Hips remain level

basicspigeon pose

by Jason Crandell

Forehead and jaw are relaxed

Both sides ofwaist are long

Front leg is foldedand externally rotated

Arms support the torso

WHENEVER I ASK MY STUDENTS before class ifthey have any requests, I’m greeted with a chorus of“Hip openers!” At first I was puzzled: My studentsalways looked so tense—tight jaws, fierce eyes, rigidnecks—while practicing these poses. But as I paidmore attention, I began to notice a universal look ofrelief on their faces by the end of class. Hip openers

may be challenging, but they can also be incredibly satisfying, both phys-ically and emotionally.

If you’re like most students, you probably feel as though someonepoured superglue into your hip sockets. There are perfectly good rea-sons for this. First, modern life requires sitting all day, which keeps yourhips from the rotation, flexion, and extension they need to remain agile.Second, common sports such as running and cycling—and even an every-day activity like walking—demand hip strength but not flexibility. Thethird culprit is stress, which creates tension in your body, especially inyour hip area, which is a complex cluster of powerful muscles, tendons,and ligaments. Even a little bit of stress-induced clenching can reallylock them up.

So, short of tossing out your chair (which could lead to other phys-iological problems), and entirely eliminating stress from your life,

Find proper alignment in

Pigeon Pose, thenpractice it often,and those stiff,

tight hips will startto feel open again.

Bird of Paradise

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Back leg is long and internally rotated

DON’T let one hip drop lower than the other.

DO support your front hip with a folded blanket.

DON’T bring your front knee past your midline.

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B A S I C S

accompanying cacophony of thoughts andfeelings may be just as rewarding as thephysical benefits of the pose.

KEEP YOUR WAIST LONG

The first stage of the pose elongates thehip flexors of your back leg and creates amild backbend. It’s also the time to estab-lish stability in your pelvis before movinginto the second stage.

Start on all fours, placing your handsdirectly below your shoulders, and yourknees below your hips. Bring your rightknee forward until it touches your right

wrist, keeping your right thigh parallel tothe sides of your mat. Slowly inch yourright shin and foot (hereafter referred toas your “front leg”) toward the midline ofyour body until your foot is directly belowyour left hip. Now straighten your left leg(hereafter referred to as your “back” leg)toward the back of your mat.

Instead of leaning forward, walk yourhands back and lower both sides of yourpelvis toward the floor. As your pelvis re-leases, be sure your hips don’t lean to theright. You’ll know this is happening if yourleft hip lifts higher than your right. Youneed to keep your hips as level as possibleto get the full effects of the pose and tokeep your lower back safely aligned. Ifyou’re not able to lower the hips evenly(join the club!), sit on a folded blanket ora block before starting the pose.

As your hips continue to settle, pressyour fingertips firmly into the floor andlengthen the sides of your waist to helpkeep your lower back long and free fromstrain. Using your arms this way allows youto modify the intensity of the stretch.

FOLD INTO THE STRETCH

Walk your hands forward, inhale deeplyas you lengthen your torso, and exhale asyou fold forward, lowering your elbows tothe floor (pictured above). Again, use your

)Pose Benefits

Improves mobility in the hips and legs

Creates greater flexibility in the hip flexorsand hip rotators

ContraindicationsKnee injuries

Spinal disk injuries

Sacroiliac pain

what can you do to unstick your hipsand get them gliding freely again? Forstarters, you can start to incorporate Pi-geon Pose into your daily routine.

This pose is perfect for tight hips be-cause it stretches the hip rotators (the but-tocks area) and the hip flexors (the longmuscles that run along the front of yourthighs and pelvis). It also requires substan-tial external rotation in the front leg andsubstantial internal rotation in the backleg. If you practice it consistently, you’llnotice an increased suppleness through-out your practice. You may also find thatyour body moves more easily even afterclass, since your pelvis is the central hubof movement.

