Pigeon pose: Avoid overstretching and enjoy the benefits through an embodied yoga approach
This blog is designed for yoga teachers and yoga enthusiasts. We will break down one of the iconic yoga poses - pigeon pose - from an embodied yoga perspective so you can discover just how powerful this pose can be!
People often ask “should my knee be at a 90 degree angle in pigeon pose!” “Can I do pigeon pose with weak knees?” and Embodied Yoga has the answers
You can watch the video (I think it is easier to see what I am talking about!) but we have also summarised the key points below!
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Teaching Pigeon Pose: A Guide for Yoga Teachers
As a yoga teacher, guiding students safely into and out of pigeon pose is crucial. It is a pose where some of your students will hang out of their joints and push for the “stretch” which can be very damaging to our tendons. This guide will provide key teaching points, modifications, and breath techniques to enhance your students' practice.
Why Teach Pigeon Pose?
Pigeon pose is highly beneficial for students of all levels. It helps release tension in the hips, thighs, and lower back while promoting spinal awareness and deep breathing. However, due to the complexity of the pose, students often compensate in ways that may cause strain, particularly in the knee and lower back. Your role as a teacher is to ensure they approach the pose safely and mindfully.
Variations of pigeon pose
Traditional pigeon pose
Active pigeon with a neutral back
Resting pigeon pose
Variation of one legged king pigeon pose
Guiding Yoga Students into Pigeon Pose
Many students either lack mobility to enter pigeon pose like how it looks in the books or have excessive flexibility that compromises stability. Instead of forcing them into the posture, encourage a gradual setup:
Starting Position: My preferred way is to have students begin in downward-facing dog or on all fours to set a strong foundation.
Placing the Front Leg: Cue them to bring the front knee forward, keeping it centered. The shin may be at an angle that suits their hip mobility.
Bringing the Back Leg back: The back leg should extend straight behind them, we are looking to avoid internal or external rotation at the hip.
Finding a Neutral Pelvis: Invite students to inquire into their pelvis alignment. An invitation might be to bring the knee out so that the pelvis is supported by the foot (see 2.24 mins into the video). If one hip is lifted, you can offer a block under the hip for support.
The Spine: Often people cue to arch back or take the head back, but then all of the work often happens in the lumbar. But what we are looking to get a little bit of movement through the spine rather than dumping into the base. We can think of it as our chest puffing out “kahh” like a pigeon.
Inquire into where they are pressing their weight: We want them to find lightness in the pose, like a dead plant attracted to the sun.
Exploring Variations: Offer both active (chest lifted) and passive (folding forward) versions depending on the student’s needs.
The joints in pigeon
We have inflection and extension in the legs and hips. When the hips go off neutral the movement happens in the back leg. The front leg is basically the opposite of the back leg - it is fully flexed, the hip joint is externally rotated and it is in abduction (away from the body).
Pigeon pose affects every part of our body from the toe to the head
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Common Misalignments and Adjustments
As a teacher, being aware of common alignment issues can help prevent injuries and maximize the benefits of pigeon pose:
Pelvic Imbalance: If students are struggling to keep the pelvis neutral, provide props like a bolster or block under the hip.
Knee Discomfort: If there’s pressure on the front knee, recommend a modified version on the back (thread the needle pose) or encourage them to keep the shin closer to the body.
Lower Back Compression: If students overarch the lumbar spine, cue them to engage their core and distribute the backbend more evenly throughout the spine.
Dumping Weight into Arms: Encourage students to find lightness by lifting slightly through the arms rather than collapsing.
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Using Breath to Support the Pose
Many students focus so much on alignment that they forget to breathe deeply, limiting their ability to relax into the posture. Teach breathwork techniques to enhance their experience:
Traditional Pigeon: Guide students to use thoracic breathing, expanding the chest forward like a puffed-up pigeon. If there is a lot of compression in the back the breath will be short at the front. You can incorporate movement to encourage thoracic breathing. Have them slightly flow up and down with their breath. (around 10:03 in the video)
When Folding Forward: Encourage deep belly breathing to promote relaxation and passive release in the hips.
Restorative Pigeon: Teach students to direct their breath into the back body, similar to the breath in child’s pose (we have a different video on this!)
Safely Transitioning Out of Pigeon Pose
To prevent strain, instruct students to exit pigeon pose with control:
If you have had your students in a more restorative version of pigeon you can invite them to lift the back leg to bring activation back through the body
Have them engage their core before pressing into their hands to lift their torso - looking for that “kahh” again rather than dumping into the base of the spine.
We want a little bit of movement in a lot of places.
From there we can go back up into downward dog or onto all fours.
Final Teaching Tips
As a yoga teacher, your role is to facilitate safe and effective movement. Some students may struggle with hip mobility or dodgy knees —offer alternatives and adjustments that still provide similar benefits without discomfort.
Encourage students to explore the pose with curiosity
Supporting your students develop somatic awareness and inviting them to inquire for themselves will make the pose more effective and more enjoyable!