Yoga Sequenz

Deep Hip Opening Yoga

Forty-five minutes building towards Pigeon Pose

Pigeon Pose is the shape most people mean when they say deep hip opening, and it is also the one most people drop into cold. This sequence takes the long way. Hip flexors first, then the outer hips standing, then the floor, and Pigeon only once the joint has been asked for that position several times already.

45 min · Level 2

Wann hilfreich

You already practise, Pigeon is either uncomfortable or unavailable, and you want a way in that is not just holding it longer. Forty-five minutes. A block and a blanket are useful, especially under the hip in Pigeon.

Physical effect

The standing block trains external rotation under load, which is what Pigeon asks for with the whole body weight on one hip. Fire Log holds the same rotation seated, and by the time Pigeon arrives the joint has done the movement four times already.

Energetic effect

Deep hip work is slow and often uncomfortable, and it tends to bring things up. The long holds are the point rather than a side effect. Apana Vayu, the downward flow, is what this practice works with.

Mental effect

A pose you have to earn feels different from a pose you force. That is the whole argument for the order below, and it holds for most things outside the mat as well.

Arrive

Kneeling and on all fours. Slow, and slower than feels necessary.

Virasana

2 min

Heldensitz

Sit on the heels, spine long, and take twenty breaths without changing anything.

Hero Pose is the most closed the hips get. It is a useful reading of the day before the practice starts moving.

Mehr über Virasana erfahren

Marjaryasana

1 min

Katzenpose

On all fours, round the back, chin towards the chest.

Cat starts the pelvic tilt that every pose in this sequence is built on.

Mehr über Marjaryasana erfahren

Bitilasana

1 min

Kuh Haltung

Belly down, chest and tailbone up, moving with the breath.

Cow is the counter movement. Between the two the lower back is warm before any weight goes through it.

Mehr über Bitilasana erfahren

Adhomukha Shvanasana

1 min

Herabschauender Hund

Hips high, heels heavy, knees soft if needed.

Downward Dog lengthens the hamstrings and the calves. Both limit the lunges that follow, and neither is the point of this practice.

Mehr über Adhomukha Shvanasana erfahren

Lengthen the front of the hips

Lunges with the pelvis facing forward. This is the closed hip position, and it comes first so it does not interrupt the open work later.

Utthan Pristhasana

3 min

Eidechse

Step one foot outside the hand, back knee down, and lower onto the forearms if the hip allows it. Ninety seconds each side.

Lizard is the deepest hip flexor stretch in this practice. Pigeon needs a long back hip flexor as much as it needs an open front hip, and this is where that gets built.

Mehr über Utthan Pristhasana erfahren

Parivrtta Anjaneyasana

2 min

Gedrehter Ausfallschritt

Back knee lifted, hands together at the chest, elbow across the opposite thigh. One minute each side.

The revolved lunge keeps the same hip position and adds a twist. Twists prepare the spine for the backbend that Pigeon quietly is.

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Parshvottanasana

2 min

Pyramide

Feet in line, hips square to the front, fold over the straight front leg. One minute each side.

Pyramid Pose keeps the pelvis forward and works the hamstring instead. It closes the forward facing block before the practice turns outward.

Mehr über Parshvottanasana erfahren

Tadasana

30 sec

Berghaltung

Feet together, arms by the sides, weight even.

Mountain Pose is the neutral point. The hips have been facing forward for seven minutes and are about to spend twelve minutes turned out.

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Turn the hips out

Wide legged standing poses. External rotation with body weight on it, which is exactly what Pigeon will ask for.

Virabhadrasana II

2 min

Krieger 2

Front knee over the ankle, back foot parallel to the back edge, arms long. One minute each side.

Warrior II is where external rotation becomes strength rather than stretch. Everything in this block builds on that position.

Mehr über Virabhadrasana II erfahren

Utthita Parsvakonasana

2 min

Seitwinkel

Forearm to thigh or hand to the floor, top arm reaching over the ear. One minute each side.

Side Angle deepens the same open hip and adds length through the side body, which Pigeon also needs.

Mehr über Utthita Parsvakonasana erfahren

Ardha Chandrasana

2 min

Halbmond

Hand or block under the shoulder, top leg parallel to the floor, chest open. One minute each side.

