How to Do Pigeon Pose—In a Way That Works for Your Body

In Yoga Journal’s Archives series, we share a curated collection of articles originally published in past issues beginning in 1975. This article about Pigeon Pose first appeared in the July-August 1987 issue of Yoga Journal. Find more of our Archives here.

“All knowledge comes from the skin!” declared B.K.S. Iyengar nearly a decade ago during a class of intense backbends at his institute in Pune.¹ And certainly, after we had dropped back from Sirsasana II (Tripod Headstand) into Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow) a dozen times, and flipped our legs from the smooth marble platform onto the cool slate floor another dozen times in Viparita Chakrasana (Inverted Staff Pose), the skin of my chest felt invigorated indeed, and my brain felt clear and alive. But what did his cryptic statement really mean?

In Ashley Montagu’s Touching: The Human Significance of the Skin, I found the beginnings of an answer. “Body awareness,” he writes, “is produced through stimulation of the body, chiefly through the skin, and this commences at birth, if not before.”²

According to Montagu, the long period of labor a human mother undergoes—eight to 14 hours, on average—is necessary to prepare the newborn infant for the change of environment it will encounter outside the womb. During childbirth, the “contraction of the mother’s uterus upon the body of the fetus stimulates the peripheral sensory nerves in the skin.”³ A stream of nervous impulses from the skin arouses the autonomic nervous system and thereby sets in motion the independent functioning of all the internal systems that sustain our life, including digestion, elimination, and respiration. Tactile experience continues to be important in the development of breathing patterns through infancy and early childhood.

This intimate relationship between the skin and the breath was recognized by yogis centuries ago in the symbolism of the fourth chakra. According to the kundalini system, the fourth chakra, called the anahata chakra, is located in the region of the heart. It is associated with the element air, which constitutes breath, and with the sense of touch, whose organ of perception is the skin. Whereas the sense of sight is the basis of much that divides and separates us from one another—such as racial prejudice and judgments about dress and physical appearance—the sense of touch communicates without images and opinions and brings us together at the deepest level of our humanity. Thus touch is naturally linked with the heart chakra: compassion, love, friendship, and healing.

In his early experiments with yoga, B. K. S. Iyengar discovered that healing takes place in the body through movement and stimulation of the skin. “When I did yoga in the early days,” he recalls, “I transpired tremendously. The smell of my perspiration was unbearable because of diseases I had when I was young which were never treated. . . . When I noticed the water gradually changing, my attention went onto the skin. . . . I asked myself what is the skin’s duty while performing asanas; is it just an anatomical cover of the body, or is it an organ of perception? . . . Is my skin connected to my body, or outside my body? If it is connected to the body, then it should also move. . . . When I started moving the skin, the smell started disappearing, and I realized why ancient people said the skin is an organ of perception. . . . That is why, even today, my emphasis is on the skin.”⁷

As B.K. S. Iyengar maintains, “The quality of the skin will tell the quality of the organs inside.”⁸ Thus, where the skin of the front rib cage is tight and insensitive, the intercostal muscles are contracted, and the section of lung directly behind will not fully receive the breath.

You can experience for yourself how the skin of the rib cage affects the nature and quality of the breath by trying this two-part experiment. First, lie in Savasana (Corpse Pose) and think only of your lungs. When you focus your attention on the lungs, how does the breath move in the lungs? In the rib cage? In the abdomen? Then bring your awareness to the skin of the rib cage, and allow the front rib cage and side rib cage to feel open and porous. Is there any change in the movement of the rib cage or abdomen, or in the quality of the breath?

For most people, the breath feels narrow and restricted when awareness is held in the lungs. There may be a gentle heaving of the abdomen, but the side rib cage is virtually motionless, and only the sternum seems to lift. But when the awareness rests lightly on the skin of the rib cage, a deep response is evoked from within. The rib cage rises to the surface like the swell of the sea and broadens out to the sides. Without any conscious effort to breathe more deeply, the lungs become softer and more expansive.