Sounds easy, right? Well, sort of. Ifyou’ve ever tried Pigeon Pose, you knowhow challenging it is. It’s effective becauseit’s so good at isolating certain musclesin the hips, ultimately softening stiffnessand rigidity and making you feel lighterand more flexible. But isolating those mus-cles is the very thing that can make PigeonPose grueling. So just be aware that youmight taste some bitterness before gettingto the pose’s sweet spot.

All you have to do is be attentive to themany—and sometimes difficult—physi-cal sensations that arise. Your ability to ob-serve and be with these sensations and the P

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Y a wing and a prayer

BIRDS ARE SPECIAL in Hindu myth.Their ability to fly and enter the realmsof heaven makes them ideal messen-gers of the gods. Hindu gods, unlikeChristian angels, are usually wingless,so they often fly through the air on birds. It's no wonder, then, thatmany yoga poses are named for thesecreatures. Aside from Pigeon there areEagle, Peacock, Swan, Crane, Heron,Rooster, and Partridge.

The swan is the vehicle of the creator god Brahma. Her name (hamsa,more accurately rendered as “wildgoose”) conceals a profound teachingin the powerful mantra, soham, whichtranslates as “This am I.”

What does this cryptic mantramean? It acknowledges the aspiration

to merge the individual self(aham in Sanskrit ) with the

universal, cosmic Self (so in Sanskrit).

Amazingly, this littlemantra sums up the

basic message of the Upanishads (the collection

of ancient Hindu texts thatform the basis of India’s most influentialphilosophy, Vedanta): All the seeminglydisparate selves of the world are ulti-mately only one big Self, which is theessence of everything that exists.

Tradition says that at a certain stageof practicing this mantra, you will expe-rience this oneness and the syllableswill naturally reverse to ham sa (theswan). At that point you become theparamahamsa, or supreme swan, whosoars where mortals can never go.Meditative attention to your breath,then, can serve as a vehicle for yourown deliverance.

practice a swan song

Find a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down, and turn your attention to your breath. Listen carefully for a while. On the inhalation,you’ll hear a sibilant sa sound, on theexhalation an aspirate ha.

Spend a few minutes following thesesounds. You can arrange and interpretthe syllables two ways: as hamsa,where your breath is your bird mountsoaring to the heavens, or as soham,where it’s a bridge joining the self ( jiva-atman) with the Self (parama-atman).R I C H A R D R O S E N

arms to adjust the weight you releaseinto your hips. If the stretch feels too in-tense, lift away from the floor and use yourarms to support more of your weight. Ifyou have space to spare in your hips, loweryour torso and let your weight settle ontothe floor.

As you come into the second version ofthe pose, you might feel sensations shiftfrom your back leg to your outer front hipand buttock. The sensations that floodyour hips might feel great or slightly un-nerving—or a combination of the two.In any case, it’s important to refine youralignment again to ensure that you’re peel-ing away layers of tension rather thanstressing any of your joints.

Start by making sure your hips are level.If you were meticulous aboutthis in the first stage, youare probably in goodshape. If not, then anyimbalance will increaseas you come forward.So if necessary, place afolded blanket under yourright buttock so your pelvis isn’t off kilter.

Look at your front thigh. Make sure it’sparallel to the sides of the mat and thatyour front foot is directly beneath yourback hip. Breathe into the sensations rum-bling in your hips. Observe the reactions inyour mind and try to let go of them by re-laxing your eyes, jaw, and throat. Continueto breathe into your hips and allow yourbelly to melt toward the floor. Feel yourhips and your mind soften as you allowwaves of feelings to wash over you.

After 5 to 10 breaths in the forwardbend, inhale to come back up. Press downthrough your fingertips as you lift yourhips away from the floor and transition allthe way to Downward Dog. Take five deepbreaths and observe how your hips feel—lighter? clearer? achy? There’s no need toattach any meaning to the sensations. Noneed to worry or judge yourself. Strong asthese sensations are, they’ll soon morphinto different feelings as you switch toyour second side. !

Jason Crandell teaches yoga in San Franciscoand around the country. You can contact him atwww.jasonyoga.com.

B A S I C S

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Online ExtraTo read more Basics columns, visit yogajournal.com and

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