Yoga Sequence

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

When it helps

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

Hero Pose

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.

Learn more about Virasana

Marjaryasana

1 min

Cat Pose

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

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

Learn more about Marjaryasana

Bitilasana

1 min

Cow Pose

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.

Learn more about Bitilasana

Adhomukha Shvanasana

1 min

Downward-Facing Dog

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.

Learn more about Adhomukha Shvanasana

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

Lizard Pose

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.

Learn more about Utthan Pristhasana

Parivrtta Anjaneyasana

2 min

Revolved Crescent Lunge

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.

Learn more about Parivrtta Anjaneyasana

Parshvottanasana

2 min

Pyramid Pose

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.

Learn more about Parshvottanasana

Tadasana

30 sec

Mountain Pose

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.

Learn more about Tadasana

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

Warrior II

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.

Learn more about Virabhadrasana II

Utthita Parsvakonasana

2 min

Extended Side Angle Pose

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.

Learn more about Utthita Parsvakonasana

Ardha Chandrasana

2 min

Half Moon Pose

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.

Learn more about Ardha Chandrasana

Prasarita Padottanasana

90 sec

Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend

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.

Learn more about Prasarita Padottanasana

Malasana

90 sec

Garland Pose

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.

Learn more about Malasana

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

Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend

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.

Learn more about Upavistha Konasana

Parsva Sukhasana

2 min

Seated Side Bend

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.

Learn more about Parsva Sukhasana

Agni Stambhasana

3 min

Fire Log Pose

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.

Learn more about Agni Stambhasana

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

One-Legged King Pigeon

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.

Learn more about Eka Pada Rajakapotasana

Come down

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

Balasana

90 sec

Child's Pose

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.

Learn more about Balasana

Supta Kaptasana

2 min

Reclining Pigeon Pose

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.

Learn more about Supta Kaptasana

Ananda Balasana

90 sec

Happy Baby Pose

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.

Learn more about Ananda Balasana

Apanasana

1 min

Knees to Chest Pose

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.

Learn more about Apanasana

Savasana

5 min

Corpse Pose

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.

Learn more about Savasana

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.

The teacher behind this sequence

Manish Rana

Founder & Author

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