During your asana practice in the coming week, I suggest that you bring your awareness to the skin of the rib cage and observe how this enhances your breath in the various poses. In standing poses, where the arms are extended outwards or overhead, create an openness of the skin at the sides of the rib cage to help in broadening the upper chest. In forward bends, release the skin of the back rib cage so that the diaphragm also widens and softens, moving you deeper into the pose. In backbends, where the front of the body is intensely stretched, let the skin of the front rib cage soften, to create space between the ribs and to facilitate the lift of the chest.

The release of the front rib cage is especially important in advanced backbends such as Eka Pada Rajakapotasana I, where the breath often becomes short and labored because of pressure on the diaphragm. As its name suggests, Eka Pada Rajakapotasana I is traditionally associated with the upper chest, and thus with the fourth or heart chakra. It is called Eka Pada (One Leg) Rajakapotasana (King Pigeon Pose) because the chest is puffed up and lifted like a pigeon’s (Figure 1).

The pose also bears a striking resemblance to figures on a fifth-century stone relief entitled “Pair of Leogryphs,” which I saw last year at the Essence of Indian Art Exhibition at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. In this sculpture, the two attendant figures who crouch beneath a pair of rampant mythological beasts both have their right legs positioned as for Eka Pada Rajakapotasana I, and they are raising an arm overhead with a courageous gesture that opens the chest.⁹

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana I should not be attempted until you have mastered the beginning- and intermediate-level backbends, such as Salabhasana (Locust Pose), Dhanurasana (Bow Pose), Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog Pose), and Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow Pose). You should also be familiar with Viparita Dandasana (Inverted Staff Pose).¹⁰

When you begin the practice of an advanced pose like Eka Pada Rajakapotasana I, first break the pose down into sequence, like building blocks, so that you understand what each part of the body is meant to do. Then relate each aspect or segment of the pose to a movement you have learned in a more basic pose.

In the first variation of Eka Pada Rajakapotasana I, let your focus be primarily on the stretch of the front thigh and the release of the lower abdomen. For, just as tightness of the hamstrings limits the rotation of the pelvis in forward bends, tightness of the quadriceps (front thigh muscles) restricts the lift of the pelvis in backbends, especially the Kapotasana series. Start by coming onto your hands and knees as for a pelvic tilt. Slide the right knee toward the outer right hand with the right heel directly beneath the left groin area. Then slide the left leg back, making sure that the median line of the thigh stays in contact with the floor, and the left foot is pointing directly back (Figure 3).

If the thigh of the bent leg does not touch the floor when you slide the other leg back, place a bolster or folded blanket beneath the front hip to support the pelvis. Check that the blanket is high enough to prevent the pelvis from tilting to one side. A teacher or partner can assist by rolling the upper thigh in and checking that the sides of the pelvis are level (Figure 4).

If you feel any discomfort in the lower back, keep your hands forward of the bent knee, and concentrate on the extension of the back leg. If there is no discomfort, slide your hands back until they are directly beneath your shoulders (Figure 3). You may need to come onto your fingertips if the palms do not easily reach the floor. Now extend the back leg so that the kneecap lifts off the floor and the buttock feels firm. Let the skin of the lower abdomen move up toward the navel, creating a lift of the pelvis. Then roll your shoulders back and extend your arms as if you were doing Urdhva Mukha Svanasana into the back so that the upper chest lifts and broadens. Hold for a minute, then repeat to the other side.

In the next preparation for Eka Pada Rajakapotasana, we create a lift of the pelvis by placing a blanket roll across the lower abdomen. First roll the blanket tightly until it is four to five inches in diameter. Then come up on your hands and knees, with your hands on the blanket roll, and slide the left knee forward until the left heel is under the right groin area. Before sliding the right leg back, press the blanket roll into the abdomen just above the pubic bone. Use the blanket like a rolling pin to lift the lower abdominal muscles up toward the navel. Then slide the right leg back and place your hands on the floor. The support of the blanket against the abdominal wall allows the deeper muscles of the pelvic basin (especially the psoas) to release and lengthen.

