The Piriformis muscle is a tiny muscle located deep in the buttocks, underneath the gluteal muscles. When this muscle becomes tight, it causes butt pain a.k.a.“Piriformis Syndrome”. A group of muscles (“Hip Rotator Cuff”) pinch our sciatic nerve, and it is a major cause of sciatica (leg pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness), hip pain, and buttock pain.
The Sciatic nerve runs all the way to the foot, as you can see in the below diagram:
To help alleviate such pain, the Pigeon Pose is a yoga technique and can be used for anyone with tight buttock. Simply find a comfortable position and sit yourself on the floor. Fold one leg in front of you (that is the leg you should be feeling the stretch in your gluteal muscles and ITB) and extend your other leg towards the back which also stretches your quad muscles and hip flexors. Using this technique basically helps to loosen up your hip rotator including your Piriformis and reduces the pressure on the sciatic nerve which is commonly located beneath the muscle.