Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (one legged king pigeon or the mermaid pose)
I became comfortable with this variation of E.P.R before I explored E.P.R. II (photo below). There was a point in time when I’d look at photos of other practitioners in these two asanas and thought to myself “I’ll never be able to do that” and for a while, no surprise, I couldn’t. It wasn’t until I learned one of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever learned from Rodney Yee:
“Don’t Know. Just be Open.”
And so each time I climbed onto my yoga mat during my personal practice, I would explore One Legged King Pigeon, without forcing myself into it. I worked on opening my psoas muscle, releasing and broadening my lower back, and opening my shoulders. I had no expectations and did not impose an external will or listen to the voice that said “I should” be able to do this. Instead I explored, micro-moved, became the witness, as Iyengar says, a self correcting mechanism. The exhilaration that comes from “falling” into these asanas is a natural high. The feeling is one of tremendous release as if some rigid part of you finally lets go and you pass through a door that opens and you find yourslef in this new place both physically, mentally and spiritually. You can not “muscle” your way into asanas. As my mentour Marie Fourcaut said, “When you force the body it rebels.” The first time I touched my toes behind my head it was only because my heart, for a brief moment, was completlety open and I felt as though I might fly.
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana II (one legged King pigeon variation)
I don’t always move into this with ease and that’s okay. Again with each practice, no expectations, no external forceful will. This is a way of incorporating one of the Yamas or ethical practices, Non-Harming, into your asana practice. Be gentle with yourselves. Amazing transformations can take place.