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Lower back, hips, knees and ankles

Pigeon: Classic

A deep hip-opening stretch that targets the muscles around your outer hip and deep rotators, helping to release tension that often contributes to back and hip discomfort.

Hip Mobility60 to 180 seconds
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How to do it

  1. 1

    Bring one shin forward and slide the back leg long

    Front shin across in front of you, back leg straight behind, back hip pointing down.

  2. 2

    Level your hips before you fold anywhere

    If the front hip hovers off the floor, put a block underneath it. Folding over an unlevel pelvis is what makes this shape uncomfortable.

  3. 3

    Walk your hands forward and fold over the front leg

    This is what makes it the fullest version of the shape: the forward fold adds length down the back of the leg on top of the work deep in the hip. Go only as far as your hips stay level.

  4. 4

    Look after both ends of the legs

    Keep the front foot flexed to protect that knee, and tuck the toes of the back foot under if the front of the ankle objects.

  5. 5

    Stay one to three minutes, then change sides

    Come up on your hands before you swap, and take a breath in between.

What to watch for

The fold is what makes this the strongest version, adding pull down the back of the leg on top of the deep hip work. If anything starts travelling down the leg, come back up to upright and stay there, or lie on your back with the ankle crossed over the opposite knee.

Ways to adjust it

  • Block under hip
  • Upright
  • Reclined Figure-4
  • Foot flexed mandatory
  • Toes tucked back foot

If this one is too much today

Try the gentler version instead. It asks less of you and does much the same work.

Other ways to do this movement

Every version below is the same movement set up differently, so one of them usually suits. See all Pigeon Pose versions in one place, ordered from gentlest to strongest.

Before you try it

Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.

One movement is a start. A session is the thing.

A few questions about your body and how it is today, and Vinys builds a session around it, including which movements to leave out.

Start your first session

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.