Three choices come to thoughts: Supta Ardha Padmasana (Supine Half Lotus), Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose) and Agnisthambasana (Hearth Log Pose). All three assist relieve rigidity within the exterior rotators and abductors, however since each legs are in flexion in these poses, the motion on the SI joint is far more symmetrical.

Of the 2, Supta Ardha Padmasana is the most secure selection for most individuals. As a result of it’s practiced mendacity down, it’s simpler to maintain observe of the integrity of your backbone. As all the time, it’s finest to be taught these poses from an skilled instructor who understands the significance of sustaining a wholesome spinal place, and might educate you methods to perceive this for your self.

Last Ideas

Trendy postural yoga appears to have a little bit of an obsession with hip opening. Whereas it’s necessary to take care of mobility within the hips—particularly since so many people spend numerous time sitting in chairs in entrance of a pc—stability is simply as necessary. The observe of asana shouldn’t be about changing into ever extra versatile. It’s about stability—the stability between flexibility and stability. Hip-opening observe ought to all the time embrace hip stabilizing observe as properly—standing stability poses and Utkatasana (Fierce Pose), for instance.

As with all yoga observe, it’s useful to keep in mind that we’re not all cookie-cutter replicas of one another. There could, certainly, be some folks for whom Pigeon Pose yields optimistic outcomes. However within the context of a yoga class populated with assorted physique sorts, I don’t really feel Pigeon is the healthiest selection.

About Charlotte Bell

Charlotte Bell found yoga in 1982 and commenced instructing in 1986. Charlotte is the creator of Conscious Yoga, Conscious Life: A Information for On a regular basis Apply and Yoga for Meditators, each revealed by Rodmell Press. Her third guide is titled Hip-Wholesome Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Information to Defending the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Ache (Shambhala Publications). She writes a month-to-month column for CATALYST Journal and serves as editor for Yoga U On-line. Charlotte is a founding board member for GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte performs oboe and English horn within the Salt Lake Symphony and folks sextet Crimson Rock Rondo, whose DVD received two Emmy awards.