The Problem with Knees

Knee pain, and worse, knee surgery is very common these days. Pretty much every yoga class I teach has a few people with knee problems. For many, we put a lot of pressure on the knees when we run, or while playing most sports which require us to run and stop frequently (such as tennis, soccer, basketball, volleyball, etc.) For others, knee pain may be an outer rotation of the feet when the joints are not ready for it (common for ballerinas).

The knees may carry a lot of stress due to something that is frequently overlooked. We live in our shoes most of the day, and we want comfortable, healthy, and protective shoes. There are many cool shoes out there, with fun colors and fancy support, holding our feet inside a tight container. This extra support – the extra gel or air – made to give you padding from the ground, creates a muscular imbalance and may lead to knee injuries.

Luckily, practicing yoga can help us come back to balance and strength.

Pada Bandha

Your arches and your knees are talking in yoga. There is a Bandha (a lock) that is not looked at much – Pada Bandha. This is the foot lock, or as I like to call it, the “arch lift”.

You want your arches high and activated. When you maintain your arches high and strong, you have good support for your knees. When you allow your arches to sag and get flat feet, you’re inviting knee problems.

Training your arches to become high and strong is important for the health of your foot as well as your knees and spine. Below you will find some tips on how to activate your arches while practicing yoga, and other activities as well.

Activate your Pada Bandba 

• • Lift your toes. Stand in Tadasana – (mountain pose) with your feet parallel to each other, about hip-width apart. Lift your toes and keep them up for a few moments. You should feel your inner arches lift. Release and repeat this a few times.
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  • Stretch the calves and ankles. In downward-facing dog pose, bend one knee at a time. This will stretch your calves and arches. This will allow your arches to lift more.
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  • Do Utkatasana, (chair pose, or awkward pose), with the toes lifted and the hands at the heart.
    
    

    utkatasana practice

    Make sure your knees stay behind the line of your toes.

  • Root the outer edge of your foot. In all the yoga standing poses where the back foot is in 45 degrees (or pigeon toe), press firmly into the outer edge of your foot. This will help activate your inner arches, as well as straighten your leg, which will activate the muscles around the knee.
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  • Practice standing on one leg. Standing balance poses help to strengthen the inner arches. While practicing any pose on one leg, do not lock the knee, but instead activate the muscles around the knee by lifting the kneecaps. The little movement that happens on the standing foot, helps strengthens the muscles of the foot and arches, as well as support the knee.
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  • Activate feet when they are in the air. In your inversions, point the balls of the feet away from you while pulling the toes towards you (flexing). We call this “floint the feet”. This helps keep the arches active, creates length in your body, and good alignment for your spine. This can also be done in warrior three or half-moon pose with the foot that is off the ground. 
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  • “Floint the feet” in your seated forward folds. This means you pull the toes towards you while pressing the ball of the foot away from you. Top it off with activating the quadriceps – the front of your thighs – to help protect the knee and release the hamstrings.
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  • Spend more time barefoot. Especially on a sandy beach or grass where it feels good. Try to at least walk barefoot at home, and focus on activating your arches. Going back to nature is wonderful. Spending more time barefoot, or with simple shoes is also good. I like being barefoot on the earth as it also connects energetically with the earth.

Precautions

• • Keep the knee behind the ankle. In any pose where your front leg is bent, and the knee is weight-bearing, make sure to keep the knee bending to a max of 90 degrees. If you allow the knee to go beyond 90 degrees the ankles while it is supporting the weight of your body you will place too much pressure on it and over time damage it. The same goes for Utkatasana (chair pose), keep the knees behind the ankles to prevent knee pain.
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  • When buying shoes next, consider shoes that have less support and require you to do some of the work with your foot muscles. Life is getting easier and easier these days – wonderful on one hand, but taking a toll on the body on the other hand. Some of our muscles that would naturally work under normal conditions – or primitive conditions – now get lazy and rely on external support. Rather than buying shoes with a lot of support use the muscles in your feet to maintain good health and reduce knee pain.

You don’t need knee pain!

Do you experience yoga pain in your knees? In another part of your body? In any specific poses? 

Let us know what you’d like to see tips and modifications for, and we’d be happy to help! Comment below and share this post with a friend who has knee pain to change their life! 

For more information on modifications and exercises to prevent pain, check out the Doron Yoga Manual.

Blissful Living,

Doron