Athletes have a love/hate relationship with pigeon pose. Most who hate it at first do so because it hits all the tight places in athletic hips. Once those release, folks learn to love it. But in its traditional orientation, facing downward, pigeon pose can be far too intense in an athletic body, causing more trouble than it solves. That's where changing the pose's orientation to gravity can be really useful. Practicing the leg action of pigeon (external rotation and abduction) from your back helps you target the stretch while holding your back in neutral alignment. It's much safer for your knees, since—provided you move into it safely—it doesn't transfer any tightness from the hip directly to the knee joint. On this video, just posted at Competitor.com, I discuss and demonstrate how to safely get yourself into pigeon pose. If you like it, feel free to add a comment at the video's original site.


Sage Rountree is a nationally recognized authority on yoga for athletes and an expert endurance sports coach. An Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance, Sage teaches workshops on yoga for athletes nationwide. She holds coaching certifications from USA Triathlon, USA Cycling, and the Road Runners Club of America, and she writes for Runner's World, Yoga Journal Online, and Endurance Magazine.  Visit her website at http://www.sagerountree.com/