Things You'll Need:
- yoga mat, chair, yoga block, yoga strap
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Step 1
In First Series of Ashtanga Yoga, the set sequence of poses includes many seated forward bends where it would be easy to "lockt" the knees and create strain in the knee joints or overstretch ligaments designed to protect them. Learning how to work in seated forward bends will keep your knees healthy. Start by taking your mat to the wall and standing with your back to the wall with your feet apart a hip's-width distance. Bend your knees until your legs form a 90 degree angle and it is as if you are sitting in an invisible chair. Press your feet into the floor as you firm the thigh muscles (quadriceps). Remain for 30 seconds. Stand to rest. Repeat. You are learning to activate these large muscles along the front of the thighs.
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Step 2
Now place a chair at the wall and sit in it. Sit in the chair with your feet flat on the floor, a hip's-width distance apart. Use a lightweight foam yoga block and place it between your feet. Holding the sides of the chair with your hands, extend your legs to almost straight, keeping the yoga block between the inner edges of your feet. Microbend both knees and firm the thigh muscles once more. Do 10 to 12 repetitions. During each round, actively lift the quadricep muscles so that you can actually see them lift the kneecaps up towards your waist. Rest.
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Step 3
Now take your mat to the center of the room and sit on it with legs extended straight in front of you. Allow your thighs to be soft and place your hands on your kneecaps. Notice you can move the kneecaps quite a lot. Next, firm the thigh muscles and notice you cannot move the kneecaps at all. You have stabilized the knees with the action of activating the thigh muscles.
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Step 4
Let's use that action in Dandasana, or Staff Pose to see how well you have created this "muscle memory" in your body. Place your hands flat by your hips, pressing the palms into the floor. At the same time, root down through the center of both heels and microbend the knees. Lift the thigh muscles as you extend the top of your head away from your hips. Remain for five to eight breaths. Rest. Repeat two to three times.
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Step 5
Now let's see how well you do in a variation of Pascimottanasana, a classic seated forward bend. Use a yoga strap and loop it around your feet. Hold each end in each hand. The legs remain extended straight in front of you, working the same actions of pressing the heels into the floor and lifting the thighs. Now, microbend the knees again and activate the thighs. As you extend your chest tall, you might choose to hinge at the hips, and turning from the waist, draw your flat chest towards your legs. Keep the extension of the spine from the hips to the crown of the head. Do not let the chest collapse or the feet to turn out. Remain for five to eight breaths before lifting up out of the pose. You can apply these actions to all seated forward bends to protect your knees.
