5 Best Yoga Poses for Knee Pain

Knee pain is the number two type of chronic pain, second only to back pain, and is

estimated to affect nearly 20 million people in the United States alone. Oftentimes

the issue isn’t with the knee itself, but with the muscles surrounding it (i.e.

quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, hip adductors and, IT band.

Yoga is known to be extremely beneficial to those who suffer from weakness or pain

in their knees – due to a ligament injury or simply from sitting at a desk all day. If

done with proper alignment and instruction, practicing yoga regularly can not only

prevent knee damage but also repair current injuries.

Here are five different yoga poses that can help stretch and strengthen the muscles

surrounding the knees. These asanas can prevent tight muscles from making joint

pain worse and provide needed stability.

Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana)

When striving to alleviate knee pain, it’s important to pay close attention to your

quadriceps and hamstrings. By strengthening these areas, your knees—along with

your pelvic and core muscles are brought back into balance.

Bridge Pose is a great way to strengthen these power centers and safely gain

flexibility in your IT band (the thick tendon that connects the pelvis to the knee,

stabilizing the hips and knees).

Directions:

1) Lie down on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor.

2) Place your arms by your sides with your palms down and walk your heels back

toward your fingertips so that your ankles are under your knees.

3) Press into your palms and the four corners of your feet and inhale as you lift

your hips off the ground. Make sure to engage your glutes and core to protect

your knees!

4) Pulsate through this gentle pose, following the guide of your breath or simply

hold for several breath cycles and release.

Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

Mountain pose is an excellent posture for knee pain relief as it helps us track our

knees evenly and teaches us how to isometrically engage leg muscles. Additionally,

it’s the foundation of all standing asanas and makes a great starting position, resting

pose, or tool to improve your posture. Now, pay attention, because there’s a lot more

to this seemingly simple pose than meets the eye!

Directions:

1) Start by standing upright with your feet slightly apart. Engage your lower

abdominals (your core) and stretch your fingers toward the ground. Roll your

shoulders down, open your chest, and take deep, full breaths.

2) Release your shoulder blades down our back your back. Lift the crown of your

head toward the ceiling and widen your collarbone.

3) Spread through your toes and stabilize through the four corners of your feet.

Tuck your pelvis and lengthen your tailbone toward the floor.

4) Make sure your weight is centered in the arch of your foot and lift your inner

ankles to engage the inner arches. Turn your upper thighs slightly inward

without buckling the knees.

5) Engage your quadriceps as you energetically lift the kneecaps without

hardening your lower belly. Slightly bend the knees, if you feel that you’re

locking them.

6) Balance the crown of your head directly over the center of your pelvis with the

bottom of your chin parallel to the floor, throat soft and tongue on the floor of

your mouth.

7) Enjoy an easy breath as your whole body is actively engaged.

Chair Pose (Utkatasana)

Chair pose activates your entire body. Enter this pose by balancing your weight

into your hip sockets. Performing this asana can help to take the stress out of

your knees while aligning your hips and strengthening your inner thighs and

calves.

Directions:

1) Stand in Tadasana with your chest lifted, crown of the head rising upward.

Sit back and down (as if you’re sitting in a chair).

2) Keep your weight balanced thought the four corners of your feet as you

sweep your arms straight up, parallel with your ears. Make sure to keep your

knees stacked over your shins and that you can see your toes in front of your

knees.

3) Hold for several breath cycles and release.

Warrior I (Virabhadrasa 1)

The Warrior poses can build a great deal of strength and assist in alignment

when it comes to protecting and healing knee joints. When done right, these

postures strengthen our inner quad muscles which are typically weak and under-

utilized. Warrior I is performed to train those muscles to awaken, strengthen, and

get to work.

Directions:

1) Step your right foot all the way back. Find heel to arch alignment as your

back heel comes down to the floor at an angle. Allow your leg will begin to

engage and fully ignite.

2) Point your front toes forward and bend your front knee. Make sure you

can see your toes in front of your knee. Grounding through the 4 corners

of your left foot, stack your knee over your ankle and coax your front knee

to the left.

3) Raise your arms to the sky, open your chest, and keep your cervical spine

and shoulders relaxed, and your core engaged.

4) Hold for several breath cycles and repeat of the other side.

Warrior II (Virabhadrasa 2)

Warrior II, like Warrior I, is safe pose to do when you have knee issues. It

specifically helps to stretch, strengthen, and stabilize the knee along with

strengthening your outer gluteal muscles, inner thighs, and quadriceps.

Directions:

1) Start by standing sideways on your mat with your legs at least three

feet apart. Turn the toes on your front foot out 90 degrees and

find heel to arch alignment with your front heel and back foot.

2) Bend your front knee until it’s directly over your ankle. Use your leg

muscles to keep tracking the knee to make sure it doesn’t roll

inwards.

3) Stretch your arms away from you, open your chest, and relax your scapula

down your back. Check-in to make sure you can see your toes over the top

of your knee. If your toes disappear, simply pull your knee back towards

your body and realign your knee over your ankle.

4) Gaze over your front fingertips and enjoy several breath sets before

switching sides.

If you struggle with knee pain, you might want to consider adding props to support

your yoga practice. Start with the mat- look for something cushiony with substantial

grip, like the Luxe Platinum from AshtaLuxe. Yoga blocks can provide balance and

grounding in challenging poses and allow you to sink deeper into knee stretches. And

you might want to consider adding a yoga knee pad on top of your mat. The Patella

Pad by AshtaLuxe is thin and flexible, made of a cushiony high-density material that

doesn’t bottom out. It’s really an amazing way to cushion your knees during yoga so

you don’t feel the pressure from a hard floor. Visit the AshtaLuxe website to learn

more about these new products for people who struggle with knee pain. We’d be

honored to help you improve your practice without pain!

Namaste, yogis.