Knee pain can slow you down, but yoga can help. With a few simple poses, you can build strength, improve flexibility, and reduce discomfort around your knees. No need to push through pain — just move mindfully.
Yoga can support knee health by strengthening the muscles around the joint, improving posture, and promoting better alignment. It’s low-impact, which helps reduce strain on the knees and also improves circulation to ease inflammation and speed up healing.
Don’t forget to watch the video at the end of this article, where Lara guides you through the best yoga poses for knee pain relief.
How Yoga Supports Your Knee Health:
Just before we get into the 7 best poses for knee pain relief, here’s a quick look at how yoga can help you:
- Research shows that yoga can significantly improve knee health, especially for conditions like osteoarthritis. It strengthens the muscles around the knee joint, providing better support and reducing strain.
- Yoga also helps with alignment and posture, ensuring that weight is distributed evenly across the body, which reduces pressure on the knees.
- Breathing techniques promote relaxation and can help manage pain by reducing muscle tension.
- Adding yoga into your routine can also boost circulation, reduce inflammation, and speed up recovery. Poses like The Bridge and The Reclining Hamstring Stretch gently stretch the legs, helping to ease discomfort and improve blood flow.
Note for Deep Readers: If you want to dive deeper into the research behind these benefits, take a look at studies published in The Journal of Rheumatology and Complementary Therapies in Medicine.
Top 7 Positions in Yoga for Knee Pain:
Knee pain can be reduced with targeted yoga poses that strengthen and stretch the muscles surrounding the knee joint. Below are seven amazing poses designed to ease knee pain while enhancing balance, flexibility, and strength.
1. The High Lunge Pose
This pose stretches the hip flexors, groin, calves, and hamstrings while strengthening the feet, ankles, knees, quads, and hips. It also improves balance and foot mobility.
How to perform the High Lunge Pose:
- Start in a standing position. Step your left foot back, lowering the knee towards the ground directly under the hip, keeping both knees bent at a 90-degree angle.
- Raise both arms overhead and gaze forward.
- Hold for 10 seconds, focusing on your breath, and then switch sides.
2. The Chair Pose
Chair pose strengthens the feet, ankles, knees, quads, hips, and glutes while improving foot and ankle mobility. It helps shift body weight to the hip sockets, reducing pressure on the knees.
How to Perfect The Chair Pose:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, arms at your sides.
- Inhale as you bend your knees, lowering your hips as if sitting in an invisible chair.
- Reach your arms overhead, lengthen the spine, and hold for 5 seconds.
- Exhale as you return to standing.
3. The Bridge Pose
The bridge pose strengthens the knee, quads, and glutes while stretching the hip flexors. It’s also excellent for energizing the body and stabilizing the knees.
How to do the Bridge Pose:
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet hip-width apart.
- Press your feet into the mat and lift your hips towards the ceiling as you inhale.
- Keep your rib cage on the floor, allowing the lower back to lengthen.
- Hold for a few breaths, then slowly lower your back down as you exhale.
4. The Locust Pose
Locust strengthens the posterior chain (back of the body), quads, knees, ankles, and feet. It helps build stability and balance, essential for knee health.
How to Perform the Locust Pose:
- Lie face down with your arms alongside your body and your forehead on the ground.
- Inhale as you lift your chest, arms, and legs off the ground.
- Keep your legs straight and engage your quads and glutes.
- Hold for a few seconds, then exhale as you release back to the ground.
5. The Reclining Hamstring Stretch Pose
This pose focuses on stretching the ankles, calves, and hamstrings, helping to relieve tension in the legs and knees.
How to Excel at The Reclining Hamstring Stretch Pose :
- Lie on your back with your legs extended.
- Bend your right knee and grab your ankle, calf, or thigh, using a strap if needed.
- Extend the right leg towards the ceiling, keeping your left leg straight on the mat.
- Hold for several breaths before switching sides.
6. The Reclining Spinal Twist Pose
This gentle twist stretches the iliotibial (IT) band and tensor fascia lata (TFL), which are very important for knee stability.
How to Ace The Reclining Spinal Twist Pose
Begin by lying on your side with your top knee supported by a block, flexing the hip and knee to 90 degrees.
- Open your chest towards the ceiling, reaching the top arm out to the side.
- Hold the pose for 10 seconds before switching to the other side.
7. The Mountain Pose
Finally, the mountain pose focuses on posture, balance, and alignment. Strengthening the ankles, knees, thighs, and hips, it helps to stabilize the entire lower body, reducing stress on the knees.
How to Practice the Mountain Pose:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and arms by your sides.
- Distribute your weight evenly across both feet.
- Engage your thighs and gently lift your kneecaps, while keeping your core engaged.
- Keep your shoulders relaxed and gaze straight ahead.
- Hold for 20-30 seconds, breathing deeply, before relaxing.
Incorporating these poses into your routine will help strengthen and stretch key muscle groups, promoting knee stability and reducing pain.
For a guided practice, check out the video below by Lara Heimann. She beautifully demonstrates each pose, focusing on mindful movement and proper alignment to help you move with confidence and ease:
Help for Knee Pain | The Perfect Compliment to Leg Day 🏋️
Take your practice to the next level and watch our free Foundational Series by Lara Heimann (4 videos, 2 hours total), designed to deepen your yoga journey and support your knee health. Start building a solid foundation today and feel the difference!
In the end, always remember to move slowly and listen to your body, Avoid any pose that causes discomfort.
