Pigeon Yoga Flow For Hip Mobility

Welcome to this pigeon pose yoga practice for hip opening. If your hips feel tight from stress or long hours of sitting — this session will help melt it all away. This is a gentle Vinyasa sequence that stretches your hips, improving mobility and relaxation. Perfect for all levels, from beginners to experienced yogis since I will give modifications to make postures more challenging or gentle.

Transcript

Hi lovely people! Welcome to your hip opening yoga flow. In today's yoga flow we will be, As the name suggests, Working on really stretching out and opening our hips. Working on mobility. For this practice I recommend having two blocks nearby. You don't technically need them, However it can be really nice to have them for a bit more support. So if you're ready, Come and stand on your mat and let's begin. Let's come and stand at the top of our mat and let's just take our hands in front of our chest and start with taking a few nice deep breaths together. It's a nice deep breath in through the nose. Gently holding at the top and sigh out. Two more nice deep breath in. Last one. Deep breath in. Hold at the top and release. Okay take your hands alongside the body. Legs are slightly active. Chest nice and open and inhale. Circle your arms all the way up. Reaching. Exhale. Forward fold. Inhale. Halfway up. Making a tabletop with your back and exhale. Full hands onto your mat. Stepping back into a plank and choose your way down. Chaturanga. So maybe placing your knees on the mat. Bending the elbows. On your inhale open your chest. You want to be able to lift your hands off your mat. So it's really coming from your back. Exhale. Curl your toes under. Hips up and back. Coming into a downward dog. First hour dog of our class. So feel free to keep a nice bend in the knees and maybe bring some movement into it. So bending one knee and the other as if you're walking on the spot. Gently allowing your legs to warm up. Wake up. Especially if it's the morning like it is for me. It might still be a little bit stiff. Next inhale. Bend your knees. Look forward. Step or hop towards the front of the mat. Coming halfway up. So opening the chest and exhale. Forward fold. Inhale. Circle your arms all the way up. Reach and exhale. Hands in front of the body and alongside. Inhale. Circle your arms up. Exhale. Forward fold. Your inhale. Stepping your right foot all the way back. Right knee onto your mat and open the chest. Feel free to grab your blocks to find a bit more height. Really open your chest here if that feels good for you. Holding for one more breath. Then plant hands down. Stepping back into a plank and again choose your way down. On your inhale, Open cobra or maybe all the way up in an upward dog. Exhale. Downward dog. Holding for two breaths. Inhale. Bend the knees. Look forward. I'm sorry. I almost forgot. Stepping the right foot forward. Left knee onto your mat. Again open the chest. Feel free to again find some height if that helps for you. Holding for a last breath. Next inhale. Lift your back knee. Exhale. Step forward. Forward fold. Inhale. Circle your arms all the way up. Exhale. Repeating that on the other side. Inhale. Exhale. Forward fold. Inhale. Stepping your left foot back. Left knee onto your mat. Open the chest. Low lunge. Going right through. So now exhale. Planting the hands down. Step back into a plank. Choose your way down. On your inhale, Open. And exhale. Downward dog. Again staying here for two breaths. Really find nice length in the arms and the spine. With your next inhale. Stepping your left foot forward. Right knee onto your mat. Open your chest. Low lunge. Again going right through. So lift your back knee. Stepping forward. Forward fold. Inhale. Circle your arms all the way up. Exhale. In front of the chest and alongside the body. From here on your next inhale. Lift your right knee. Open your knee to your side and then place your foot either against your calf or against your thigh. So it's either above or below your knee. Really press your foot into your leg. So actions going from both sides. Shoulders nice and low. Away from the ears. Maybe from there, Circling your hands all the way up. It's the branches of the tree. Again really try to keep your shoulders away from your ears. So nice and low. Holding for one last breath. And then bring the hands back down. Your knee is coming back forward. Keep your balance. From there again open your knee. Crossing your ankle over your knee and then really push your knee down. Hands are still in front of your chest. From here if it feels okay you can gently sit back. Going into a standing figure four stretch. You can keep your hands in front of your chest here or if you like you can place your hands either on your mat or you can grab your blocks. Place your hands on your blocks. Whatever feels good for you. You should feel a really nice stretch in your right hip. Make sure your right toes are pointed slightly forward, Slightly down. Last breath. Next inhale. Gently come back up. Keep your balance. Knee is coming back forward and then plant it down. We're going to switch right to the other side. During your inhale, Lifting your left knee. Find your balance. From there open your knee towards the side and again placing your foot either against your calf or against your thigh. So above or below the knee. Both are okay. If you notice you're really struggling with your balance, You also have the option to just keep your toes on your mat and basically place your foot along your ankle. Also a good option. Maybe lifting your arms all the way up. Branches of the tree. Again keep your shoulders nice and low. Don't forget to smile. Let's take a last breath here. Gently bring your hands back down on your exhale. Don't lose your balance like I just did. Your knee is coming back forward. From there again open your knee and I'm crossing your left ankle over your right knee. Again toes are mostly pointed down. Knee nice and open and from there if that feels stable maybe sit back. So you're really feeling that nice stretch in your hip. Again option to place your hands down on the floor or maybe on your blocks if that feels good for you. I'm just going to keep them here in front of my chest. Let's take a last breath here. With your next inhale gently coming back up. Knees coming back forward and then from there plant it down. Your next inhale arms up reach. Exhale forward fold. Inhale halfway up. Exhale full hands onto your mat stepping back into your plank. Choose your