Yoga Glossary · Muscles
Deep external rotators (piriformis)
Six small muscles deep in the buttock that turn the thigh outward — stretched in Pigeon.
Deep beneath the gluteus maximus sits a group of six small muscles — the piriformis is the best known — running from the sacrum and pelvis to the top of the thigh bone. Together they externally rotate the hip and stabilize the head of the thigh bone in its socket during standing and walking.
These are the muscles Pigeon Pose is famous for stretching: the front leg's external rotators lengthen as the shin angles across the mat, producing that deep, hard-to-reach sensation in the outer hip. They also work to turn out the legs in externally rotated standing poses. The sciatic nerve passes close by (and in some bodies, through the piriformis), which is why deep outer-hip sensations deserve respect rather than force.
In practice
- The deep ache-zone in the outer hip in Half Pigeon is this group lengthening.
- If Pigeon produces tingling down the leg, back out — you may be compressing the sciatic nerve, not stretching muscle.
- They stabilize every externally rotated stance; Warrior II's front hip uses them to keep the knee tracking out.
Poses that lengthen it
Related terms
Test yourself
Pose IQ's Anatomy rounds quiz this term and its neighbours — ten questions, explanations after every answer.
The Yoga Glossary is an educational study reference. Definitions are standard yoga and anatomy knowledge in plain language; nothing here is medical advice.