Australian_Yoga_Journal_2016_08_09_downmagaz.com

your practice
ANATOMY
Virabhadrasana I
(Warrior Pose I)
Practice Warrior I to strengthen the glutes of the back leg, while
stabilizing the hip and the ankle of the front leg. To protect your
front knee, progress gently toward, but not beyond, 90 degrees
of flexion. Press the balls and outsides of both feet into your
mat at the same time: This grounds the legs and lifts the arches.
Engage the glutes of your back leg as you straighten that knee;
very subtly drag the back foot toward the midline. In the front
leg, imagine simultaneously pressing the inside and outside
of that knee into an immoveable object like a post. This is a
co-contraction of the muscles around the hip, and takes a bit of
practice. Feel your hip settle into the socket. This action stabilizes
and aligns the knee, strengthens the muscles of the hip, and
improves your sense of joint position.
FINISH Close with some core work, such as Forearm
Plank. Press the forearms into the mat as you attempt to
drag them toward your feet, simultaneously and firmly
contracting the glutes.
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continued from page 88
To understand how these muscles affect
the knee joint, it’s helpful to think of the
knee in the context of the entire leg and
pelvis. The patella is a mobile bone
structure between the foot and the pelvis;
any wobble that travels up from the foot or
down from the pelvis affects the patella.
While instability in the foot or ankle can
contribute to knee pain and dysfunction, it’s
a less likely culprit than instability in the
pelvis—which is where a strong core, hip
abductors, and glutes come into play.
These three muscle groups all surround
the pelvic bowl, which means the stronger
and stabler they are, the stabler the pelvis
will be. This is important, because the
orientation of the femur (thighbone) at the
hip joint causes a small degree of normal
rotation at the knee joint during flexion and
extension. However, any pelvic instability
caused by imbalances in the core, hip
abductors, and/or glute muscles creates
pressure that travels to the knee, leading
to abnormal wear and tear that can
potentially cause chronic pain. For
example, internally rotated femurs create
a knock-kneed position, called valgus, an
angle that’s frequently associated with
anterior knee pain. Strengthening the hip
extensors, which externally rotate the
femurs, helps to counterbalance this
pain-inducing angle.
Of course, focusing on the muscles
that provide pelvic stability alone isn’t
enough; the quadriceps are still important
for healthy knees. You must couple
strengthening the VMO—that innermost
quad muscle—with improving flexibility
in the quads, in particular the rectus
femoris, which crosses the hip and the
patella. When this quad muscle is tight, as
is common with most people, it can inhibit
kneecap mobility and prohibit proper
kneecap alignment, leading to abnormally
high pressure where the patella connects
to the femur. But when you keep that
muscle flexible, the kneecap is free to move
as it should.
The poses and cues on page above and
on the previous page will go a long way
toward helping you stabilise your pelvis by
strengthening your core, outer hips, and
glutes, as well as by releasing tension from
the quadriceps. The result? Happy, healthy,
pain-free knees.
OUR PROS Teacher Dr. Ray Long is an
orthopedic surgeon and the founder of
Bandha Yoga, a website and book series
dedicated to the anatomy of yoga. He trained
extensively with B.K.S. Iyengar. Model Nicole
Wienholt is a Boulder, US–based yoga teacher
and the co-founder of Yoga Pod, a national
chain of studios.