A humble hometown

[gogbuehi]

 Tonight's yoga class ended in a surprising way. As I gathered my items and prepared to leave, I chatted up a fellow practitioner about what she thought of the special event they had at the studio this past Sunday. While she didn't go into loads of detail on the weekend event, we struck up a pleasant conversation (along with a couple other regulars

Comments

[syriene]

This is a lovely picture, however, I must ask...I have always been told that doing anything like that to your legs can harm your knees. I am sure your classes are great, just be careful on your joints!

[gogbuehi]

Who has been telling you that standing on one leg can harm your knees? Yoga instruction includes being mindful of stresses on the body (especially watching out for people that may have injuries). There is a lot of emphasis on having good alignment, so that there is plenty of support in each pose.

This photo is of one of the instructors at the studio, so she is in a more advanced version of the pose. In either case, the pose doesn't present any dangers to the knee that I'm aware of or experienced.

[syriene]

oh no no, it's not the standing on one leg part, it's the way she is holding her leg. When I was running track in HS, we used to do a stretch where you would fold up one leg and lay on your back to stretch your hamstrings (I think that's the right muscle). Then we found out it did horrible things to your knees. What she is doing in that pose is very similar, except she doesn't have the weight of her body bearing down on her knee joint.

[gogbuehi]

Once again, how did you find out it did horrible things to your knees? I know the pose you are referring to (I did it just yesterday). The instructor makes sure that we get into the pose appropriately, specifically to protect the knee. Also, there is a lot of emphasis on not going too far into the pose, unless you can go so far as lying on your back.

A few corrections: The pose in the photo doesn't present the same kind of stress on the knee. Again, the instructor is particularly advanced at this pose, so her quadricep (the front muscle in the upper part of the leg) is able to engage in this pose safely.

In either case, I appreciate the suggestion to be cautious in my practice. I make a point of listening to my body, so I'm not pushing anything too far (something I learned from the yoga instructors).