Practice Pigeon Pose Safely! Yoga Practice & Teaching Tips with Rachel

You may not know this...but there are two pigeon poses, and they each do very different things! In this video, we look at the two pigeons, risk factors for both, and how to approach each safely - and why.
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[@caro1591]

Such clarity and good to bust those unhelpful myths and call out some of the not-so-helpful/harmful alignment cues. Your brilliant videos will make the yoga world a safer place. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 🙏🏻❤️

[@RachelScottYoga]

Thank you for hope kind words Caro!

[@charlottecoombs8282]

Don't ever stop making these amazing vids xx

[@RachelScottYoga]

🥰

[@KloderTX]

This is wonderfully explained and presented. Thanks!

[@RachelScottYoga]

You're very welcome! :)

[@joystar7772]

awsome; thank you. I have 2 total knee replacements; so excellent info.

[@RachelScottYoga]

AHHH yes!!! Glad it's useful.

[@gayatris4169]

Really thank you for sharing all the tips to keep ourself safe in pigeon pose.. Now with confidence i can practice my active pigeon 🎉. Thank you

[@RachelScottYoga]

My pleasure, I'm so happy it's helpful!! Glad to have you here :)

[@gayatris4169]

@@RachelScottYoga 🥰

[@proshatf7193]

Thank You Rachel! Always learning from you !

[@RachelScottYoga]

😘😘😘

[@vickieboechler5962]

Wow!!!! learned so much about pigeon and will incorporate into my practice during class. I have been doing it wrong!

[@RachelScottYoga]

Woo hoo! So glad it was a good refresher on the pose! I never like to think of our practice patterns as wrong….I think it more as adding details.😁

[@wootenkristy]

A few things about this video: 1) as always, super helpful! I’ve been taught in resting pigeon that the straight leg should be behind you and lined up with the hip socket. 🤦🏻‍♀️ No doubt that this has not been good for various parts of my body lol. Now I know better thanks to this video. 2) I’m so glad you’re making it known that there are 2 pigeon poses! It seems commonplace that many instructors (when they say “move into pigeon pose”) mean resting or sleeping pigeon. 3) I LOVE your energy, knocking blocks over and all! 😃 4) I appreciate the student voice for “I love pigeon!” 😂 Fantastic.

[@RachelScottYoga]

😁😁😂😂

[@maglehammers6138]

Yes!

[@nuicremoux2682]

Thank you for the explanation. Both of my knees are bad and each time I had to do the sleeping pegion pose my knees hurts afterward. I am not a Yoga teacher but looking for explanation in many yoga poses are difficult - thanks God I found you and thank you very much- love your videos.

[@RachelScottYoga]

Ahhh I’m so glad they are helpful!! 🙏🏻🤍

[@irreverentjules-240]

Excellent! The hip in the yummy pigeon never felt safe. Can't wait to get home, rewatch and try all this with you. Thank you so much!!!

[@RachelScottYoga]

🙏🏻🙏🏻😄

[@seoulbookclubbarrywelsh]

Thank you great video

[@RachelScottYoga]

Glad it’s helpful!

[@wendysanchez7439]

brilliant

[@RachelScottYoga]

😘🙏🏻

[@JAtwood-yr7nh]

Thank you, as always, for having such thoughtful approaches to poses- I've been guilty of cueing to straighten and align the back leg with the hip but now I see it isn't necessary or advisable if that outer hip is lifting in resting pigeon....I wonder what your thoughts are in flying pigeon- I actually injured my knee two and a half years ago doing that pose and it still bothers me today- I am pretty sure I was doing it somehow incorrectly and compromising that knee

[@RachelScottYoga]

Ahhhhh….I think that is a tricky pose, because it requires both external rotation and a lot of hip flexion to do it. I would test it out first in a nonweightbearing position, such as a supine figure for kind of thing to see if the position worked for hips and knees. I think that could be a good way to assess before you start putting weight through it? Thank you for sharing - this is a very good cautionary tale for everyone to be aware of because sometimes we can do those poses a little too casually!🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@markmondaini4088]

thanks for these videos, I think you're a great teacher !! keeper coming !!! :)

[@RachelScottYoga]

Great to connect with you here, Mark!

[@ingridmarcroft7713]

So awesome! I've been in alignment with (heh, heh) much of this as well via lots of experimentation (why weren't we taught this??), but you always find a way to take it up to the highest level! Thank you! You da bomb. : ) XO

[@RachelScottYoga]

hee hee hee ~ YAY to aligned pigeons!!! I know, right?? Well, we'll teach it to the next generation of yogis ...(and then they'll come up with all the stuff we missed!!). 😆

[@glhnk.8820]

hi rachel...one more amazing video;thanks...I just finish my ytt200 and started teaching hatha yoga class...Also practicing 5-6 days in a week...sometimes I have knee pain.I remember you mentioned in an anatomy video ;also u had knee pain and your physiotherapist said U'r hip muscles are weak...How was your journey about the knee pain? What's u'r suggestion ? I'm worry about it.💌🍀

[@RachelScottYoga]

It’s a good question! Pain in the knee can be due to so many different things… It could be hip muscles it could be feet and ankle, it could be the way that you walk? Hard to know without more information so my suggestion is ~ if possible ~ to go to a physiotherapist who may be able to take a look at what is going on a little bit more closely.

[@RachelScottYoga]

If it is hard to go to a physiotherapist, then you can do generally good knee management, by strengthening the muscles around the knee (quads, Hamstrings) and gently working on anything that might be overly tight…. I hope that gives you a place to start. Also in yoga, because it’s about poses that put too much on the knee, like Lotis, or other positions when your knee is bent and you’re really working in the hip.

[@glhnk.8820]

@@RachelScottYoga thank u so much 😇 ❣

[@SOMI82115]

Hey Rachel thanks so much for your very helpful videos, I’ve been teaching yoga for two years but I’ve never thought about anatomy like now I really love to understand anatomy, what’s the best yoga anatomy book you’d recommend?

[@RachelScottYoga]

Awesome! I do a video with some tips here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKfXmIifppd5aLs ~ check out Gil Hedley's channel here as well, it's full of good stuff: kzbin.info (Not biased at all because he's my boyfriend ;) ~ If you're ever interested in a more directed guide, I have a a couple big anatomy courses online as well :) Glad you're here!

[@KarinYogaLife]

Awesome video Thanks so much. Question. Would you recommend teaching them one offer the other ie passive after active or is this a bad idea? Thanks🙏🏽

[@RachelScottYoga]

Hey Karin! You could teach them sequentially, but two things to consider. 1. you'd be doing a peak then a cooling pose (which isn't a bad thing, but they'll have to get their energy up for the second side) and 2. I would change the position of the legs and sit down for v2, rather than forward fold from position 1. 90% of your students may have no problem staying in the same shape, but I'm conservative and like the pelvis down on the earth for the passive version :)

[@KarinYogaLife]

@@RachelScottYoga Great, makes sense. Thanks Rachel, going to teach it today. I tend to shy away from teaching it because of the knee issues. I teach online mainly and have lots of older (ie over 50) ladies in my class.

[@RachelScottYoga]

@@KarinYogaLife HAHAHA Careful Karin, I'm over 50 🤣 But with those who may not have strength to "lift up" out of the pose, they can put a block under the hip.

[@KarinYogaLife]

@@RachelScottYoga LOL, I'm over 50 too!! Taught it "your way" last night and went well I think. Although one student said "I don't feel anything" in the active version. I think she's used to feeling it in different places and she's pretty flexible in the hips. Hard to know when you teach online!