If you were able to bring your hands directly beneath the shoulders in the first variation of Eka Pada Rajakapotasana I (Figure 3) without discomfort in the lower back, you are ready to work on opening the upper chest. Repeat the first variation as described earlier, but this time place your hands together behind the back in namaste position, as for Parsvottanasana (Intense Side Stretch). Let your hands bring awareness to the lift of the upper spine, so that the whole rib cage moves up over your hands. More flexible students can allow the head to drop back. Hold this position for half a minute, then repeat to the other side (Figure 6).

For the next sequence, you will need a long strap and a slightly higher blanket under your front hip. Repeat the first variation of Eka Pada Rajakapotasana I with the right leg extended back (Figure 3). Then bend your right leg and place the strap around the ankle, turning your right arm so that the elbow points to the ceiling. Now raise the left arm to grasp the strap as well (Figure 7). At this point, check very carefully that the median line of the back thigh is in contact with the floor. If the inner knee or inner thigh is touching the floor, your pelvis is tilted to the bent-leg side, which may cause painful compression in the lumbar or sacrum. If you cannot bring the pelvis to a level position by increasing the height of your blanket, or if you feel any discomfort in the lower back, you are not ready to practice this final sequence.

With your hands grasping the strap overhead, lift the backs of your arms and the tips of your elbows directly toward the ceiling, so that the back rib cage remains absolutely vertical. Do not let your head drop back. Then, with the help of the strap, move the right shin away from the chest, and the chest away from the shin (Figure 7). This movement reminds me of Dhanurasana (Bow Pose), where the legs press away from the upper back to create a broad rainbow arch of the spine and legs. Hold this position for half a minute, pressing the right leg into the strap and lifting the rib cage forward and up. Then repeat to the other side.

For the final variation of Eka Pada Rajakapotasana I, place a strap around the ankle of the back leg as described earlier, then walk your hands along the strap, bringing the back foot nearer to the head (Figure 8). Remember to lengthen the back of the arms toward the elbows, just as you do in Pincha Mayurasana (Elbow Balance) or Viparita Dandasana (Inverted Staff Pose), stretching the skin of the outer armpits to create space in the shoulder joints. In Eka Pada Rajakapotasana I, when the upper arms lift without disturbing the position of the rib cage, the lower back is protected from overcompression.

If your hands come close to the back foot, press both knees into the floor to lift the pelvis and lengthen the spine before taking hold of the toes. When your grasp is firm, bring the sole of the foot nearer to the crown of the head (Figure 2). Remember that the breath in Eka Pada Rajakapotasana I may throb as quickly as a bird’s in the upper chest. Try to pacify the breath by releasing the skin of the front chest and creating space between the ribs.

Many students of yoga have wondered why B. K. S. Iyengar does not work directly with the breath in asana practice. I think the answer lies here: in working directly with the breath, we tend to impose a conscious or arbitrary pattern on the breath, whereas in working indirectly through movement and awareness of the skin, we set in motion the self-regulating mechanisms of the body, and so allow the breath to find its natural rhythm and shape. Just as a mother’s touch can bring the infant’s respiratory system to maturity, so in our yoga practice we need to nurture ourselves to improve the quality of our breath, that is, to improve the quality of our response to life. This nurturing takes place through our own awareness, which is nothing else than the healing touch of the mind.

NOTES

1. B. K. S. Iyengar, personal communication, October 6, 1977.
2. Ashley Montagu, Touching: The Human Significance of the Skin (New York: Harper & Row, 1978), p. 208.
3. Ibid., p. 50.
4. Quoted by Ashley Montagu, ibid., p. 91.
5. Ibid., p. 91.
6. Carol Cavanaugh, “An Interview with B.K.S. Iyengar,” The IYTE Review, vol. 2, no. 5, January 1982, pp. 3–4.
7. Ibid., p. 4.
8. B. N. Goswamy, Essence of Indian Art (San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 1986), p. 186.
9. For descriptions of all poses mentioned in this article, see B. K. S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga (London: Allen & Unwin, 1976).