Pigeon
Basic Overview: This pose helps to ground you as well as increase your hip flexibility and pelvic stability. It develops patience and helps to release unconscious tension and emotional stress from the body and mind, thereby bringing us to a place of greater focus and clarity. More specifically, pigeon stretches the front leg piriformis muscle, the inner thigh, and the hip rotators. On the back leg it stretches the hip flexor, quads, and strengthens the hamstring. Upright, it is a heart opening and heating posture. Folded forward, it is a cooling posture.
From an Energetic/Ayurvedic Perspective: Decreases Vata (distractedness, restlessness); Increases Pitta (focus); Increases Kapha (calmness).
