5 Safety Tips to Avoid Knee Injury During Yoga Practice

Yoga is a natural way for you to maintain your physical, mental, and spiritual health. It follows the philosophy of Svadhyaya or self-study which helps raise your spiritual and mental vibration. However, it does matter that you practice the right body alignment and pay attention to how your body feels during the practice. Whether you practice Vinyasa yoga flow or Hatha Yoga; wrong body alignment can lead to a yoga injury.

Your knees are the first part of your body at a high risk of injury during the yoga session. Your knees suffer a lot of wear and tear during the practice. Even a slight and wrong twist of your legs can overextend the knee which ends up becoming a yoga injury. Unfortunately, your knees do not heal quickly and easily.

With that said, given below are five tips to help you avoid a knee injury during yoga practice.

5 Tips to Prevent Knee Injury During Yoga Practice

Given below are five powerful tips to help you keep your knee safe during a yoga session.

1. Keep Toe And Knee Aligned

Your knees are not made for a twisting motion. Although it might give a little crackling sound from time to time but it is a clear sign of a major knee issue. Whether you are practicing standing or a bending pose make sure to keep your knee pointed in the same direction as the toe.

2. Place Knee Over Ankle

During yoga practice, you come across specific poses that require you to be in a bent-knee position. Pay attention to where your knee aligns in relation to your ankle especially when doing Warrior Pose or lunges. Do not let your knee move past the ankle as it only puts unnecessary pressure on the front of the joint.

3. Flex Your Foot

Whether you are sitting cross-legged or doing the Pigeon pose there is always space for you to extend your knee a little too much. It is here that flexing your foot on the bent leg protects your knee joint.

4. Watch Out for Hyperextension

A common mistake you might commit during yoga practice is hyperextending your knees or opening the joints beyond a level of comfort. Another mistake you make is straightening those joints owing to their bone structure.

However, if you tend to hyperextend your knee then pay attention to your body alignment especially in yoga poses where you have to keep the legs straight. Engage your muscles when moving in or out of a particular yoga posture.

5. Never Rest On Knee Joints

The worst mistake you can make during specific yoga poses like the Tree Pose is placing too much weight on your knee joints. When you bend the knee always place the sole of your foot above or below the knee on the standing leg but never on the knee joint. It will help you not just practice but also reap all the Vinyasa yoga benefits.

Your knee joint has a limited range of motion and can move side-to-side. However, when you put your foot on the knee then it puts unnecessary pressure on the knee joint.

Conclusion

Whether you are practicing Hatha or Vinyasa yoga flow your knee undergoes tremendous stress as well as wear and tear. Make sure to follow the five guidelines mentioned above to ensure you do not suffer from a knee injury.