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Yoga for a Happy Skeleton 9: On your knees!

Ahimsa
Nov 1, 2015
2 min read

And so we come to the knees. Although spare parts are available these days it’s really better to keep the ones you were born with. Understanding a few general principles will help you keep them strong and willing to walk another mile.

Sarah Key, our super physio says, “Yoga makes your knees younger.”[1]

Connected to the thigh bone (femur) and shin bone (tibia), the knee bends your leg in two. It’s a

hinge joint with some lateral movement. The slight lateral movement is what enables you to walk, run, hop, skip and jump on uneven surfaces and slopes, and to sit cross-legged on the floor. If your knees degenerate, the lateral movement is the first to go.

Your quadriceps muscles (front of thigh) need to be strong for good knee functioning. Healthy cartilage and good tracking of the patella (kneecap) are the other ingredients for happiness in the knee department.

Damaged cartilage does repair with proper care, it’s just a little slow. So be patient if you have knee pain because it can get better. I know from my own experience – but you have to do the right things.

A GOOD STRETCH FOR THE QUADS

Knees don’t like:

Injury;
Bow legged, knock kneed, pigeon toed, flat-footed or Charlie Chaplin walking. Silly walks are out. All these affect alignment and create uneven wear on cartilage and other parts, plus poor tracking of the patella. BAD! Orthotics help.
Different length legs. VERY BAD! Orthotics needed.
Weak quadriceps – they may waste due to illness or injury or just not enough exercise.
Losing range of movement through lack of complete stretching.

Knees love:

Walking and other activities that give on/off pressure;
Good alignment – it’s the equivalent of good posture for the spine;
Yoga for range of movement, lubrication with synovial fluid and pumping lovely nourishment into cartilage;
Being a kid – sitting on the edge and just swinging your legs back and forth, or scrambling around on all fours or walking on your knees just because.

Yoga sadhana for happy knees

PMA 1 (joint flexibility movements) for lower body, especially all the knee moves – tense/release, bending, rotation, double bending and double rotation. Hold the tense allowing the foot to lift a few cm from the floor for 5 seconds.
Khandarasana (shoulder pose) to strengthen quads and for downward pressure on knees.
Cycling while in shavasana
Leg lock – right, left, both makes one round – so you are always releasing the knee, not just holding it in place for several rounds.
Sit in vajrasana (kneeling) properly i.e. with big toes joined and buttocks resting in the bowl of the feet so that ankles are pushed out.