How can I engage quadriceps muscles?

[kanaapali]

#2674

I have practiced only few classes of Hot Yoga, but I do Yoga and there are a lot of standing yoga poses.
I do not understand how can I pull up my kneecap for engage mi quads in order to protect my knee joint?.

all the time, I have a bit bended my knee in order to protect it.
Is it alright?

Many thanks guys…

[Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)]

#11171

Hi Kanaa

Your question is an interesting one because in a round about way you have answered it already. In order to protect / create space in your knee joint and create the stability in these poses you are supposed to engage your quadriceps to pull your knee cap upwards. The only way you can do that to full expression is to straighten the leg first.

So I am wondering whether the question you are really asking is, does one need to bend the leg to protect the knee, or is it better to straighten it?

There is much contention about the straight or bent knee stance with respect to the affect on the knee.

I would like to hear your beliefs and anyone else ‘out there’ who would like to chime in.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

[kanaapali]

#11172

Hi Gabrielle,
Well, the most part of the time, I am practising Yoga, I bent a Little my knee. But at the same time, I pull up my kneecap (or maybe I think so…)
I was trying these days to straighten my leg but I´ve felt a slightly pain en the back of my knee.
I’ve Heard a lot of time, pick up your toes for engaging the thigh muscles, but I don´t think you pull up your kneecap at all.
(I am peruvian, sorry If I don´t have a good english..)

[bunni]

#11175

Hi there,

When I first started, I was scared to straighten my standing knee because it was uncomfortable and I wasn’t clear on what the dialog meant by straighten your leg “like a lamp post”. The key is not to hyper-extend the knee–in other words, don’t push the knee back too far. You want it straight, not bent forward and not hyper-extended. Think about pulling up on the knee by tightening the quads. It should be a similar feeling to when you sit in a chair and extend one leg in front of you. You know how the muscles above the knee get tight and tingly? That is the sensation you want in the standing poses. Once you master that, try focusing on opposing muscles, such as really tightening the butt to add strength to the pose and prevent your lower back from curving. The first few classes may be uncomfortable as you get used to the straight leg feeling, but keep with it, don’t hyper-extend, and it will feel more natural.

If it is really uncomfortable (for example in standing head to knee), you can modify by not bending over to pick up your foot. If you just stand on one foot while contracting the quad, your knee is less likely to hurt because it is easier not to hyper-extend it if you aren’t bent over. You can always stay at that stage until your knees become more comfortable.

Gabrielle, I would be interested to hear more about the “contention”…fact is, I still struggle with this pose, but more so because I fear hurting my lower back 🙂

[Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)]

#11181

Hi bunni

Thanks for giving the specifics in your answer to Kanaa. :cheese:

Now as for that locked leg contention:

There are folk out there who think you should never (yes, NEVER) lock your knee. They talk about standing still with legs always bent just a little. Some physios and yoga teachers and more have their opinions on the web.

Here’s where I think the place from which the contention arises. People are mixing up the effects of locking the knee with muscles as opposed to locking the knee joint with little or no muscular involvement. They are also making reference to activities that may involve BOTH knee bending and straightening the knee for the same leg in quick or reasonably quick succession.

When you are reading online about whether others recommend locking, be aware of the CONTEXT within which the recommendations are being made and then compare that to the functional needs of the joint and the muscles. I did go and check on the current hashed, re-hashed and plagiarised nonsense around the web (hehe) and discovered that there is not enough of DEFINING what is meant by locking the knee. It is understood by most as a blanket term with NO distinctions beyond the leg being solid. Very little talk of muscular involvement and no talk of function and dysfunction.

The fact is that I would need quite a lot of space here describing the natural reflexes that are being engaged if you lock your leg out with the wrong activity. Notice I contextualised that because there are contexts and manners in which locking the leg is important. But definitely locking without muscular involvement does nothing for the joint and that usually happens when you’re bearing weight which compounds the potential injurious effects. So don’t just lean on your locked out leg or legs without engaging your muscles that create space in the joint.

A point to emphasise here is that while one talks of lifting the kneecap up with the help of the quadriceps, there are other muscles that will assist. Don’t JUST use the quadriceps. Looking in the mirror you’ll see different muscles activating. You’ll feel them engage and strengthen over time especially some of those laterally activating bellies.

Many people confuse the action of locking (without muscles) with the notion of balance creation. Stacking joints and possibly leaning into the leg. Again, wrong. Don’t do it. Make it an active mechanism and don’t do it if it goes against your natural reflexes. Balance itself is extremely complex and there is a lot going on that defies normal disseminated opinion. Eg, how many times have you heard from your own B yoga teachers that if you lock out your muscles on the front side of your leg, then the muscles on the other side completely relax. Well, is that the case when you’re standing? If it were, then I would be able to push you over with a feather! 😉

So be really clear on what you’re researching, or being told so that you can define the terminology because it appears to me that important benefits can be being lost because of the application of a legitimate problem (say, to avoid locking the leg at the end of a squat) and generalising it out to all functions in every body in all circumstances. Not feasible and not helpful either.

Here’s an example to illustrate what one of your natural reflexes does. You can conceivably lock your legs when you’re walking. Get up and lock your legs as you walk. After you plant your forward foot, you can lock the leg (remember to ALSO use your muscles) and you COULD keep it locked until you lift your now back foot off to start the next forward cycle. But notice how when you land your foot your leg naturally bends. It’s a reflex. A protective reflex. It’s the same reflexes that cause your legs to bend when you land from a jump. This is not an indication that you should never lock your leg. Try the exercise again and keep the leg locked the whole time! Haha! That feels awful. You won’t want to do THAT again. You feel like you’re jamming your joints – and you are.

In Bikram and hot yoga, we talk about locking the knee in static poses or where you reach a point in the pose where the leg is then locked for a period of time from seconds up to a minute. Standing poses such as Head to Knee or Bow you lock that supporting leg for the duration. We are not doing squats or lifting weights or walking or doing things in a dysfunctional way. Yes it’s not normal to stand on one leg for 60 seconds but it’s an asana. If we were talking Vinyasa or Power yoga styles the answer would evolve to make considerations for the type of non-static or dynamic poses. Of course you can imagine yourself locking the legs in downward facing dog, for example.

You wouldn’t stand still for ages with locked or unlocked legs. My daughter fainted on stage at a rehearsal, after standing for ages. I doubt her legs were locked out with her muscles. But she was standing still so her leg bones could have been locked. We won’t be sure on that one. Hot lights? Needing hydration? Tired? Unwell? The main point is that with yoga we’re talking about intermittent locking in a functional way.

Phew! 😛 I didn’t envisage talking so long about that.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

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