Yantra yoga health and knees

[Könchok Thrinley]

Hello,

I have just started to practice yantra yoga again and would like to ask whether some of you who have practiced it longer than me (I have been doing it for a week now ) have experienced some health benefits, like slimming down or maybe getting healthier. Would you like to share your stories?

Also what I am mainly interested in:"Is Yantra Yoga good for knees and is there some way to make it more knee-friendly if no?". I have noticed that sometimes my knees hurt me a bit after doing yantra yoga and I am not sure if it is good, but it lasts for few minutes only. What is your experience or knowledge on the topic?

[Könchok Thrinley]

So noone knows if yantra is damaging the knees?

[Ork]

Hi, Miroku,

I've been practising yoga for 25 years with breaks, and Yantra in particular for 8-9 years already. I recovered with yoga completely from 1 year heavy arthritis in my knee when 13 years old. Last year I tore my meniscus with extreme sports in the same knee ; I had to stop yantra for few months. I did not operate the knee, but went through self-recovery (a lot of fitness, a lot of collagen, etc). Today I practice Yantra regularly, have no pains, but am still restricted on some movements - sitting on the knees is difficult, and lotus is still impossible.

In my opinion our Yantra is easier on the knees than comparable thul khor systems, as we are not doing heavy beps in lotus position. Exception is of course the 7 lotuses part, which requires significant stretch on the knees exactly. Comparable to the indian yogas though I think that Yantra is more difficult, for many movements to do properly, with the breathings involved, you need to have already developed some flexibility.

In general, doing the 3 preliminaries will arm up enough your body to do the deeper stretches of the 5 yantras. However, if you are not fleixible enough it is advisable to perform some static long stretches before each yantra or before the whole session to prepare the relevant parts of your body. If you have already problems you should of course avoid the turtle; be cautious also with vajra and the conch. Most importantly, do not push too much and know your limits. And keep doing, Yantra is great

Greetings

[Russell]

Yes for yantra yoga there are modifications for the postures. I dont know what they are sorry.

In general with yoga or tai chi you need to be careful with the knees, if you strain them a little each time you practise this effect accumulates over time and then you get a more serious problem. The knees should not feel uncomfortable at all, a little bit of strengthening in the beginning maybe, but if in doubt then probably it is something not good for your knees.

Keep in mind the knees don't need to become more flexible, other parts of your body need to open and stretch to take undue pressure of the knees, not the knees stretch to accommodate tight hips etc. The knees can be strengthened but more importantly you can improve and strengthen the way the body all works and connects together so the knees stay aligned.

So this is really a question for a teacher in person, they can see what you are doing and correct you or give you modifications, and also make sure you get the basic principles you need to learn to do yoga without harming yourself.

[Malcolm]

So noone knows if yantra is damaging the knees?

Can be if you are not careful.

[Vasana]

A Good knee warm-up exercise.

Warming up the knees and joints vigorously with your hands or a soft bit of fabric can really help with knee health. Especially now it's getting colder. .Doing that and the above excercise and some other warmups makes my knees feel a *lot* better but everyone's different. Not locking them when you stand either is a good thing to be more aware of.

[blotter]

Not sure about yantra yoga, but I believe some yogic systems draw a connection between the heart and knees.. sitting seems to open both in my case

[PeterC]

Keep in mind the knees don't need to become more flexible, other parts of your body need to open and stretch to take undue pressure of the knees, not the knees stretch to accommodate tight hips etc.

Very important point. The knee joints only really do one thing - open and close - and they don't like it when you make them do anything else. You can't make them significantly more flexible. When someone says their knees "aren't flexible" that usually means their hip joint won't rotate enough to sit x-legged or in lotus position, or their quadriceps and hip flexors are too tight from prolonged sitting in chairs, or their ankles won't bend enough to sit on their heels, or (occasionally) they have very thick leg muscles and they don't know how to move them out of the way. The solution to "inflexible knees" is almost always hip and quadriceps mobility, trying to stretch the knee joint is usually dangerous and pointless.

(Source: six knee ops and related physiotherapy)