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The knees are intricate and highly vital. In addition to keeping you upright and helping you move, the knees absorb the impact of common motions, such as walking, running, jumping, and changing yoga poses.
Consequently, caring for the knees is essential. If you're experiencing knee pain, it's necessary to strengthen the muscles surrounding the knees, particularly the hamstrings, quadriceps, abductors, and adductors.
You can achieve the same through specific yoga exercises that can be performed despite knee pain. These workouts strengthen the muscles so that they can help alleviate knee pain over time.
Yoga Exercises for Knee Pain
Check out these six yoga exercises to relieve knee pain:
1) Utkatasana
To do this exercise, place your feet and legs together, and chest up. As if seated in a chair, lean back, and lower yourself. Beginners may find greater support and stability with their feet separated by hip width. Maintain your weight in your heels, and raise your arms overhead.
How it helps:
The bodyweight is placed on the hip sockets to prevent the knees from creeping ahead of the toes. This exercise tones the entire body by strengthening the hips, thighs, and calves, which improves knee function.
2) Peaceful Warrior Pose
To do this workout, step forward with your right foot, with toes facing straight ahead. Turn your left foot 45 degrees to the side, and stretch your arms with your palms facing up. Keep the right knee bent at 90 degrees and in line with the ankle.
How it helps:
Placing the back of your left hand on your left knee, arch your back, and raise your right arm overhead and towards the rear of your mat while staring upwards. This pose engages and develops the glutes, quads, and hamstrings, all of which help maintain knee health.
3) Virbhadrasana III
This yoga pose can help strengthen the abductors on the outer hip, gluteus medius, and the gluteus minimus. These abductors play a crucial function in knee strength.
If the abductors are weak, the knee will collapse inward, which is something you want to avoid. By bending the standing knee in this balanced position, you are striving to stabilize your pelvis and develop the muscles surrounding the pelvis and knee.
To do this yoga pose:
Taking your hands behind your back, clasp, and stretch them. Begin tilting forward. Push yourself forward, and begin bending down with your rear leg getting increasingly elevated.
Aim to create a 'T' shape with your leg, back, and head in a straight line and parallel to the floor. The other leg should remain stationary to balance your bodyweight. Keep your hands close to your hip; pull them forward slowly, and stretch out. Hold for 20-30 breaths on each leg.
4) High Lunge Pose
To do this pose, begin by standing in front of the mat. Step your left foot back into a deep lunge while bending your right knee at a 90-degree angle. Raise your arms vertically, and face the front. Slightly bend your rear leg if your hamstrings are tight, whoch is also easier on the knees.
How it helps:
This pose strengthens the glutes, quads, and calves. The balancing aspect of it improves these knee-supporting muscle groups.
5) Camel Pose
To do this pose, kneel with your knees shoulder-width apart on the mat. Extend your arms, and place your hands on the soles of your feet. Bend your back, and allow your head to fall back while you gaze at the wall behind you.
How it helps:
This pose places a great deal of direct pressure on the knees, which is not healthy for individuals with knee instability or history of ligament strain. To avoid that, you can kneel on a rolled-up mat or blanket instead.
6) Twisted Triangle Pose
To do this workout, place your feet wider than hip-width apart, with the left toes pointing forward and right toes turned 45 degrees outward. Reach your right arm to the ground, and position it on the outside of your left foot. Twist your torso, and extend your left arm skyward.
How it helps:
This stance is a double-edged sword. The front leg is extended straight, while the back hip is rotated outward, which might place lateral shear stress on the knee. Place the back foot alongside the front foot to prevent that.
Takeaway
If you have knee problems, you may (understandably) be wary about pretzel poses, but evidence suggests that specific yoga poses can have significant benefits for people with knee discomfort. In fact, many poses target the knees for pain treatment, while others can be modified to save the joints.
However, remember that a healthy yoga practice does not develop overnight. You can gradually get yogi rank over time. Also, if it aches, it's time to adjust or cease the activity.
Performing the aforementioned yoga poses and exercises can be extremely beneficial for the knees. However, take care to follow the correct form to exacerbate any existing pain or avoid injury.
