Knees and Hips

This week's lesson will focus on the knees and hips; specifically the correct alignment of those joints.  That's a pretty tall order, no doubt.  We worked on the feet last week; opening, stretching, strengthening and balancing correctly on the sole of the foot.  The feet are amazing, complex little machines and the foundation of good posture.  This week we move up the body to the knee and hip joints.  Let's take a closer look.

The back of the knee opens (extension) when we straighten our legs, or kick our foot forward.  The back of the knee closes (flexion) when we bend the knee as if to kick ourselves in the rear.

Knees in Extension
Hips in Flexion

Being able to fully extend and flex the knee, allowing it's full range of motion, is essential for knee health.  Problems arise when the muscles surrounding and supporting the knee get either too weak or too strong and cause a general imbalance in the functioning of the joint.  For many, being able to fully straighten (extend) the knee in a forward bend is unachievable because the hamstring muscles are tight.  And, conversely, being able to fully bend (flex) the knee is unachievable because the quadriceps (front thighs) are tight.  

Knees in Flexion
Hips in Extension

Moving up into the hip joint, we see that the hip in extension opens the front of the body into a more back-bending shape.  And, like the knee joint, limited range of motion can arise due to weakness or overwork in any given muscle involved in the hip joint.  The ability to fold (flex) at the hips begins to involve the back and is beyond the purpose of this post.  That's week three.

Aligning the Knee Joint
Hips Neutral

These two joints are complex and well beyond my ability to exhaustively cover here.  Suffice it to say that this week our practice will address common limitations by practicing some forward bends to help open the back of the legs,  bent legged standing poses to align and strengthen the knee and hip openers.