People often ask me how I got introduced to yoga and the honest answer is because of Pigeon Pose and wondering why in the world it was being taught with the shin parallel to the front of the mat! In 2009, a patient came to me with relatively acute hip pain which she acquired doing yoga. I couldn’t imagine how until she showed me how she was “supposed” to do Pigeon. In the clinic, we taught a very similar move to stretch the piriformis muscle which we called “Pretzel Stretch”, which was actually Pigeon Pose without the parallel shin.
What Does Pigeon Pose Stretch?
Both Pigeon and Pretzel require flexion, external rotation and slight abduction of the front hip, coupled with extension of the back hip. The hip flexion stretches the glutes, hip external rotation stretches the piriformis, and the slight abduction coupled with the external rotation stretches the groin. The hip extension stretches the hip flexors.
This makes it an extremely effective position for people suffering with a handful of injuries like piriformis syndrome, sciatica, lumbar radiculopathy and hip impingement.
Why Does Shin Position Matter?
Normal Hip Range of Motion
When you try to force the shin to be parallel to the front of the mat with the knee flexed to roughly 90 degrees, you are asking the hip to externally rotate 90 degrees as well. Normal hip external rotation is only 40-45 degrees. While the hip joint capsule is looser in hip flexion and many people can attain more degrees of rotation than if the hip was in neutral, 90 degrees is still excessive.
Torque Through the Hip and Knee
Many people don’t have that much range of motion naturally and will try to force it by twisting through the knee. In addition, the prone position of Pigeon places the weight of the trunk passively into the hip and knee, increasing the tension through their soft tissue structures and increasing the risk of injury in both areas.
In the physical therapy Pretzel Stretch version, which is how I teach it in my online LYT classes, the front knee is almost fully flexed and the ankle of that foot is in front of the opposite hip, requiring the hip to only externally rotate to the normal 40-45 degrees of motion. For people with full knee flexion and hip external rotation, the pose position is safe and sustainable.
Are There Pose Modifications for Pigeon?
Absolutely! First thing I would recommend is bending the knee and coming into the Pretzel position mentioned above.
Use Props
If the hip on the side that is being stretched does not make solid contact with the floor, place a block or bolster under it. This will decrease the amount of knee flexion and hip external rotation required, making the pose more comfortable.
Lift the Chest
You can also come up onto the elbows or hands to decrease the amount of hip flexion required. However, this will increase the extension into both the extended leg’s hip and the lower back, which may also be limited in some people so use caution.
Supine Figure 4
Supine Figure 4 is the most safe and sustainable way for the most amount of bodies to stretch the glutes, piriformis, and groin. The support of the floor keeps the spine long and the amount of hip external rotation and knee flexion is not affected by the weight of the trunk.
Modification is Not Synonymous with Cheating
We need to understand that not getting the shin parallel to the front of the mat or coming onto your back into Figure 4 isn’t cheating. We are simply honoring the structure of the skeleton and moving in a safer and smarter manner by decreasing passive strain through the joints and their soft tissues.
