Australian Yoga Journal – July 2019

your practice

ANATOMY

34

july 2019

yogajournal.com.au

IN , I SLIPPED WHILE DESCENDING A

STEEP TRAILin a National Park. I took a

hard blow to the outside of my left knee,

shredding the lateral meniscus and

articular cartilage and dislocating the

kneecap. I faced major surgeries to save

the knee from a partial joint

replacement. My orthopaedic surgeon

was upfront: recovery would be long and

arduous. More than anything else, my

mindset would be the key to my healing.

That meant I needed to cultivate a

nurturing relationship with my knees.

Fortunately, prior to the accident I’d

been a yoga practitioner with a daily

meditation habit for 19 years. Before

surgery, I dedicated an hour a day to

channelling love and gratitude into my

knees. By the time I was wheeled into

the operating room for the fi rst of two

surgeries that ultimately restored the

joint’s structure, the knee had become

my most beloved body part. I had

learned to celebrate its complexity and

vulnerability, and to fi ne-tune

movements to treat it well. The knee is

the body’s nexus of faith and duty: one

of the fi rst things we do when we seek

strength or mercy is get down on our

knees. We also drop to our knees when

we pledge ourselves to a path of

devotion. Each knee is the grand arbiter

of mechanical forces received from the

foot and hip. For better or worse, the

knee adjusts itself to balance and

transmit the energies of impact, shear

(sliding forces), and torsion (twisting

forces).

The knee is often described as a

hinge joint, but that’s not the whole

story. To the eye, it resembles a hinge

because its primary movements are

fl exion (bending, to draw the thigh and

calf toward each other) and extension

(straightening, to move the thigh and

calf away from each other). In reality,

the knee is a modifi ed hinge joint. It

glides and rotates. This makes it more

versatile but also more vulnerable. Its

range of motion becomes clear when

you compare it with the elbow. Bend

and straighten your elbow several times.

The movement feels similar to opening

and closing a laptop. Try it again by

moving between Plank Pose and

Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed

Staff Pose). Now try Virabhadrasana II

(Warrior Pose II), placing your front

hand on the inner part of your front

knee. Bend your front knee (fl exion) and

feel the thigh bone, or femur, glide

forward and rotate—moving the knee

up and out. Straighten your knee

(extension) and feel the femur glide

backward and rotate—moving the knee

down and in.

To keep stable, the knee relies on

tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and the

joint capsule itself, not large muscles.

Among standing yoga poses, Tadasana

(Mountain Pose) is most stable for the

knee because there is maximal contact

between the end of the femur and tibial

plateau (the top of the tibia, or shin

bone). Things go awry, though, if you

“lock” your knees. When we

hyperextend—and many of us do so

without conscious thought—we

excessively squeeze the anterior, or

frontal, aspect of the menisci (see

drawing), pushing the tissues backward,

out of their natural placement. Instead,

practice standing with your knees in a

“relaxed straight”: stand and press back

through one of your knees. Then fi rm

your calf muscles toward your shin

bone. Notice how all your leg muscles

engage. Take your attention to the

middle of your knee. It should feel very

stable. Practicing this action over time

will reeducate your muscles and correct

hyperextension. Also, the inner parts of

the knee are larger, thicker, and deeper

than the outer parts. This anatomical

asymmetry makes it normal for the

kneecaps to slightly glance toward each

other in poses such as Tadasana and

Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-

Facing Dog Pose). Perhaps you’ve heard

the cue to point your kneecaps directly

forward in straight-leg asana? Don’t

do it; it can injure the knee because

it overrides the structure and function

of the joint.

Keep Your Knees Safe

Exploring how your knees move can lead to a balanced relationship

between stability and vulnerability, on and off the mat. By Mary Richards

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PHOTOS: CHRISTOPHER DOUGHERTY; ILLUSTRATIONS: MICHELE GRAHAM