way down. Your inhale open and exhale downward dog. Nice deep breath here. Your next inhale lift your right foot all the way up. Stretch out the leg behind you. Inhale bring your knee into chest going forward and exhale stretch out the leg behind you. Inhale bring your knee towards your left elbow. See if you can make a touch and exhale stretch it out behind you. Inhale right elbow make a touch. Exhale. Last one. Inhale coming towards your right wrist and then if you're there bring your knee down. From there maybe walk your foot slightly more forward if you have the space. Don't force anything and then maybe sit your hips all the way down onto your mat. If your hips are not supported with your mat, If you're just floating up in the air and it doesn't feel right for you, Please grab some support. A block can be really nice here to place under the hip. Otherwise a pillow or maybe a rolled up blanket could also really work well. From there really open your chest rolling your shoulders back and down. Holding here for two breaths. From there find your way down onto your elbows. If you want you can come all the way down into a laying down position. Though for today I would recommend staying up on the elbows. Again two breaths. If the elbow is a little bit too low for you, Feel free to grab a block. Place your elbows on your blocks. Let's take a last breath here. Then walk your arms over towards that right knee. Then from there blend your left elbow down. If this is very sensitive for your elbow, Feel free to grab a blanket placed underneath for a bit more cushioning. From there, If possible, See if you can bring your right hand on top of the left. So coming into a twist into your pigeon pose. Again two breaths here. Gently come back down. One breath. Placing the arms back towards the middle. Again one breath here. Gently coming up onto your hands. One breath. Really open the chest. From there curl your toes under, Stepping back into a downward dog. Maybe bring some movement into it if that feels good for you. Really feeling that nice length in your legs, In the back, In the arms. From there, On the next inhale, Lift your left foot all the way up. Reach, Reach, Reach. Reach it out behind you. With your inhale, Take your knee into your chest. Exhale, Reach it back out. Inhale, Knee towards your right elbow. See if you can make a touch. Exhale. Inhale, Knee towards the left elbow. Make a touch if possible. Exhale. Last one. Knee towards the left wrist. When you're there, Place your knee down and maybe walk your foot slightly more forward. Again, Don't force it. Just see what's doable right now. Bring the hips down. Again, Feel free to grab some support if that feels good for you. From there, Really open your chest. Roll the shoulders back and down. Staying here for two breaths. Gently coming down onto your forearms. Option to again use your blocks for a bit more height if that feels better for you. Walk your forearms over to the left. Two breaths. You can kind of decide for yourself how far left you're going. Again, See what feels okay today. Last breath. Blend your right elbow down. Feel free to use some cushioning if that feels better. I'll stack the left on top, Coming into that twist in your pigeon pose. I know it's intense. You're holding for one last breath. Gently put your forearms back down. One breath here. Back towards the middle. One breath. And from there, Coming back up onto your hands. Again, One breath here. Blend your hands down. Curl the toes under. Stepping back into a downward look. Nice deep breath here. From there, On the inhale, Bend your knees. Look forward. If you can, Jump through to a seated position. Feel free to do so. Otherwise, We are stepping our feet forward, Foot crossed, And then sitting down onto your mat. When we're there, Plant your feet down in front of you. Stretch out the arms in front of you. Around your back, Vertebra by vertebra. You're rolling all the way onto our back. When we're there, Take your right knee into your chest. Stretch the left leg out onto your mat. Really pull your knee into the chest for a moment. Deep breath here. Then bring your right arm out towards the side. Exhale, Bring your right knee all the way over towards the left, Coming into a spinal twist. Gazing over the right shoulder. Two nice deep breaths. Try to keep both shoulders grounded on your mat. With the next inhale, Gently coming back towards the middle, And then switching sides. Taking your left knee into the chest, Right knee stretched onto your mat, And really pull your knee into the chest for a moment. From there, Bring your left arm out towards the side. Exhale, Bringing your left knee towards the right, Again coming into that spinal twist. Two nice deep breaths. Again, Try to keep both shoulders grounded on your mat. Gazing over the left shoulder. Take the twist all the way up into your neck. Last breath. With your inhale, Gently coming back towards the middle. Take both knees into your chest for a big hug. Make yourself small. From there, Gently find your way into shavasana for a very short, Final relaxation. Allow the feet to fall open, Arms slightly away from the body, Palms facing up, And eyes gently closed. Letting go of any conscious control of your breath. Just taking a moment to feel the contact of your body in the mat. Allowing yourself to melt into your mat. Let go of any tension you may still be holding. Relax. Take a rest. If you would like to stay here for longer, Which I highly recommend if you have the time, I will make sure to link a guided shavasana for you, If you like. Or if you're ready to come back up, Then gently bring some movements back into your fingers and your toes, Hands and feet. Gently allowing the movements to come a little bit bigger. And then from there, Gently find your way back up into a seated position to close off our practice. On your next inhale, Circle your arms all the way up until your hands touch your foreheads. Exhale gently, Bring them down in front of your chest. Take a nice deep breath for yourself. Take a nice deep breath for someone you love. And finally, Take a nice deep breath for the world in which we live. Gently bow down towards yourself to thank yourself for your practice, That you took the time out of your day to follow the class. You can gently open up your eyes again. Thank you so much for practicing with me today. If you would like to practice on, I will have some up on the screen. And if not, I wish you a lovely rest of your day and I hope to see you soon. Bye!