Pigeon or a swan pose is a staple in many of the yoga classes I have attended and taught because it is known to be an effective hip opener. However, it can also be a knee wrecker if you approach this pose mindlessly. We are externally rotating by turn out your front leg, at which point, we are exerting a great deal of pressure on the front bent knee, more so, if you have tight quadriceps (front thighs), adductors (inner thighs). There’s tension in the hip rotators (outer hips) which we are trying to alleviate but that puts a strain on the knee joint.
When you then go into a forward fold into a sweeping swan pose, the forward tilt of your pelvis will cause even greater pressure around the knee. If misaligned, or torqued, the greater pressure on your knee joint may not be sustainable.
In Pigeon (yang style) or Swan (yin style), here are 3 common mistakes I can think of and how to correct its possibly harmful effects:
1) Flexing your foot – ouch!
A flexed foot will not allow the shin/calf to rotate externally, overwhelming the knee joint to take the twist full on especially as you bend forward. Rather than flexing, it’s been recommended that we draw the toes back and press out through the ball of the foot. It’s not pointed nor flexed – kind of like that shape when you have heels on.
This will allow the whole leg to more freely rotate, releasing the knee.
2) Often see someone holding the foot and pulling or pushing it out or forward to bring the shin parallel to the top/front of the mat – I too was guilty of grabbing my ankle and positioning to the extreme angle.
Best not to grab or force your foot into your ideal vision of this pose. Notice a PT/Yoga instructor I trust greatly do this – Instead, recede back your foot off toward the opposite hip crease and make sure your hips are level – that left and right sides of your pelvis is at a level same plane.
To deepen the pose, you can gently move your knees wider and lengthen your back leg straight back a little further. The front knee should be either in front of your hip or a little wider. You can micro-adjust this motion repeatedly (inching to open knees wider, recede the back leg bit by bit) . Going into forward fold will tilt the pelvis that same direction and create greater pressure onto the front knee so keep sufficient space for the front knee and do not over stretch when you are creating the base/foundation.
3) Most of us may benefit from raising the hips so that the knee has sufficient space rather than working out of tight space. Also structurally not sure about shallower or variations of hip sockets, best to allow for variations … and be conservative in one’s approach. We do not want to wear out the labrum so staying in within one’s range of motion. Grinding in the idea that freedom and flexibility is important but so is stability, alignment and strength.
Bending the front knee in Pigeon while hips are lowered, can risk pulling the quadriceps and front of the knee, straining the knee joint before even getting to the hips. Keep the front thigh muscles from tightening by keeping the hips leveled and that would mean raising your front hip onto a nice padding of a blanket or block(s).
Best to work on quads release by lowering the hips little by little over time can safely get your hips to release without torquing your knees.
The above precautions can apply to any poses that require extreme rotations of the knees such as Gomukhasana, Lotus either half or full; Supine Pigeon, Janu Sirsasana … any others come to mind? Looking over the poses from the workshop – thank goodness for the props ! Seems Iyengar and therapeutic yogis know what they are doing so we can practice yoga for a long long time injury free !
- Mossbrae Falls, Mt. Shasta
