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Pigeon pose (glutes)

How to do the Pigeon pose (glutes) correctly: it targets the Gluteals and deep hip rotators, the hold is 45 s per side, and the steps below keep it on the muscle instead of the joint.

This is mobility information, not physiotherapy and not a diagnosis. Pain is the border: a stretch that hurts at the attachment, sharpens, or sends pins and needles down the limb is loading a nerve or a tendon, not a muscle — stop and, for anything that persists or radiates, see a clinician. After an injury or surgery, stretching follows the treating clinician's protocol, not this page.

How to do it

1. From hands and knees, bring one shin forward and lay it across the floor, the foot toward the opposite hip; extend the other leg straight back.
2. Square the hips toward the floor — a block or folded towel under the front-side hip keeps the pelvis level.
3. Fold the torso forward over the front shin, or stay tall if the knee complains.
4. Breathe into the glute of the bent leg for 45 seconds, then switch.

Why this stretch exists

The glutes and the deep rotators underneath them are the hip's steering muscles, and in a sitting population they are both weak and short — weak from disuse and short from the same chair. The pigeon addresses the shortness from a position the muscles cannot escape, which is why it feels like the deepest stretch in the routine. It earns its place in the runners' and the hip routines, and for anyone whose knee will not accept the full pose, the supine figure-four below is the same target with the knee protected.

The knee of the bent leg should feel position, never pressure: if it aches, the pose is forcing knee rotation the joint does not have — prop the hip higher or switch to the figure-four. Pain deep in the front of the hip while folding means the hip joint itself is objecting, not the muscle: back off.

Hold and frequency figures: the standard stretching and range-of-motion literature — 15–60 second holds, two to four rounds per muscle (about 60 seconds total), two to three sessions a week for measurable gains, static holds after activity or as their own session, dynamic movement before. The injury-prevention position: the systematic reviews — stretching does not prevent injury or soreness; it buys range of motion and comfort. Checked 2026-09-06.

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