Half Moon takes the open hip onto one leg. Balance forces the outer hip muscles to hold the position instead of hanging in it.

Mehr über Ardha Chandrasana erfahren

Prasarita Padottanasana

90 sec

Weite stehende Vorbeuge

Feet wide and parallel, fold from the hips, crown towards the floor.

The wide legged fold works the inner thighs, and the head below the heart takes the pace down a step after three poses on one leg.

Mehr über Prasarita Padottanasana erfahren

Malasana

90 sec

Squad

Sink into a low squat, elbows against the inner knees, spine long.

Garland Pose is the last standing shape and the deepest one. It gathers the whole standing block into one position before the practice comes to the floor.

Mehr über Malasana erfahren

On the floor, towards the peak

Three seated poses, each one closer to what Pigeon asks for. None of them is a warm up in the polite sense.

Upavistha Konasana

2 min

Sitzender Winkel

Legs wide, walk the hands forward and keep the back flat rather than reaching for the floor.

Wide Angle Seated Forward Bend takes the inner thighs to their end range. It is the widest the hips get in this practice, and it follows the squat without letting the intensity drop.

Mehr über Upavistha Konasana erfahren

Parsva Sukhasana

2 min

Schneidersitz mit Seitbeuge

Cross legged, one hand to the floor, the other arm over the ear. One minute each side.

A seated side bend between two deep forward folds. The side body has been closing since the squat and this opens it again before the last preparation.

Mehr über Parsva Sukhasana erfahren

Agni Stambhasana

3 min

Agni Stambhasana

Shins stacked, ankle over the opposite knee, sit up tall before folding at all. Ninety seconds each side.

Fire Log is Pigeon sitting down. The same outer hip, the same rotation, none of the body weight. If this is sharp, Pigeon will be too, and this is the place to find that out.

Mehr über Agni Stambhasana erfahren

Pigeon

The peak of the practice. Two minutes each side, and a blanket under the hip so the pelvis stays level.

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana

4 min

Einbeinige Königstaube

Front shin forward, back leg long, hips square. Stay upright first, then fold only if the pelvis stays even.

One Legged King Pigeon is the deepest external rotation of the sequence, with a long back hip flexor at the same time. It is the one pose that needs both halves of what this practice has been doing.

Mehr über Eka Pada Rajakapotasana erfahren

Come down

Nothing from here lifts the body back up, and nothing asks for effort again.

Balasana

90 sec

Stellung des Kindes

Knees wide, forehead down, arms forward or back alongside the body.

Child's Pose is the reset after the hardest pose. The hips close again, and the back that just worked in Pigeon gets to be round.

Mehr über Balasana erfahren

Supta Kaptasana

2 min

Liegende Taube

On your back, ankle across the opposite knee, hold behind the bottom thigh. One minute each side.

Reclining Pigeon is the same shape with the floor doing the work. After the standing version, this is where the muscle finally lets go.

Mehr über Supta Kaptasana erfahren

Ananda Balasana

90 sec

Happy Baby

Outer edges of the feet, knees towards the armpits, lower back heavy.

Happy Baby opens the hips and releases the lower back at the same time. It is the last pose that asks for anything.

Mehr über Ananda Balasana erfahren

Apanasana

1 min

Knie zur Brust

Knees in, arms around the shins, breathe wide into the back.

Knees to Chest brings the hips back to neutral so the body does not leave the practice held open.

Mehr über Apanasana erfahren

Savasana

5 min

Totenstellung

Legs long, palms up, nothing to do.

Savasana after deep hip work is not optional. The joint keeps changing for several minutes after you stop asking anything of it.

Mehr über Savasana erfahren

Integration

If Pigeon is still sharp at the end of this sequence, the answer is not more Pigeon. It is more of everything that comes before it, and a blanket under the hip so the pelvis stays level. Nothing about the hips changes quickly. What does change is that the same shape stops feeling like a negotiation. The seven day hip opening programme alternates this sequence with the shorter one so the joint gets both depth and repetition.

Der Mensch hinter dieser Sequenz

Manish Rana

Gründer & Autor

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