May 19, 2025 • 15 mins
Some students need to be extremely cautious when it comes to poses like Pigeon, Fire Log, and even Butterfly. Excessive hip movement that's required in these poses can lead to labral tears, hip impingement, and even chronic pain.
These poses primarily target the hip joints, which are in a position of flexion, external rotation, and abduction. And Pigen pose is the #1 culprit... and I'll explain why.
In this episode, I’m going to discuss hip openers and one common injury associated with them. Ever heard of a labral tear?
Referenced in this episode:
Ep 72: When to Refer Out: Recognizing the Limits of Your Scope
YouTube: Half Pigeon Pose: How to Avoid Pain & Injury
Click HERE to send me a text & let me know your thoughts on this episode!
YouTube: Yoga with Monica Bright
Freebie: Yoga Sequencing for Different Injuries
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Monica (00:00):
Some students really need to be cautious when it
comes to poses like pigeon firelog, and even butterfly pose.
The excessive movement requiredof the hip can lead to labral
tears, hip impingement, and evenchronic or persistent.
Pain.
(00:21):
These poses primarily target thehip joints, which are in a
position of flexion, externalrotation and abduction.
In this episode, I'm going todiscuss hip openers and an
injury associated with them.
Have you ever heard of a labraltear?
(00:41):
Welcome to the EssentialConversations for Yoga Teachers
Podcast with me.
I'm Monica Bright and I've beenteaching yoga and running my
yoga business for over a decade.
This is the podcast for you.
If you are a yoga teacher,you're looking for support.
You love to be in conversation,and you're a lifelong student.
(01:05):
In this podcast, I'll share withyou.
My life as a yoga teacher, thelessons I've learned, my process
for building my business andhelpful ideas, tools, strategies
and systems I use and you canuse so that your business
thrives.
We'll cover a diverse range oftopics that will help you,
(01:27):
whether you're just starting outor you've got years under your
belt and you wanna dive deep andset yourself up for success.
I am so glad you're here.
Listen, I don't take myself tooseriously, so expect to hear
some laughs along the way.
Now let's do this together.
(01:50):
welcome back to the podcast.
I'm Monica, and I'm so glad youare here.
Today we are discussing a bigtopic in yoga, hip openers.
Everyone wants hip openers.
It seems first.
What is a hip opener?
Most teachers are taught that ahip opener is external rotation.
(02:15):
Sure, that's one hip opener, butany movement you do with a hip
flexion, extension, abduction.
Abduction, internal and externalrotation.
These are all hip openers.
It's just what are you openingthe hip for is the question.
(02:37):
If you're working up to wheelpose, you don't necessarily need
to teach a lot of hip.
External rotation.
Instead, you teach more hipextension because that's what's
required for wheel pose.
Some students really need to becautious when it comes to poses
like pigeon fire log and evenbutterfly pose.
(03:01):
The excessive movement requiredof the hip can lead to labral
tears, hip impingement, and evenpersistent pain.
These poses primarily target thehip joints, which are in a
position of flexion, externalrotation, and abduction.
Imagine this in your mind.
(03:22):
In hip flexion, the hips arebent, bringing the thighs closer
to the torso.
This stretches the glutes anddeep external rotators of the
hip, like the piriformis.
Then there's hip ab abductionwhere the thighs move away from
the midline of the body,engaging the TFL or the tensor
fascia, Lata and the gluteusmedias.
(03:44):
And finally, there's hip.
External rotation where thethigh bone or the femur rotates
outward in the hip socket.
This is where the deep hiprotators come into play.
I'll break down the anatomy orthe red flags that most teachers
miss, and most importantly, whatto do instead.
(04:07):
So let's get into it.
First, the cultural obsessionwith yoga is that it glorifies
extreme external rotation.
Like deep pigeon poses oftenseen as a sign of an advanced
practice, but for many, itreally is a fast track to
(04:28):
injury.
Have you ever heard of a labraltear?
It's a common injury in studentswho practice yoga.
So let's back up and talkanatomy really quickly.
The labrum is a cartilage ringthat stabilizes the hip socket.
It absorbs.
Shock when you walk and jump,and it helps to distribute
(04:52):
weight and stress around thejoint to help reduce joint wear
and tear.
Tears happen from repetitivepinching.
That's an impingement.
Overstretching overuse as wellas degenerative conditions.
Symptoms can include pain,instability, stiffness.
(05:15):
Oh, and clicking and popping.
I've mentioned before thatclicking and popping sounds
aren't always an issue, but ifthey are accompanied by pain,
then they definitely need to belooked into.
