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- Hey everybody, and 
welcome to Yoga With Adriene.

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I am Adriene, and 
today we are going to learn

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one of my favorite poses:
Pigeon or One-Legged Pigeon.

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Super yummy posture, 
I know I say that a lot,

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but it really 
is a yummy posture.

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Sorry, I can't 
stop saying yummy.

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Let's hop on the mat,
and learn Pigeon.

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(upbeat music)

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Okay so we're going 
to begin on all fours.

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And I'm going to 
take my left toes,

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extend through my left leg,
take a deep breath in.

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Spreading through the toes,

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and on an exhale I'm 
going to carve a line

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with my left knee all the way up
towards the front of the mat.

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You can also 
come into this posture

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from Downward Facing Dog,

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but today I'm gonna 
take it nice and slow.

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I'm gonna take my right toes 
now draw a line straight down

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towards the 
bottom edge of my mat.

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Now I'm kind of in a half-split
here, One-Legged Pigeon.

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From here I'm gonna press 
up and out of my fingertips.

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So I'm already beginning to
create a little bit of support

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in my spine so I'm not 
just collapsing into my hips

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or collapsing into my bones.
No dead weight.

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But I'm maintaining that lift in
the heart here, that open chest.

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Now, I'm gonna take my attention
to my left heel, my left foot.

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I'm going to 
slowly walk my left foot

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towards the right edge 
of the mat, nice and slow.

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All the time in yoga,
and in life,

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but really especially here,

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I advise you to go nice 
and slow and be mindful.

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So let the pose unfold, 
no dropping into anything here.

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Left toes are crawling 
towards the right edge,

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and it's here that I maybe 
come into my palms,

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and I bring my 
awareness now to the left hip.

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I'm not forgetting 
about this right leg, okay?

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In my opinion we 
often just kind of forget

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about this leg when 
we can really engage

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through the top of 
this right foot supporting.

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I'm opening up 
through the right hip crease

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and then I'm finding 
that external rotation

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in the left hip.

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So I have two things 
going on in each leg.

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I'm breathing, finding 
that lift in the heart.

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Now if you're nowhere near this,

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I wasn't always able to drop

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into this deep 
of a posture here,

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so a couple things:

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You can stay lifted.

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Again that's why 
I'm maintaining this

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space in the chest 
and this kind of integrity

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from the crown of the 
head to the tip of the tailbone

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is important so that 
we're not just dropping in,

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straining anything in 
the knee or in those hips.

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We can use a 
block here to stay up.

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This may be the pose 
for a long time for you,

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breathing slowly again, 
releasing into the posture,

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letting it unfold 
rather than driving it in.

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You can have the 
block at any level.

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Sometimes if you don't have
a block you can use the wall.

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Just kind of a
little steady support.

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I might just stay here.

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Breathing, 
softening on the exhale.

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Keeping the heart 
lifted on the inhale.

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To go a little further, again,
I'm going to bring my awareness

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to the front of 
that right hip crease.

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Come onto my fingertips here.

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I can keep my block 
there for the next step.

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I'm gonna want to 
make sure that I don't roll

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onto my outer edge of the hips.
So right now I'm letting you see

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the opening of 
the right hip crease,

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but in a second I'll 
switch and we'll look

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at this external 
rotation of the hip.

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But for now, I'm trying to stay
centered here, pressing into the

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top of that back foot 
for a little stability.

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And then I believe, 
(laughs), I believe

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I believe!

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I'll begin, I don't 
know why I said believe,

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I'll begin to slowly 
melt the heart down.

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I can just bring 
the palms to the mat,

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again, using my arms to support,

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or maybe in time 
I come to the forearms.

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Voilà!

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Maybe in time I come to rest
all the way on the forehead.

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Again, in time,
letting the pose unfold,

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or use my block or any of 
those steps along the way.

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It's nice sometimes,
a little restorative

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to rest the forehead.

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Couple of extra action points:

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We already talked about keeping

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that engaging 
quality in the back leg.

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Same thing with this foot here.

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Keep a little 
bit of a brightness.

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My buddy Chris 
Shea always asks me,

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"What do you 
mean by brightness?"

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I mean the little bit of energy,

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a little bit of 
awareness in that left foot.

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This will protect the knee,
keep everything engaged.

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Often you'll see, especially
with the internet these days,

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you'll see people 
with a nice open

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leg here, kind of right angle.

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That's fabuloso if you're 
very flexible in your hips.

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Be mindful of where you're at.

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Maybe drawing this heel 
in as close as the groin

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to begin and then 
slowly, slowly in time,

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again, letting it unfold,
walking it out.

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And just seeing where you're at.

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Keeping those shoulders drawing
down and away from the ears.

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Shoulder blades in and together,

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and then finding 
your Pigeon Pose.

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I'm gonna press into 
the palms to come up.

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I'm going to curl 
my back toes under,

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come back to all fours.

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I can take a quick 
Downward Dog here if I like.

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I just wanna show the other side

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by extending the right toes out.

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And then carving a 
line with the right knee in.

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I'm staying on the 
center line here as I allow

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my left toes now to go towards
the back edge of the mat.

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And again, breathing 
into that left hip crease,

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and then I slowly start 
to inch my right toes out

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towards the 
left edge of the mat.

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And then each side 
is different of course,

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so be mindful of that.

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Again, I can use the block here

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or the wall for 
a little support.

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Keeping the heart 
lifted here, long belly,

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shoulder blades in,
together and down.

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If this hip starts to 
externally rotate over,

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maybe lift up a little bit so we
can start to unfold that space.

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So if we're just kind 
of hanging on the hip

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we're kind of 
cheating ourselves a little bit

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of the stretch, of the opening.

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So maybe come up a little bit.

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Engage the belly,
navel to spine.

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Opening the chest, 
drawing the shoulders down.

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We can also take a block 
and bring it to the hip here

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for a little support.
Ooh that is great.

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Long, smooth, deep breaths.

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Or I can keep my 
block here for stability

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and use a blankie to 
kind of support here,

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lifting the earth up 
to my hip, top my bum.

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And then same thing here, 
keeping the chest open,

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I can find what 
feels good, ding!

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Finding what feels good for
your forehead on the block.

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Maybe coming to the 
forearms in due time.

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Maybe you're 
rockin' and rollin' today

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gonna bring the 
forehead all the way down

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and find a mudra.

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Just experimenting but 
being mindful no matter what.

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Same thing here, 
I press into the palms.

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Lift back to all 
fours to come out,

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and then send it back,
Extended Child's Pose.

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Aww, perfect.

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That was One-Legged 
Pigeon or Pigeon Pose.

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Great hip opener, 
great heart opener.

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I love Pigeon.

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It's also the name of 
one of my favorite songs

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from one of my 
favorite bands, Tennis.

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"Pigeon", it's a good song,
check it out.

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If you have any 
questions or comments

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please leave it 
below in the comment box.

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I love hearing your feedback.

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subscribed to the channel,

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subscribe to 
the channel already!

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Thank you so much. 
Enjoy Pigeon, and Namaste.

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(upbeat music)