King Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)

Pronunciation and meaning

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana: AY-kuh PAH-duh rah-juh-kah-poh-TAHS-uh-nuh. Rajakapotasana is long, with the stress on TAHS.

Eka means one, pada means foot or leg, raja means king, kapota means pigeon and asana means posture. From the pigeon shape, you bend the back knee and reach back for the foot, lifting the chest so the body curves like a proud pigeon puffing out its chest.

How to do King Pigeon Pose

1. Warm up well with lunges, Pigeon Pose and gentle backbends first. Then come into Pigeon with the right shin forward and the left leg long behind you.
2. Square the hips as much as you can and lift the chest, hands on the floor or blocks beside the hips.
3. Bend the left knee and bring the left foot toward your back. Loop a strap around the foot or reach back with the left hand to hold it.
4. Lift the chest and broaden across the collarbones. If the shoulders allow, take the strap or foot overhead with both hands, elbows pointing up.
5. Draw the foot and the head toward each other only as far as the back and front knee feel comfortable. Stay for three to five breaths.
6. Release the foot slowly, lower the back leg and rest in Pigeon or Child's Pose before trying the other side.

Make it easier

• Hold a strap around the back foot instead of reaching the foot with the hands.
• Keep the back foot in the crook of the elbow, a mermaid version, rather than taking it overhead.
• Put a block or blanket under the hip of the front leg so the pelvis stays level.

Pregnancy and after birth

Pregnancy. Avoid. The deep backbend and pressure through the belly and hips are not suited to pregnancy. A supported Pigeon with blocks, kept mild, is a gentler choice. Check with your OB or midwife.

After birth. Avoid for now. Wait until your doctor or midwife has cleared you and the core and hips feel steady. Rebuild with Pigeon and Low Lunge first.

Expecting? Joahnna Lee Yoga has notes on adapting each trimester.

Common mistakes

• Forcing the foot to the head, which crunches the lower back.
• Letting the front knee twist when the hips are not open enough. Raise the hip on a block.
• Lifting the shoulders up toward the ears as the arms reach back.

King Pigeon Pose is the full, advanced version of Pigeon. It keeps the hip opening of the familiar resting shape and adds a deep backbend, with the back foot drawn toward the head.

It shows up near the peak of some strong Vinyasa classes and in backbending workshops. Most people work on it in stages for a long time, and the stages are worth doing for their own sake.

How do you build toward king pigeon pose?

Start with Pigeon Pose, the resting hip opener, until the hips are comfortable. Add backbends such as Camel Pose, and practise reaching for the back foot in Dancer Pose. The hip flexor stretches routine helps with the front of the back hip.

What should it feel like?

A strong stretch at the front of the back thigh and hip, an open chest and active shoulders. A pinch in the lower back or the front knee means you have gone too far. Back off, use the strap, and stay in the earlier stages for a while.