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This pose offers us a wonderful opportunity to experience the power of the pause. We learn to slow down and feel
the moments that make up our movements. We stop along the way to breathe and reflect. We pose and repose.
We are learning to do and perceive at the same time. This deliberate pausing (and breathing) synchronises the body,
mind, and breath so that they dance together. This way, we can stop, readjust, and back off when there is either
unsteadiness or too much resistance, ultimately moving toward the effortless effort described by Patanjali in the
Yoga Sutra.
4 Externally rotate your right upper arm and take
hold of your left foot with your right hand (or use a
strap). Reposition your hands on your left foot to
secure the clasp. Take a breath. Pull upward on your
left foot as you simultaneously raise your back ribs
and sternum and release your head back toward
your foot. Keep rolling your outer arms forward to
draw your elbows in. Let your shoulder blades lift
and rotate upward to help raise your side trunk and
support your neck as it extends backward. Stay here
with soft eyes and steady breathing for a few breaths
(or longer, if you can remain relaxed, alert, and at
ease). Come up and out the same way you went
in: by slowly releasing the foot with your right hand
and allowing your left arm to reverse the path that it
took going into the pose. Repeat on the other side.
VARIATION Place a chair at the wall and a folded mat in front of the chair. From
all fours, facing away from the chair, bend your left leg to rest your left foot
against the chair. Step your right foot forward. Come to an upright position and
allow your hips to come forward. Reach your arms overhead, then back toward
the chair as you breathe steadily. If your hands are able to touch the back of the
chair, take your hips forward and, if possible, take your head back to your foot.eka = one · pada = leg or foot · raja = king · kapota = pigeon · asana = pose
One-Legged King Pigeon Pose IIEka Pada Rajakapotasana II