Yoga Facts About the Knees

Never have pain in your knees.
If there is pain in your knee joint while in a yoga pose, something is wrong with the yoga pose or the yoga instruction. Do not breathe through it and wait for your pain to neutralize. Knees do not stretch. Talk to the yoga instructor and learn the correct alignment of your bones and balance in your muscles to avoid future strains and injuries in your knees.

Do not hyper extend the knee joint.
Study with a yoga instructor who understands how to specialize the yoga using props to improve your relationship with your knees. In seated yoga asanas, such as Virasana (Hero Pose), try raising your seat with blankets or a block. In yoga postures such as Balasana (Child's Pose) try placing a folded blanket in to your knee pit to prevent hyper-extensions of your knee joints.

Knees always track the same direction as your toes.
For example in Virabhdrasana Two, be sure your bent leg’s knee cap is pointed towards the same direction as your middle toes when knee is over heel. In seated yoga poses like Dandasana (Staff Pose), the knee caps are smiling skywards.

Build strength from standing poses.
Standing poses require balance, focus and alignment so you don’t fall down. Standing poses with correct alignment are excellent ways to build stability in your knees. Continue to lift out of them verses compressing in to the joint of your knee.

Flex and Point

Sit with both of your legs extended forward and straight in Staff Pose, Dandasana, with equal weight on both sit bones. Lift your spine upwards and breathe mindfully. If you need the support, rest on blankets, towels or a pillow and lean against a wall. Bend your left knee and relax.

Inhale flexing your right foot, exhale pointing your right foot. Twenty times and then do your left foot twenty times.

Leg Extension Over Ankle

Be in Staff Pose, Dandasana. Make you right leg as straight and strong as possible by firming you right thigh. Breathe mindfully. Inhale and lift your right leg over your left leg so that your right heel hovers over your left top ankle.

Exhale slowly lowering your right leg back to floor. Do your right leg ten times and then do your left leg.

Leg Extension Over Knee

Continue with right leg engaged. Breathe. Inhale lifting your right leg over your left leg so that your right knee hovers over your left knee cap, exhale slowly lowering right leg back to floor. Do your right leg ten times and then do your left leg ten times.
 

Lower Leg Flexing

Be in Staff Pose, Dandasana, with your right leg bent. Inhale your right lower leg parallel to floor flexing your right foot (pressing out through your heel). Exhale lower your right leg back to starting place. Do this twenty times and then do your left leg.

Quad Strengthener

Continue in Staff Pose, Dandasana, with a pillow under your extended right leg. Inhale as you straighten your right leg, exhale slowly as you return your right leg resting on the pillow.  

Do this ten or more times and then resituate the pillow as needed to support your knee and then do your left leg ten or more times. Repeat tomorrow.