Retiring Pigeon Pose – Hugger Mugger

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

The Drawback with Pigeon Pose

However the extra I started to delve into hip well being, the extra I understand 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 sturdy asymmetrical pressure on the sacroiliac joints (SI joints). In Pigeon, the exterior rotators and abductors on front-leg facet of the SI joint stretch, whereas the back-leg facet of the SI joint compresses.
• Gravity. When the pelvis is off the bottom and even barely grazing the bottom in Pigeon, the burden of the torso amplifies the asymmetrical pressure on the SI joint.
• Most of the time, 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 will put on down the labrum that rings the socket and the cartilage on the top 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 approach 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 may relieve among the issues. For some although, these whose hips are already off the ground, a block could or might not be excessive sufficient to forestall the burden 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 follow the pose with out it.

Kapotasana Alternate options

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

Of the 2, Supta Ardha Padmasana is the most secure alternative 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 at all times, it’s finest to be taught these poses from an skilled trainer who understands the significance of sustaining a wholesome spinal place, and might educate you methods to perceive this for your self.

Closing Ideas

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

As with all yoga follow, it’s useful to do not forget that we’re not all cookie-cutter replicas of one another. There could, certainly, be some individuals for whom Pigeon Pose yields optimistic outcomes. However within the context of a yoga class populated with diverse physique sorts, I don’t really feel Pigeon is the healthiest alternative.

About Charlotte Bell

Charlotte Bell found yoga in 1982 and started 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 printed by Rodmell Press. Her third e-book 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 people sextet Purple Rock Rondo, whose DVD received two Emmy awards.