So who's at risk students withfemoral acetabular impingement,
(05:36):
which is abnormal hip bone shapewhere the femur bone and the
acetabulum, that's the hipsocket come too close with one
another and either causefriction or pinch soft tissues
that surround the joint.
Also students withhypermobility, often their
ligaments are too lax to protectthe joint and students who are
(06:00):
also athletes or dancers or playother sports commonly have
preexisting wear and tear on thejoint.
I'm gonna say something reallycontroversial here, but bear
with me because I'll explain it.
Pigeon pose is the number oneoffender.
(06:21):
Okay, pigeon pose combines deephip flexion, external rotation,
and abduction, the perfect stormfor an anterior hip pinch.
Oftentimes the femur is jammedinto the socket and posterior
ligament strain as a student isconstantly overstretching the
(06:43):
joint capsule, trying to getdeeper into the stretch.
It is the number one offenderbecause 98% of Vinyasa classes
end with half pigeon in thesequence.
Why?
I don't know.
It's not necessary, but I wastaught to end my classes with a
(07:05):
juicy half pigeon.
We can teach different posesthat.
Open the hips if that's whatyou're looking for, like a
supine figure for, my favoriteway to practice it is without
hands, so that students don'tforce themselves into a deeper
stretch than necessary.
Here's some red flags in classfor you to be mindful of.
(07:28):
Number one.
Do you notice that your studentsare wincing or shifting their
weight to one side?
Number two, can your studentshear clicking or popping in the
hip?
Again, this is not alwaysharmful, but it's also not
always harmless.
And number three, do yourstudents experience any pain in
(07:49):
the front of the hip or in thegroin?
It could be an indicator of alabrum or a SOAs issue.
Ask yourself these questions.
Their answers can inform yourteaching and your sequencing a
lot.
I have a student who does notlike half pigeon, and they are a
regular student, so I wanted tothink of my sequencing
(08:11):
differently.
And now I rarely teach halfpigeon.
I do, but not too often.
How did I change up mysequencing?
That's a great question.
And here are some alternatives.
I incorporate mobility, jointcontrol, joint movement, and
joint strengthening.
(08:33):
I teach a lot of movements thatdon't.
Technically have a yoga posename instead.
They're the movements.
I need to prepare students'bodies for what we're doing in
that class.
I teach active mobility overpassive stretching a lot.
Now, I don't cut out passivestretching completely, But I
want students to connect totheir bodies in a different way
(08:57):
outside of stretching as areplacement for pigeon, I might
also teach a 90 90 hip stretch.
This is less extreme on the hipof the back leg because the knee
is bent, and it also helps tokeep the femur centered and not
jammed into the hip socket.
As a replacement for fire log,which is also called Double
(09:17):
Pigeon, unstack the Shins, andjust cross them.
I add mobility by leaning backon the hands and teaching
students to lift their leg andcontrol the movement of it.
if you can imagine that, you cansee how this doesn't have a yoga
pose name, but it's a movementthat I can teach that helps
(09:38):
students become more aware oftheir joint movement and
control.
I know clamshells get a bad rap,but I still love to teach them.
I teach a lot of standing hiprotations or cars, if you're
familiar with FRCA lot, again,they're controlled rotations
(10:00):
just in a different orientationwith an added balance challenge
as well.
I always suggest that studentstake strength and resistance
classes outside of yoga.
In those classes, they willlikely do banded lateral walks
with resistance bands, and theseare excellent for strengthening
(10:20):
the hips, which yoga studentsneed.
If your students love pigeon andwant to continue practicing it,
prop it up, Sit on a block.
You can keep the heel underneaththe hip and not take your shin
diagonal across the mat.
You could also limit the amountof breaths you keep students
(10:41):
here to prohibit students fromsinking in deep into the
stretch.
What should you do?
When you think you need to referout, if you notice that a
student has pain that lingersmore than 48 hours after a
practice, that's probably a goodtime to see someone clicking.
(11:03):
Locking sensations during dailyactivities like walking or
limited range of motion, notjust tightness.
I have an entire podcast episodededicated to referring out.
It is episode number 72, when torefer out, recognizing the
(11:23):
limits of your scope, and I'lllink it below for you.
Let me end by reiterating thathip.
Openers aren't inherently evil,but they're overly practiced.
As teachers, we can help ourstudents by resisting the urge
to equate depth with progress.
True mobility is about strengthcontrol.
(11:47):
And respecting bony anatomy.
Next time you teach deep hipopeners such as pigeon, double
pigeon, and butterfly, askyourself if it's necessary or if
you're just teaching it, becauseyou always have.
