Pigeon

This week marked my 500^th hour of teaching since being let loose on an unsuspected public by the Yoga Alliance. It was about 18 months ago they deemed me certified Like the true Silicon Valley nerd that I have become, I have every statistic you could possibly imagine to go along with this 500 hour fact, including total number of yogis taught, average class size and even seasonal trends. It has been an exciting and eventful 18 months, culminating in my recent opportunity to teach a prime Saturday morning slot at Nandi Yoga.

Nothing magical happens at 500 hours. I don’t suddenly become competent, acquire the ability to chat or even sing ‘Om”. At 500 hours Yoga teachers are eligible to take an additional certification. Presumably the theory is that you have learned enough about teaching, and that you are ready for the next level. I don’t have any plans to do this. I am still learning from my current classes. This week I discovered a new technique for “Bird of Paradise” which it makes it so easy, so much more enjoyable if you struggle with that pose. It was so obvious too; I don’t know why I had not thought of it myself.

Last week, I learned to never leave pigeon out of a class. This rule stood me in good stead this week. Not a riot in sight. So here is

Old Moon Yoga’s guide to pigeon.

• Get ready. I like to come into pigeon from down dog splits. That’s down dog with one leg in the air. Take the right leg up behind and swing the leg through and across the midline. The right heel ending up somewhere close to the left hip. The right knee still on the right side of the body thigh facing forwards. I have noticed that all but the very stiff can achieve this pretty easily.
• 

  Breathe deep here

  Get Set. Ok here is where the challenge comes in. For a lot of people their hip is not on the ground. So their butt is floating around in mid air. “Get something under your butt” I repeat for the umpteenth time. With nothing under the butt the knee is under strain, the body is tensed up and therefore won’t stretch. So any Yogi is this position is in danger of blowing their knee out and in no danger of improving the stretch any time soon. I explain all this and implore people to get a blanket, a block, two blocks, a bolster what ever your need. “You body will release and you will stretch quicker” I suggest to try to counter the ego or stigma that seems to surround the use of any props in a vinyasa class. I scan the room, there are right butts as high as 6 inches off of the floor. With rising doubts as to my communication skills or my ability to finish class on time, I move on to the second phase.

• Get Set (and I do mean it this time ) “Everyone pick your hands up off of the floor. “ I suggest in the next phase of my cunning plan to get people safe for pigeon. “If you tip over like this…..”, I demonstrate how unstable the pose is if that butt is not on the floor. “…. you need something under your butt”. People smile and stare but try desperately to stay balanced while their right butt hovers, the floor tantalizingly close, about a blocks distance actually.
• Get Set (moving on) If your butt is on the floor and you want more, inch worm your back (left) foot way from you. This gradually brings the front (right) shin parallel to the front of the mat. This approach is far easier, and safer, than the technique most Yogis adopt, which is to yank on the front foot trying to pull it forwards as they jerk their body up and back.
• Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (One-Legged King Pigeon Pose) Come upright and try to tuck the butt under. This tucking is more of a feeling than a movement. This lets you get the back straighter, more upright. If you are very upright you may even be able to interlock the hands behind the back and reach for the floor behind you in a little back bend. This is a great place to take a couple of long slow deep breaths before …
• 

  A Twisted Pigeon Variation

  Coming forward. Releasing the hands now just come straight forward with a flat back. I like palms up, Yin style, as it offers even more release. Try to sink down into the hip. This should be all about the hip and not the knee. The hips coming down to the ground parallel and even. All those Yogis whose butts were floating on mid air have now come forward with hips leaning over to one side. The body preferring to move away from the stretch of course. From my vantage point I can see them all loosing out on the benefits of the pose.

• Adjustments. Adjusting in pigeon is a very delicate affair. It is too easy to put pressure on someone’s knee. As always the first task is to find the right Yogi. The one in a good position for adjustment. Sorry all of you yogis with floating butts, no adjustment for you. Finding someone with parallel hips, I offer just a small adjustment here with one hand on the sacrum the other on spine between the shoulders. It is more of a lengthening of the spine than a push down into the hips. The yogi usually does the deepening themselves.
• Want more? After stretching for a while lift up the chest and place in on the thigh. Reach the left arm forward and across stretching all down the left side of the body.
• Still want more? Taking this a little further lift your left elbow and place it outside of the right thigh. Bring both hands to prayer position at the heart and push them towards the center of the breast bone in a twisted variation of pigeon.
• Still want more? Bring the left arm across the front of the mat, the right hand to the right knee opening up a twisted pigeon.
• Still want more? (Are you one of those “Type A” people?) Take the right hand behind your back and reach for the big toes of the front (right) foot. Finding a full twisted pigeon
• Still want more? You are in luck, we have to do the other side now.

King Pigeon

Butt off of the ground is correct in this pose

Every wondered why it’s called “one legged king pigeon pose”? Actually there is a “one legged pigeon pose II” leading up to the final pose King Pigeon. Ironically this pose is done kneeling so the butt is way in the air. I have included pictures so you can see where we are headed. King Pigeon is a humbling pose that certainly puts the floating butt into perspective, there’s no rushing Yoga. I can’t see me achieving King Pigeon unless reincarnation really happens

Reincarnation is my only hope

One last loose end, that wonderful new technique for Bird of Paradise, darn I am out of time. Here I go starting on my next 500 hours, sometime during that period I will share this insight, for sure.