Is yoga bad for your knees?

When you first start learning yoga, you must go to a regular yoga studio and get guidance from professionals. Don't be stingy with money at this time. Professional yoga teachers will choose appropriate yoga moves based on the actual situation of the students. Some people have bad knees, so when doing yoga, they must avoid yoga moves that are harmful to the knees. So, does doing yoga cause damage to the knees?

Is yoga bad for your knees?

Yoga can enhance the stability and flexibility of the knee joint and can also treat knee injuries, but at the same time, incorrect practice can also cause damage to the knee.

1. Pay attention to warming up the hip joint.

The hip joint, knee joint and ankle joint are the three joints that connect the lower limbs of the human body. If the hip joint is not sufficiently mobile, it will exert excessive pressure on the knee joint during exercise, causing the knee joint to be overwhelmed. When you first start, you can rotate your hips and ankles, and practice poses like the butterfly and cow pose to strengthen the stretching of your hip joints. Once the hip joints are opened, sitting cross-legged becomes much easier.

So here is a reminder: when the hip joint does not have strong external rotation ability, and the ankle and instep flexibility and extension ability, remember not to try full lotus practice lightly! Otherwise, you will get hurt in your knee joint!

2. The adjustment and construction of the posture starts with the placement of the feet in Mountain Pose.

Make sure that the sole of the foot can stably contact the ground, and the four corner points of the sole of the foot (two points on both sides of the forefoot and two points on both sides of the heel) should be evenly distributed on the ground, and apply force evenly. The force is driven into the ground through the ball of the foot, and the toes are stretched to keep them mobile. At the same time, pay attention to lifting the sole of the foot upward through the arch of the foot.

In this way, the ligament strength on both sides of the knee is evenly distributed, the patella can move freely, and the meniscus is not easily over-compressed. In addition, the elasticity of the leg muscles will also be enhanced. Therefore, it is recommended to practice Mountain Pose more often!

3. Keep your knees and ankles vertical in poses with bent knees.

For example, in the Warrior Pose and Side Angle Pose, first place the knee directly above the ankle joint, spread the five toes, and after bending the knee, the position of the patella should be consistent with the direction of the second toe. If there is a slight forward lean, the knees should not extend beyond the toes. At the same time, pay attention to the instep of your feet and don't let the soles of your feet fall down. In addition, control of the core parts is also very important!

4. Avoid excessive inward extension of the knees.

In poses that require the legs to be straight, it is easy to overextend the knees inward. For example, in the triangle pose and the double-leg back extension pose (seated forward bend), the knees tend to turn inward, and the strength of the ligaments around the knees becomes unbalanced.

In standing poses, you can bend your knees slightly and keep your feet pressed evenly to the ground. In seated poses, you can place a small rolled towel under the knees. Note that tightening the quadriceps will prevent overstretching of the knee joint!

5. Pay attention to the subtle feelings of the knees and make timely adjustments.

The ligaments, cartilage and meniscus of the knee are not very sensitive parts, so if you feel pain, the injury is often inevitable. Therefore, you should feel your body carefully. Once you feel the slightest discomfort, you should make adjustments quickly to avoid further damage.