Pigeon is one of those poses that you really have to be careful in. When putting your leg into the motions of flexion, abduction and external rotation you're already setting up for potential problems with the hips. Eka Pada Rajakapotasana Prep, AKA pigeon pose, has all three of these motions, plus the added risk of weight bearing on the front leg. Adding a lot of pigeon into your life can cause repetitive stress on the hip joint, specifically because the bony parts of the hip (the femoral head and the acetabulum) are moving closer together, meaning bone on bone. Not good. Too much extreme range of motion can cause torn labrums and Femoral Acetabular Impingement (FAI) that wears down the bones, possibly leading to hip replacements. Pigeon Pose can also be hard on the knee since it's trapped between the hip and the foot, so keeping both the hip and the foot in good alignment is crucial. So, if you don't mind, please let me ruffle your pigeon feathers and offer a healthier version of this hip opener. Below I'm going to offer some Pigeon Do's and Pigeon Don'ts.
First and especially, if you are a person that is very flexible and your joints have a large range of motion, move away from the idea that you need to go to your end range of motion. It's better for your body not to.
Pigeon Do's
1. Bring your knee forward, but not too wide. If your joints are stiff you'll bring the knee more narrow towards the center of your mat between your two hands. If you usually go wide with the front knee, avoid that, so you can eliminate the abduction motion (widening) from the pose. Try placing the knee to the inside of the wrist.
2. Always lead with your knee and NOT your foot. This way the shin will be running on a diagonal shape on your mat. The whole top of your foot should be on the floor with your toes spread. Keep your ankle straight so the foot is aligned with your shin.
3. We need to keep the back of the hips level to avoid SI joint (where your sacrum meets your hips) misalignment, which could cause low back pain. So, keep an even balance on both the front and the back leg.
Pigeon Don'ts:
1. Don't push your ankle or foot forward. I'm publicly debunking the myth that your front shin should be at a 90 degree angle, or as parallel to the front of your mat as you can get it. I've heard many yoga teachers instruct this in class, teaching that pushing that foot and shin forward gives you a better hip opener. NOT TRUE! If you do this action repeatedly in your pigeon pose, better have a good orthopedic surgeon lined up. Seriously. With the shin far forward you are bringing your leg into the most extreme version of external rotation, flexion and abduction you can get in this position; i.e. bone on bone .See Exhibit A
2. Don't lean all the way over onto your right hip. See Exhibit B
3. Don't lean all the way over onto your left hip. See Exhibit C
4. Instead of going to your end range of motion, trying staying at around 70-80% to protect your joints
