by Barrie

In my recent post on Cultivating Knee Strength and Stability, I explained that there are several structural issues that predispose our knees to wear and tear, chronic misalignment, and injury.

One of these issues is that the kneecaps are structured to slide along a groove in the femurs (thigh bones) whenever we bend and straighten our legs. If they slide “off track,” which they commonly do as a result of muscular imbalances as well as the shape of our leg bones, this wears away at the cartilage underneath and can destabilize the knees.

Balancing the pull of the leg muscles on the kneecaps can help the knees to function more efficiently. It might also help to prevent or slow down the wear and tear on the cartilage that can lead to osteoarthritis.

In this video tutorial I lead you through several variations of an exercise that my colleague Ellen Saltonstall calls Pressure Cooker. These exercises, first done seated and then standing, use an isometric action to support better tracking of the knee when you bend and straighten your legs. I also find this series of poses helpful for relieving sacroiliac and hip pain.

 

Download a free class from Barrie’s new Yoga for Times of Change companion video series and learn more about her book Evolving Your Yoga: Ten Principles for Enlightened Practice at www.barrierisman.com.

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