Most students come to yoga class seeking relief for tight hips.  In fact, the most common request for yoga teachers is for “hip openers". Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana) is one of the best poses to open hips. Your hips do a lot of work and that takes a toll. Short, tight hip muscles can reduce your range of motion throughout the joint, weaken your glutes, and tilt your pelvis, causing excessive curvature in your spine as well as low backaches.

There are many advantages to practicing Pigeon Pose including... 

 Physical benefits: 

• Opens hip joint
• Lengthens hip flexor
• Stretches thighs
• Stretches gluteals
• Stretches piriformis muscles
• Extends groin and psoas

Collateral benefits:

• Helps with urinary disorder
• Stimulates the internal organs
• Increases hip flexibility
• Improves posture
• Improves alignment
• Improves suppleness
• Lessens or alleviates sciatic pain
• Reduces lower back pain and stiffness

Emotional benefits: It is a primal reaction to store stress, trauma, fear and anxiety in the hips.  These bottled up feelings create tight hips. Pigeon Pose opens the hips and releases negative energy stored in your system. So, are you ready to confront your unresolved emotions? The body and mind are connected, so take it one step at a time. Acknowledge the emotion or experience you are working through and allow yourself to let go. When moving into Pigeon Pose, be cautious and go slow.