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I love yoga. I love the way it makes me feel, both mentally and physically. I love the breathing, the practice of mindfulness. I love the poses and their Americanized names - Warrior 1 and 2, tree pose, mountain pose, child’s pose, happy baby. So many poses, all of them good, even when challenging. Well almost all of them are good for me anyway.
There is this one pose though that I just can’t get my arms around, metaphorically or my legs around, literally. That pose is called Pigeon. It’s easy if you have flexible hips. I don’t. Pigeon is extremely painful to feel if you’re me and extremely embarrassing to watch if you’re looking at me.
There are modifications one can make - a blanket or six under your hips, but at the end of the day (or the practice) it must be said that I’m pitiful at pigeon.
So I used to try to avoid the pose altogether, or just grit my teeth and bear it until it was time for the next pose. Yay!
But one yoga instructor changed the way I view this difficult pose. He knew it was my least favorite thing to do, so he’d always make me do it. Perverse? Cruel? No, actually. He would calmly and kindly help me into the pose as best as he and I could, and then he’d always say the same thing. “When you have a hard time doing pigeon, do you know what you need? More pigeon!”
And he’s right of course, and not just about this pretzel looking posture. When faced with a tough situation most of us want to run screaming in the opposite direction. But that’s not the answer is it? We get stronger, better, less afraid, when we not only face the hard things in our lives, but embrace them.
Think about David facing Goliath. He didn’t run away, he ran towards the giant! Do we run towards the things like loom large against us? We should. Most problems are like bullies. They back down when confronted. But we don’t know how strong we are until we’re tested.
Which why my motto, or mantra is ‘more pigeon’, which means to me, bring it on, life! I’d rather stretch than shrivel, I’d rather flounder than float. First you flounder, then you flourish. Conversely, first you float, then you sink. Better to rise and sing. On pigeon wings!
ouch
So no I don’t like pigeon and I doubt I ever will. But I do it the best I can. Pigeon won’t make a monkey out of me. Pigeon isn’t my buddy, but it isn’t my enemy either. Perverse as this may sound, pigeon has become my friend.
(This posting is dedicated to my dear friend and yoga instructor Denise, who loves a good pigeon and a good challenge too. Happy Birthday and Namaste!)
