Pigeon Pose: Assessing Your Hip External Rotation

Do you have enough hip mobility for Pigeon Pose?

Everyone’s hip joint is different. Some people have more Internal Rotation and others have more External Rotation. The bias one way or another is sometimes related to your baseline anatomical structure. Other times the bias may be due to the activities you’ve done over the years.

When I’m assessing someone’s hips, I’m not looking for anything in particular. I’m only looking to see what their hips are currently capable of. I’m not looking to confirm any biases that I may have about the person. I’m simply looking at ranges and how much range can be controlled. Then I’m pinging this off of the requirements and demands of the activity the person wants to do.

As a Strength Coach, my objective with clients is to help them fill in the gaps of weakness, and expand controllable range of motion where needed for that person’s body.

If we take this approach to coaching, we will find things to be much more simplified. Helping people understand the constraints of their anatomy and how to address those constraints is a game changer. Giving a person a point A and helping plot a path to point B is the role of a guide.

Remember that the story is not about you as the coach. The story is about the person you are helping. You are simply there to help the person navigate and build resilience.

In this video, I briefly explain the External Rotation demands of Pigeon Pose on your hips and how we might asses a person’s capacity for this pose.

I hope you find this video useful.

In my upcoming workshop, we’ll take a deep dive into Hip Mobility and you’ll walk away with a better understanding of your Hips. You’ll also leave with a program designed to get you started on your Hip Mobility Training journey.

Send me a message to get more details: