If you spend much of the day sitting it’s important to incorporate exercises into your routine that stretch the hip flexors in order to avoid stiffness and pain.
Pigeon pose is one stretch that really targets the hips and glutes, making it a great exercise to combat the effects of sitting for long periods of time.
Pigeon pose is a yoga move, but you’ll see it incorporated into many cool-down routines beyond yoga. It’s designed to stretch deep into the glutes, and it’s also a great hip-opener and thigh stretch.
Like most yoga poses, pigeon is also meant to relax your body, making it perfect for relieving tension and stress. Adding pigeon into your stretching routine will not only increase your flexibility, but also help you relax and reduce anxiety.
Pigeon pose benefits
If performed consistently, pigeon pose improves posture, mood, anxiety, balance and flexibility. It also targets muscles that are often neglected: the hip flexors and deep glute muscles. Pigeon pose will open your hips, decreasing your risk of pain and injury. (Fun fact: tight hips can also cause low back pain.) This improved flexibility helps with the ease of performing everyday activities, too.
Mistakes people make when doing pigeon pose
A lot of people are unsure where to position their rear leg when performing this stretch. Instead of keeping it straight out behind them, they rotate it at an uncomfortable angle. Keeping your leg straight makes the move more comfortable, allowing you to get a deeper stretch in the targeted muscles.
Another common issue is hip positioning. I find that a lot of my clients struggle to keep their hips square and lean off to one side. To correct this:
- Keep your back leg stretched straight behind you with the top of your foot rested on the mat.
- Keep your hips square. Refrain from placing too much of your weight on the side of your body where the front leg is bent.
- If you need to, prop the front leg’s glute up onto a block or folded towel so that your hips can be level…
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