If you are a visual learner, Ihave a treat for you.
(12:07):
I am a total visual learner aswell, so I recorded a YouTube
video on understanding pigeonpose Including the movement of
the knee joint, and I've addedan additional variation for
pigeon pose that I often teachin class.
This additional variationeliminates gravity and body
(12:28):
weight from the force and loadsplaced on the hips and knee
joint.
I'll link that YouTube video inthe show notes below.
I love half pigeon pose becauseit can be a powerful hip opener,
but it's also a pose that begsrespect for the body's limits By
having a deeper understanding ofthe anatomy and biomechanics of
(12:51):
hip openers, we can practice andteach them in a way that honors
our students unique bodies andneeds.
remember, yoga is never aboutachieving a perfect shape.
It's about finding balance,ease, and connection in the
practice.
When you have a deepunderstanding of anatomy,
(13:12):
biomechanics, and the effects,yoga as and I have on the body,
you help your studentsunderstand that the yoga
practice is not a workout, but atool to help them look inside
themselves, to listen tothemselves, and to realize that
their bodies might benefit fromslight adjustments in the
(13:32):
alignment of their poses inorder to suit their own bodies.
Needs.
It's so important for us to havethis conversation so that you
remember that there are so manyopportunities for you in the
teaching world.
You know that my goal is for youto love the yoga teaching life.
(13:53):
I've added a link in the shownotes for you to send me a quick
text message about your thoughtson this episode or any other, I
won't know your phone number.
It is just a neat addition tothe platform that I use that
allows for this new and really.
Easy way for you to communicatewith me.
Once you click on it, it willtake you to your messages, but
(14:13):
don't delete the code.
That's how your message will getto me, and I would love to know
your thoughts.
Subscribe to the podcast soyou're always in the know when a
new episode drops, and share itwith another yoga teacher who
you think would love to be in onthese conversations.
Thank you for helping to spreadthe word about.
This podcast if you've beentaking notes in your journal as
(14:36):
you listen to these episodes,I'm so glad you are, and I'd
love to hear about that too.
Download the ebook sequencingfor different injuries.
The link is in the show notesbelow.
I promise you it will help youform a foundation for teaching
students with injuries andaging.
Bodies.
The information will also helpyou understand how to
(14:58):
accommodate students ofdifferent accessibilities, and
it'll be a great resource foryou to return to again and
again.
When you download the ebook,you'll be joining my newsletter.
That's just for yoga teachers.
I've got more exciting teachingscoming soon, so I wanna tell you
all about them.
The link is in the show notesbelow, and I would love for you
(15:19):
to join it so we can always stayconnected.
Alright, that's it for now.
Bye.
Some students really need to be cautious when it
comes to poses like pigeon firelog, and even butterfly pose.
The excessive movement requiredof the hip can lead to labral
tears, hip impingement, and evenchronic or persistent.
Pain.
(00:21):
These poses primarily target thehip joints, which are in a
position of flexion, externalrotation and abduction.
In this episode, I'm going todiscuss hip openers and an
injury associated with them.
Have you ever heard of a labraltear?
(00:41):
Welcome to the EssentialConversations for Yoga Teachers
Podcast with me.
I'm Monica Bright and I've beenteaching yoga and running my
yoga business for over a decade.
This is the podcast for you.
If you are a yoga teacher,you're looking for support.
You love to be in conversation,and you're a lifelong student.
(01:05):
In this podcast, I'll share withyou.
My life as a yoga teacher, thelessons I've learned, my process
for building my business andhelpful ideas, tools, strategies
and systems I use and you canuse so that your business
thrives.
We'll cover a diverse range oftopics that will help you,
(01:27):
whether you're just starting outor you've got years under your
belt and you wanna dive deep andset yourself up for success.
I am so glad you're here.
Listen, I don't take myself tooseriously, so expect to hear
some laughs along the way.
Now let's do this together.
(01:50):
welcome back to the podcast.
I'm Monica, and I'm so glad youare here.
Today we are discussing a bigtopic in yoga, hip openers.
Everyone wants hip openers.
It seems first.
What is a hip opener?
Most teachers are taught that ahip opener is external rotation.
(02:15):
Sure, that's one hip opener, butany movement you do with a hip
flexion, extension, abduction.
Abduction, internal and externalrotation.
These are all hip openers.
It's just what are you openingthe hip for is the question.
(02:37):
If you're working up to wheelpose, you don't necessarily need
to teach a lot of hip.
External rotation.
Instead, you teach more hipextension because that's what's
required for wheel pose.
