Hi Susannah
OK! So it seems that half pigeon could be a worry for some. What does your physio say? Look, it is a pretty extreme position for the hip and there are other ways to get hip stretches.
One way with pigeon is not letting the bended leg foot cross the midline. You can simply keep the foot right back near the hip. You may need to recruit the hands on the floor more for support in order to keep a symmetrical hip position.
There are plenty of poses where feet shift from position unconsciously and contribute to a more turned out leg and hip. In standing poses you may want to work on good alignment and strengthening of the hips. Find out what your physio suggests. I would be interested to know what is prescribed for you.
There are simple hip openers that rely on gravity rather than muscular facilitation or weighting the hip in the stretch. Those may be more advised for you than ‘forcing’ the issue in something like half pigeon.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂
