Yoga For Knee Health

Keep observing your breath. Inhale slowly, exhale slowly. With every inhalation, take positivity, happiness. With every exhalation, release your tensions, worries. Slowly and gently come to any prayer position. Let us chant Om, Ameen, or Amen for 3 times. Breathe in. Om Shanti, Shanti. Slowly and gently release your hands, absorb the vibrations, and open your eyes. Open your eyes. Very good. Thank you. So as I said, knees are very, very important joints, very important joint, but they are very sensitive. Most people think knee pain is a knee problem. Knee pain is a knee problem, but it is not. The knee is the victim. Knee is the victim The real culprits, the real problem creators, are above it and below it. Tight hips, weak quadriceps, and below it, the flat foot, weak ankles, and some excess weight. If you have excess weight, that is a culprit. You're putting a lot of, I think, like, weight on your knees. Poor postures— how your posture is. Wrong walking habits. Wrong walking habits, right? So today we are here to fix the whole chain, not just the joint. By just— if you have knee pain, what knee exercise I can do, people ask. Even after you're doing that, like, you're not getting any relief because you have to strengthen the whole part. It's not just knee. Above knee, below knee. How many of you agree? Whatever is supporting, we have to work on that, right? It's not just about the knee. So it's not just a night. Today, today we're not only moving the knee, we are supporting the whole chain around it, the whole chain around the knee. So what are the few things we need to consider, um, like for the knee health? First, your quadriceps strength. So whatever the shocks, tensions, or whatever you are getting, so your quadriceps muscles are the absorbers. So your quadriceps muscles are the absorbers or shock absorbers, right? If you have weak quadriceps, like the knee joints will get affected. Affected, you'll have unprotected knee joint. Then second important thing we need to consider is a hip mobility, hip mobility, hip strength, hip strength and hip mobility. Especially this happens, this problem comes to the people who are having sedentary lifestyle. If your hips are weak, then it causes the knees to collapse inward. The knees, knee should be like this, but it will collapse inward. It will try to collapse inward, or sorry, inward, not backward. So it will try to collapse inward. This is the number one cause of the knee pain and injury also. And second, third thing which we need to consider is ankle mobility. If you have your ankles very stiff, right? I hope you can able to see me. Yes, great. If your ankles are stiff, then knee has to take— compensate it. Knee has to take the weight. Most people never address this ankle mobility. It's very, very important. Is your ankle mobile or not? It's very, very important. You need to know. Right. And many people, another problem is they have flat foot. When you're walking, your weight has to be distributed on here, here, and here. For many people, this will not happen. And their arch, if you see this, can you see the arch here? For some people, there won't be any arch, which will also lead to a lot of knee pains or ankle pains. And many other things. Very, very important. Nowadays we are getting a lot of footwear that can bring the arch. Or there are so many exercises, like we'll do some exercises like lifting your toes up. So you will see naturally the arch is coming. We can train the arch also. You should not leave like because you have flat foots. You need to do something, right? And then the another important thing is lubrication of your knee joint. Very, very important. There are some fluids, synovial fluid. We call it synovial fluid. It's not only knee joints, it's also in other joints as well, right? So knee joint has to be lubricated with— by synovial fluid. Then only it can move or anything. See, for example, if there is no lubrication, even you might have so many cycle chain or anything, if you see, if there is no lubrication, it cannot move properly. Yes, because of the lubrication, it can move very easily in all the direction. So like, the lubrication is— the movement is produced because of that lubrication. Especially it dries up for the people who are having sedentary lifestyle, literally dries up. And another thing we need to consider is knee tracking. Knee tracking, dear friends. How many of you don't know this? The kneecap— this is the kneecap— must move in the straight line. Must move in the straight line. But let me show you a picture what happens. Tracking. So if you see, this is a normal one, straight line. Can you see the straight line? For some people it will be like this. That means it's an affected knee. Yeah, so this is also very, very important. You need to consider when it comes to the knee health. Yeah, so please make sure that the knees are the most, most— like, until we have a problem, we don't realize that importance of knees and all the joints, not just knees, joints spine. Because I, I told you many times, even if the person have diabetes, hypertension, their mobility will not affect. But the person who is having mobility issues, like whether it is deep pain, ankle pain, joint pain, leg pain, shoulder pain, spinal pain, their mobility is restricted. Every minute they have to suffer. People who are diabetic, because they're taking medication, they even forget that they have diabetes sometimes. That will not impact on your daily lifestyle mobility a lot, daily mobility a lot. But when we have joint problems and all, it will impact. You cannot sit on the floor, you cannot do many activities, you cannot run, walk, jog, wait, carry the weights, so many things it will affect. You cannot do many— like so many exercises you cannot do. But the person who is having diabetes, I can make them do any kind of exercise. But if you have joint pain, spinal pain, and all of those, you are restricted. You are restricted. Yes. So let's do some of the practices which are very, very important. And before we strengthen our knees, we need to lubricate our knees. A dry joint is a damaged joint. If you have a dry joint, it's a damaged joint. So knee means not only the knee. I told you what are the things we need to consider. It's not just the knee, we have to consider the ankle. I want all of you to be on camera so that I can see you. Ankle and everything. People who cannot sit on the mat, you can sit on your bed and practice, no problem. So if you cannot sit on the floor, you can sit on the bed and practice, because now we are doing some exercises in the sitting position. Then we'll do the chair position also. I'll teach you today majority of the chair exercises that many people can do it. Yeah. Yes. First I want you to do practice is for arching, right? So to make— to create the arch, stretch your toes upward. Stretch your toes upward. Stretch, stretch, stretch. And relax. Stretch. Now tell me which muscles are engaging when you are doing this. Show me. Knee is lifting up, calf muscles. You see this muscle, calf muscle also getting engaged. And the knee, observe the knee movement when you are doing this. Because everything is connected. Up and down, up and down. Even the hip also, there will be slight movement in your hip. Observe that as well and relax. Now opposite leg, again for the arch. Up, up, as much as possible up. And relax. Very good. Now, Padanguli Namaskar. Stretch your Cinch your toes. Clinch, clinch, clinch, and relax. Clinch, relax. Clinch, relax. Clinch, relax. Your foot is a very, very important part of your body. The whole weight carried by your foot. This simple foot. And relax. Next, slowly stretch your toes forward and backward, forward and backward, forward. 5 times. Exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale. Now change opposite leg. Exhale, inhale. Exhale, inhale. Exhale, inhale. Exhale and inhale. Now rotate together, we'll do it. Rotate your ankles. One, inhaling up, exhaling down. Inhaling up. Exhaling down. 2, 3, 4, 5. Reverse direction. 5, 4 3, 2, 1. Relax. Very good, very good. Now we'll do another practice where you have to drag your heel towards your hip. So like this. Very, very important exercise for your knee. And drag it forward again. Back. Drag and push. Drag and push. Drag and Opposite leg. Very good. And relax. Next, interlock your fingers, palms under your thighs— sorry, under your thighs— and Bring your foot and make a circle. 1. Do it as per your capacity. Inhale, exhale. Inhaling up, exhaling down. Stretch your toes forward. Breathing up, breathe out down. Knee rotation, 5 times clockwise, 5 times anticlockwise. Reverse direction. Do it slowly. Do it slowly. Now change the leg. Relax. Observe what muscles are getting engaged while you're doing this. Where do you see the mobility? And reverse also if you have finished, anticlockwise, and relax. Then the next exercise So one more thing, I hope you have practiced this. Stretch your toes forward and backward. Forward, simple. Forward and backward. And backward. Backward also. Observe which muscles are engaging when you are stretching forward. What— where you are seeing the stretch? Below the knee, calf. When you're stretching forward Where? Above the knee, right? Look forward, shoulders relaxed. Last time, exhale and inhale, relax. Now again, place your thighs under your knee and stretch your leg forward and fold. Stretch it. And fold. Stretch and fold. Stretch and fold. Stretch and fold. Stretch. Relax. Change. Fold and stretch. Pull, stretch, and last time, and relax. Relax. Next practice we will do is a very important practice. Tighten your knees, right? Tight. You will see all these muscles are getting engaged. Tight, tight, tight. Relax. Tighten your knees. Tighten. Which muscles are getting engaged? Show me. I know that you cannot type. Show me which muscles are getting engaged for you. Yes, the thigh muscles and below around that. Yes, tighten. Do it a few more times. Just a minute. And relax. The last movement we'll do, butterfly, is also very, very important for our knees. Knee up and down. Sorry, not knees, it's also— it's important for hips. Butterfly is very important for hips. Okay, so knees up and down. Keep your spine erect. Knees up and down. You can try to press the knees sidewards. Place your hands and try to press. If you're comfortable. Very, very important practice. Keep doing, keep doing. Last time. And slowly relax, relax. Now please stand up wherever you are, please stand up. We'll do few standing exercises and then sitting exercises. I'm adjusting my camera, so, uh, I'll not show my face now because it's not required. So you will be able to see my feet, right? So the very, very, very important exercise you have to do daily basis is heel raises, right? So you can also do— of course you can do, uh, this one, like stretching the toes up and down, up and down. You can do that, but very important is heel. Lift your right heel up. So I'm showing this way. Lift your right heel up, down. Left heel up, down. Right and left. Right and left, right and left. Keep doing. Observe where you are feeling the stretch. And now both legs together, both legs together, and lift up. Heels together, up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down, up And down. Relax. Now heels together, feet apart. Inhale up, exhale down. Inhale up, exhale down. Keep repeating. Where do you feel stretch? Show me. You have to be aware of your body. It's not do mechanical. If you are doing mechanical, that is not yoga, that's an exercise. And there is no— you'll not get benefits also, maximum benefits. And relax. Okay, very good. And also in standing position, if you want to do ankle rotation, you can stretch your leg forward like this and rotate your ankles. If you want to take a wall support, you can take a wall support with your hands and do this reverse direction. And opposite leg, clockwise. Reverse, anticlockwise. Very good. Now bend your knees, place your both hands on your knees. Do not put any weight, just gently place both legs together. Rotate your knees. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Reverse direction. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Relax. Very good. Now please grab your chair. We'll do some exercises sitting on, sitting on chair. So like, you can see me really well. Sitting on the chair, the first exercise. See, even in on sitting on the chair, so you have to sit little forward, don't go back. You can do the lift of your heels up and down, up and down, up and down. Because we have already done this, I am not doing many repetitions. Up and down, up and down. Very good. Okay, so now stretch your hands forward. Please stand up and sit, stand and sit. Keep repeating this. Stand And sit. Stand and sit 10 times. Last 2 times. And relax. Now knee raises. Up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down. Keep lifting one by one knee up. Keeping, keeping, jogging, marching, marching. It will also Strengthen your hip. Are you observing your hip muscles also getting engaged? And relax. Again, do it as per your capacity. In case if your capacity is— if it is paining, I recommend you to relax. Do not do it. Okay, next. Come little forward, stretch your leg forward, heel on the mat, and lift up, up and down, up and down. If you want to stretch your both the legs and lift up and down, that is also fine, but easy variation is this. Up and down, up And down, up and down, up and down. Absorb the muscles engaged. Very good, very good. Now change the leg. Change the leg. And relax. Now single leg raiser. You can place your both palms on your thigh and slowly raise your right leg up. Hold it for 3 seconds and relax. Again, raise your right leg up, hold it for 3 seconds and relax. Again, up, hold it for 3 seconds and relax. Up, 1, 2, 3, relax. Up, 1, 2, 3, relax. Change the leg. Up, 1, 2, 3, relax. Up, 1, 2, 3, relax. Up, 1, 2, 3, relax. Up, 1, 2, 3, relax. Few more times. 1, 2, 3, and relax. Very good. Now I want all of you to get your pillow. We'll do one exercise especially for with pillow, and actually there is one exercise sitting position also. And maybe I'll cover maybe in the next class, so I'll also get my pillow. Yes, so place a pillow between your knees and Bring your knees together, tighten, press the pillow, press, press, press, and relax. Again, press the pillow for 3 seconds. 1, 2, 3, relax. Again, make sure that the feet is on the floor, feet is on the floor completely, your toes, all the 3 points I've shown you, right? All the 3 points, this point, this point, and heel has to be on the floor. Again, squeeze your pillow. Squeeze it, squeeze it, squeeze it, and relax. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, and relax. You being— sorry. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. Relax. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. Relax. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. Relax. Last time. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. And relax. Very good. Very, very important exercise. Simple exercise. That you can practice on daily basis. Yes. Now again, place your palms under your thigh, make a rotation of your knee. 1, 2, inhaling up, exhaling down. 3, 4, 5. Reverse. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Change the leg. Do not keep the knee stiff, keep it loose. Reverse direction. Clockwise and anti-clockwise. Very good, very good. Relax. Next we'll do heel sliders, the same thing which we have done on the floor. After this, we'll go to the breathing, that is also important. So keep the foot forward and slowly slide it back. Again take it forward and slowly slide it back. Again, slide it back. Last time, relax. Change the leg. Slide, slide. Slide, slide, slide. Last time, slide. Relax, relax your knees. Now we'll practice deep breathing. Relax yourself. Now place your right palm on your navel, left palm on your chest. Gently place them, do not press. Breathe in, bulge your abdomen, expand your chest, breathe towards your shoulders. Breathe out, relax your shoulders, relax your chest, relax your abdomen. Breathing is one of the most important practices for your knee health. Why? If you see, in your cartilage you don't have any blood vessels. The prana we take will help in allowing the fluid to move properly and keeping the cartilage healthy. Keep practicing. Inhale, 1. 2, 3. Exhale, 1, 2, 3. Breathe in, 1, 2. Head straight, shoulders relaxed. Keep your head straight, shoulders relaxed. Breathe in, 1, 2, 3. Breathe out, 1, 2, and 3. Breathe in, breathe out. Keep repeating. Inhale for 3 seconds, exhale Feel like you're directly sending the healing power, the prana, towards your knee joint, directly into the knee joint. With every inhalation you take, the prana is moving towards your knee joint. Exhalation, all the impurities from that joint are coming back and you're throwing them away. Imagine that there is a golden light entering through your head, through your nostrils. While exhaling, visualize the light flowing down to the legs, filling the knee joints with prana. With every inhalation, visualize that the golden light, the healing energy, moving towards your knee. While exhaling, you're throwing it back. The impurities from the joint, you're throwing it back. Keep practicing. Breathe in, breathe out. Inhale slowly, exhale slowly. Breathing exercises directly improve the peripheral circulation. It helps to bring the fresh oxygenated blood to the joints. As I mentioned, cartilage has no blood vessels. The only way it gets nourishment is through fluid movement created by the breath. The fluid movement created by the breath and gentle movements. Every breath you are taking today is feeding your knee. Imagine that every breath you are taking today is feeding your knee. Breathe in slowly, breathe out slowly. All the breathing exercises, not just only deep breathing, are very, very powerful for your knee health. Last 3 rounds. Inhale slowly, exhale slowly. And slowly release your hands. Keep your eyes closed. Now we are going to do the meditation. Keep your eyes closed. Inhale deeply, exhale completely. Allow your whole body to relax. Relax your face, relax your shoulders, relax your hips, relax your thighs, knees, calves, feet. Now bring your awareness to your right knee. Just observe it. No judgment, no fear, no resistance. Bring your awareness to your left knee. Just observe. Whatever you feel is okay. Now bring your awareness awareness to both the knees together. These knees have carried you for so many years. They have supported your body, your walking, your standing, your running, your work, your journey through life. Maybe you have ignored, ignored them. Maybe you have overused them. Maybe you have been angry at them because of pain. But today we are not blaming. Today we are returning with love. Take a deep breath in. As you breathe out, soften your Niece. Now silently or gently repeat within yourself, or you can verbally say this: Dear niece, I am here with you. I'm listening to you. I'm ready to heal my relationship with you. Dear niece, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the stress I have stored in you. I'm sorry for all the pressure I have placed on you. I'm sorry for all the times I did not care for you. I'm sorry for all the times I moved without awareness. I'm sorry for all the pain, fear, and heaviness I may have held here. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Please forgive me for neglecting you, for criticizing you, for expecting so much from you without giving you love, rest, and care. Please forgive me for carrying emotional burdens in my body. Please forgive me for all unconscious patterns that created pain and stiffness. Please forgive me, dear niece. Thank you, my niece. Thank you so much for supporting me every single day. Thank you for helping me move forward in life. Thank you for carrying my my weight. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for all that you continue to do for me even now. Thank you. I love you, dear knees. I love you. I send love to every muscle, every ligament, Every tendon, every bone, every cell, every space inside the joint. I love your kidneys. Now repeat few more times. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you. Place your palm on your heart. Place your right palm on your heart and repeat: I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you. I am sorry. Sit comfortably. Please forgive me. Close your eyes. Thank you. I love you. Take a slow breath in. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Slowly breathe out. Thank you. I love you. Let your body relax. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Inhale slowly. Thank you. I love you. With every breath out, relax your body. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. Breathe in and out. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Now gently bring your attention inside your body. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you. I am sorry. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you. Keep repeating. Slowly and gently. Release your hand. Keep your eyes closed. Observe your breath. Release your hands. Come to any prayer position. Let us chant Om Ram Narayana for 3 times. Breathe in. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti. Peace, peace, peace. Now we have both hands. Cup your eyes. Open your eyes within cup of your palms with smile on face, smile on your face. Slowly release your hands. How are you feeling? Release your hands.