Yoga You with Tara Leigh quote for the day :
”The rhythm of the body, the
melody of the mind & the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life.”
~ B.K.S. Iyengar
How is your day shaping up? I started today with a nice class at Chrishi Beach :) Tonight at 8pm power yoga at my place. In the mean time less talk about our knees...
So...how are your knees feeling today. Our knees carry us
though so much day to day actives that we often forget just how important they
are to us. So give your knees a bit of a rub in gratitude for their strength and hard work.
Would you like to know some gentle easy at home style exercises to strengthen the muscles
around the knees? Yoga postures can help improve some knee issues.
REMINDER: When we work therapeutically with knees, we must always remember to adapt to our knees needs. We must change the saying of "no pain no gain" to "NO PAIN NO PAIN". In yoga (at least with me - Tara Leigh) our philosophy is "do NO harm.” This sometimes means adapting poses so that the you (the practitioner) doesn’t perform poses in position that hurt.
We must make sure to use proper body alignment suited to your personal body type. Ever body is different. Some are more bendy then other which is no big deal - just something we need to keep in mind.
So our goal is to make sure the muscles that support the knee joint are balanced: that the hips, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves are flexible and strong in a balanced way. Simply strengthening one muscle group over another may do more harm than good, especially if we ignore the opposing muscle groups. So yep, there you have it - to strengthen the knees you need to strengthen the legs in general.
Below are some poses to help the knees and the legs.
REMINDER: When we work therapeutically with knees, we must always remember to adapt to our knees needs. We must change the saying of "no pain no gain" to "NO PAIN NO PAIN". In yoga (at least with me - Tara Leigh) our philosophy is "do NO harm.” This sometimes means adapting poses so that the you (the practitioner) doesn’t perform poses in position that hurt.
We must make sure to use proper body alignment suited to your personal body type. Ever body is different. Some are more bendy then other which is no big deal - just something we need to keep in mind.
So our goal is to make sure the muscles that support the knee joint are balanced: that the hips, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves are flexible and strong in a balanced way. Simply strengthening one muscle group over another may do more harm than good, especially if we ignore the opposing muscle groups. So yep, there you have it - to strengthen the knees you need to strengthen the legs in general.
Below are some poses to help the knees and the legs.
REMINDER: Proceed with
caution and please don't hold the pose or any of these postures if they cause
any pain/discomfort in your knees or anywhere else! Remember our rule of "no
pain, no pain":
Strengthening poses for knees:
Half Squat Against a Wall: This pose strengthens the quadriceps, hamstrings and hips. When doing this pose, please stand on a non skid surface. As you move into the squat, make sure that your knees track over the center of your feet and do not extend beyond your toes. Also make sure to keep your hips higher than your knees.
Bridge, gently squeezing a blanket or ball between the knees: This pose also strengthens quadriceps and hamstrings, along with other muscles. As with the squat, do not let your knees go behind your toes. Squeezing the blanket engages the inner thigh muscles and promotes correct positioning of the feet. Always keep both edges of the feet and all ten toes on the ground. (if you would like to add the prop of a yoga block under the back to make this pose even more restorative please do so. You don't have a yoga block? A tightly rolled yoga mat will due).
Cobra, bending the knees: This back strengthener also promotes mobility in the knee join and builds strength in the hamstrings. You can either bend one knee at a time or both. Flexing the foot as you bend the knee and imagining that you are wearing an ankle weight deepens the work.
Strengthening poses for knees:
Half Squat Against a Wall: This pose strengthens the quadriceps, hamstrings and hips. When doing this pose, please stand on a non skid surface. As you move into the squat, make sure that your knees track over the center of your feet and do not extend beyond your toes. Also make sure to keep your hips higher than your knees.
Bridge, gently squeezing a blanket or ball between the knees: This pose also strengthens quadriceps and hamstrings, along with other muscles. As with the squat, do not let your knees go behind your toes. Squeezing the blanket engages the inner thigh muscles and promotes correct positioning of the feet. Always keep both edges of the feet and all ten toes on the ground. (if you would like to add the prop of a yoga block under the back to make this pose even more restorative please do so. You don't have a yoga block? A tightly rolled yoga mat will due).
Cobra, bending the knees: This back strengthener also promotes mobility in the knee join and builds strength in the hamstrings. You can either bend one knee at a time or both. Flexing the foot as you bend the knee and imagining that you are wearing an ankle weight deepens the work.
Revolved
Chair: If you want strong
legs and you want to tone your backside, chair pose is the way to go. If you're
familiar with my power yoga class, then you already know chair pose — it's
basically like doing a squat, except you remain in the seated position for an
extended period of time. Really work your balance and quads by rotating upper body into
prayer position for revolved chair pose.
REMINDER: we need to do both the right and left hand side.
Warrior 2: This pose is a basic but challenging pose that helps build stronger quads and more open
hips; it also helps strengthen your upper body and core because when you're in
this pose, you really have to concentrate on elongating your spine and drawing
your belly in (navel sucking into your spine).
Let me know how these poses work for you. Love your knees.
Enjoy! Namaste
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