Some students really need to becautious when it comes to poses
like pigeon fire log and evenbutterfly pose.
(03:01):
The excessive movement requiredof the hip can lead to labral
tears, hip impingement, and evenpersistent pain.
These poses primarily target thehip joints, which are in a
position of flexion, externalrotation, and abduction.
Imagine this in your mind.
(03:22):
In hip flexion, the hips arebent, bringing the thighs closer
to the torso.
This stretches the glutes anddeep external rotators of the
hip, like the piriformis.
Then there's hip ab abductionwhere the thighs move away from
the midline of the body,engaging the TFL or the tensor
fascia, Lata and the gluteusmedias.
(03:44):
And finally, there's hip.
External rotation where thethigh bone or the femur rotates
outward in the hip socket.
This is where the deep hiprotators come into play.
I'll break down the anatomy orthe red flags that most teachers
miss, and most importantly, whatto do instead.
(04:07):
So let's get into it.
First, the cultural obsessionwith yoga is that it glorifies
extreme external rotation.
Like deep pigeon poses oftenseen as a sign of an advanced
practice, but for many, itreally is a fast track to
(04:28):
injury.
Have you ever heard of a labraltear?
It's a common injury in studentswho practice yoga.
So let's back up and talkanatomy really quickly.
The labrum is a cartilage ringthat stabilizes the hip socket.
It absorbs.
Shock when you walk and jump,and it helps to distribute
(04:52):
weight and stress around thejoint to help reduce joint wear
and tear.
Tears happen from repetitivepinching.
That's an impingement.
Overstretching overuse as wellas degenerative conditions.
Symptoms can include pain,instability, stiffness.
(05:15):
Oh, and clicking and popping.
I've mentioned before thatclicking and popping sounds
aren't always an issue, but ifthey are accompanied by pain,
then they definitely need to belooked into.
So who's at risk students withfemoral acetabular impingement,
(05:36):
which is abnormal hip bone shapewhere the femur bone and the
acetabulum, that's the hipsocket come too close with one
another and either causefriction or pinch soft tissues
that surround the joint.
Also students withhypermobility, often their
ligaments are too lax to protectthe joint and students who are
(06:00):
also athletes or dancers or playother sports commonly have
preexisting wear and tear on thejoint.
I'm gonna say something reallycontroversial here, but bear
with me because I'll explain it.
Pigeon pose is the number oneoffender.
(06:21):
Okay, pigeon pose combines deephip flexion, external rotation,
and abduction, the perfect stormfor an anterior hip pinch.
Oftentimes the femur is jammedinto the socket and posterior
ligament strain as a student isconstantly overstretching the
(06:43):
joint capsule, trying to getdeeper into the stretch.
It is the number one offenderbecause 98% of Vinyasa classes
end with half pigeon in thesequence.
Why?
I don't know.
It's not necessary, but I wastaught to end my classes with a
(07:05):
juicy half pigeon.
We can teach different posesthat.
Open the hips if that's whatyou're looking for, like a
supine figure for, my favoriteway to practice it is without
hands, so that students don'tforce themselves into a deeper
stretch than necessary.
Here's some red flags in classfor you to be mindful of.
(07:28):
Number one.
Do you notice that your studentsare wincing or shifting their
weight to one side?
Number two, can your studentshear clicking or popping in the
hip?
Again, this is not alwaysharmful, but it's also not
always harmless.
And number three, do yourstudents experience any pain in
(07:49):
the front of the hip or in thegroin?
It could be an indicator of alabrum or a SOAs issue.
Ask yourself these questions.
Their answers can inform yourteaching and your sequencing a
lot.
I have a student who does notlike half pigeon, and they are a
regular student, so I wanted tothink of my sequencing
(08:11):
differently.
And now I rarely teach halfpigeon.
I do, but not too often.
How did I change up mysequencing?
That's a great question.
And here are some alternatives.
I incorporate mobility, jointcontrol, joint movement, and
joint strengthening.
(08:33):
I teach a lot of movements thatdon't.
Technically have a yoga posename instead.
They're the movements.
I need to prepare students'bodies for what we're doing in
that class.
I teach active mobility overpassive stretching a lot.
Now, I don't cut out passivestretching completely, But I
want students to connect totheir bodies in a different way
(08:57):
outside of stretching as areplacement for pigeon, I might
also teach a 90 90 hip stretch.
This is less extreme on the hipof the back leg because the knee
is bent, and it also helps tokeep the femur centered and not
jammed into the hip socket.
