Hip opening: pigeon and lizard

Setup

1. Mats an arm's length apart; two blocks and a folded blanket per student, plus a bolster if there are some.
2. Students arrive warm; a few sun salutations or the low lunges below come first.
3. Anyone pregnant, recovering from injury or surgery, or with a medical condition should check with a health professional and tell the teacher before class. Anyone with knee or hip problems can take figure-four on the back for every pigeon round.

How it runs

1. Warm the hips, 4 minutes: cat-cow, then low lunge (Anjaneyasana) with a blanket under the back knee, five breaths each side, hips easing forward on the exhale.
2. Lizard (Utthan Pristhasana), five to eight breaths each side: from low lunge, both hands inside the front foot on blocks, back knee down. Stay upright on the hands or lower to forearms on the blocks. The front knee points over the toes.
3. Figure-four on the back (Supine Sucirandhrasana), 1 minute each side: lying down, cross the right ankle over the left thigh and draw the left knee in, holding behind the thigh or with a strap. This is a full option for anyone whose knees don't like pigeon.
4. Pigeon prep (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana variation): from tabletop, bring the right knee behind the right wrist, shin at an angle that keeps the knee comfortable, front foot flexed. Slide a block or folded blanket under the right hip so the hips are level, back leg long. Five breaths upright with hands on blocks.
5. Fold in pigeon: walk the hands forward onto forearms, a block or a bolster, and stay 1–2 minutes at a mild stretch, breathing slowly. Come out slowly through tabletop and repeat on the left.
6. Finish lying on the back, feet wide and knees falling side to side like windscreen wipers, then rest.

Coaching points

• Stretch sensation in the hip and buttock is fine; any feeling in the knee means change to figure-four.
• Prop the front hip so the pelvis is level and the knee isn't twisted.
• Flex the front foot to protect the knee in pigeon and figure-four.
• Exhale to soften; never bounce or push deeper.

Common mistakes

• Forcing the front shin parallel to the front of the mat.
• Dropping onto one hip in pigeon without a prop.
• The front knee collapsing inward in lizard.
• Coming out of the fold quickly.