As a replacement for fire log,which is also called Double
(09:17):
Pigeon, unstack the Shins, andjust cross them.
I add mobility by leaning backon the hands and teaching
students to lift their leg andcontrol the movement of it.
if you can imagine that, you cansee how this doesn't have a yoga
pose name, but it's a movementthat I can teach that helps
(09:38):
students become more aware oftheir joint movement and
control.
I know clamshells get a bad rap,but I still love to teach them.
I teach a lot of standing hiprotations or cars, if you're
familiar with FRCA lot, again,they're controlled rotations
(10:00):
just in a different orientationwith an added balance challenge
as well.
I always suggest that studentstake strength and resistance
classes outside of yoga.
In those classes, they willlikely do banded lateral walks
with resistance bands, and theseare excellent for strengthening
(10:20):
the hips, which yoga studentsneed.
If your students love pigeon andwant to continue practicing it,
prop it up, Sit on a block.
You can keep the heel underneaththe hip and not take your shin
diagonal across the mat.
You could also limit the amountof breaths you keep students
(10:41):
here to prohibit students fromsinking in deep into the
stretch.
What should you do?
When you think you need to referout, if you notice that a
student has pain that lingersmore than 48 hours after a
practice, that's probably a goodtime to see someone clicking.
(11:03):
Locking sensations during dailyactivities like walking or
limited range of motion, notjust tightness.
I have an entire podcast episodededicated to referring out.
It is episode number 72, when torefer out, recognizing the
(11:23):
limits of your scope, and I'lllink it below for you.
Let me end by reiterating thathip.
Openers aren't inherently evil,but they're overly practiced.
As teachers, we can help ourstudents by resisting the urge
to equate depth with progress.
True mobility is about strengthcontrol.
(11:47):
And respecting bony anatomy.
Next time you teach deep hipopeners such as pigeon, double
pigeon, and butterfly, askyourself if it's necessary or if
you're just teaching it, becauseyou always have.
If you are a visual learner, Ihave a treat for you.
(12:07):
I am a total visual learner aswell, so I recorded a YouTube
video on understanding pigeonpose Including the movement of
the knee joint, and I've addedan additional variation for
pigeon pose that I often teachin class.
This additional variationeliminates gravity and body
(12:28):
weight from the force and loadsplaced on the hips and knee
joint.
I'll link that YouTube video inthe show notes below.
I love half pigeon pose becauseit can be a powerful hip opener,
but it's also a pose that begsrespect for the body's limits By
having a deeper understanding ofthe anatomy and biomechanics of
(12:51):
hip openers, we can practice andteach them in a way that honors
our students unique bodies andneeds.
remember, yoga is never aboutachieving a perfect shape.
It's about finding balance,ease, and connection in the
practice.
When you have a deepunderstanding of anatomy,
(13:12):
biomechanics, and the effects,yoga as and I have on the body,
you help your studentsunderstand that the yoga
practice is not a workout, but atool to help them look inside
themselves, to listen tothemselves, and to realize that
their bodies might benefit fromslight adjustments in the
(13:32):
alignment of their poses inorder to suit their own bodies.
Needs.
It's so important for us to havethis conversation so that you
remember that there are so manyopportunities for you in the
teaching world.
You know that my goal is for youto love the yoga teaching life.
(13:53):
I've added a link in the shownotes for you to send me a quick
text message about your thoughtson this episode or any other, I
won't know your phone number.
It is just a neat addition tothe platform that I use that
allows for this new and really.
Easy way for you to communicatewith me.
Once you click on it, it willtake you to your messages, but
(14:13):
don't delete the code.
That's how your message will getto me, and I would love to know
your thoughts.
Subscribe to the podcast soyou're always in the know when a
new episode drops, and share itwith another yoga teacher who
you think would love to be in onthese conversations.
Thank you for helping to spreadthe word about.
This podcast if you've beentaking notes in your journal as
(14:36):
you listen to these episodes,I'm so glad you are, and I'd
love to hear about that too.
Download the ebook sequencingfor different injuries.
The link is in the show notesbelow.
I promise you it will help youform a foundation for teaching
students with injuries andaging.
Bodies.
The information will also helpyou understand how to
(14:58):
accommodate students ofdifferent accessibilities, and
it'll be a great resource foryou to return to again and
again.
When you download the ebook,you'll be joining my newsletter.
That's just for yoga teachers.
I've got more exciting teachingscoming soon, so I wanna tell you
all about them.
The link is in the show notesbelow, and I would love for you
(15:19):
to join it so we can always stayconnected.
Alright, that's it for now.
Bye.
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