Teaching Yoga: Do Not Lock Your Joints

Many thanks to: aurawellnesscenter.com.

By Jenny Park

Let’s cut to the chase. Do not lock your joints! Some teachers are telling their students to lock the knees or elbows in certain asanas especially balancing asanas. These yoga teachers have no understanding of biomechanics or anatomy. Talk to any doctor or physical therapist and you will learn there are no rewards for locking joints (hyperextending), but there are definite risks. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter, which Guru or master says to lock the knees. It would be wise to leave class, because you only have one set of knees.

Why You Should Not Lock Joints

Why do drill sergeants, personal trainers, and yoga instructors say: Do not lock your joints!” More than any other joints, the knees seem to take the most abuse from locking. Afterall, we don’t always walk on our hands. Therefore, it has been said a million times over and over again to avoid locking your knees. However, when you start to get into the habit of locking joints it causes long-term health problems.

Chain of Events

When you lock the knees while practicing yoga poses, you are hyperextending your joints. Ultimately, this will set you up for future injuries. When you are locking your knees during poses you are putting strain on your ligaments. By putting extra strain on your ligaments they will begin to wear down a lot faster. You are also putting strain on your cartilage and connective tissues as well.

Communication Skills

Sometimes, during different types of yoga classes, the yoga instructor will tell the students to lock their knee. This is a misunderstanding of information regarding anatomy. Nevertheless, a yoga instructor who does not understand anatomy or how to communicate is one to be avoided. Supposedly, they claim to actually mean to “draw the knee up” to tighten muscles of the leg. If you draw up without locking, this gives the muscles around the knee great support. However, your knees should always remain slightly bent to avoid any issues. In the long run, it can take some practice to get this technique right.

Domino Effect

Do not lock your joints, because once a joint is damaged it starts to cause damage throughout the body. After an injury, your body wants to avoid pain. You will not want your injured joint to move into pain. Consequently, this is why people and animals limp when injuring a joint. This results in a locked joint or a joint that is out of balance. The results are much like a domino effect. Once one joint goes wrong, they all start to follow. The body works simultaneously and should be taken care of as a whole. To avoid locking your joints is very important to practice, when you are participating in classes. Sometimes, a joint injury can lead to issues such as osteoarthritis.

Safe and Healthy Movement

It is very important to keep yourself moving. In fact, movement is keep your joints active and strong. On the positive side, yoga is designed to make sure that you avoid any physical problems. As a matter of fact, yoga was created to help the body and mind. Practicing in the correct manner should not lead to any joint issues.

Myths vs. Long-Term Results

Unfortunately, joint locking is a training method used by trainers in martial arts. The idea is that joint locking will make you punch or kick harder. However, this theory is not proven and there is much debate about short-term results. In fact, we clearly know that joint locking can lead to long-term damage to the joints. If this happens, it can be very difficult to recover. Sometimes, joint damage haunts us for life. So, if you are considering joint locking as a training method in yoga, please be aware of the serious risks involved.

Awareness

Teachers should always let it be known to avoid locking your knees or elbows. Equally important: Stay in touch with your body. When you are practicing yoga, you want to be aware. You must be sure to be conscious of what you are doing. Unfortunately, some students are not focused during practice. As a result, something that may not seem like a problem today comes to life in the future. It is important to realize, that joint injury problems can slowly come back. Specifically, joint problems today often become discomforting health issues in the future. For your own health: Do not lock your joints!

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Yoga Exercise For Healthy Joints

Special thanks to: aurawellnesscenter.com.

By Bernard H Y

Joints are the connections between bones. Primarily consisting of fibrous tissues and cartilage, joints help you move your fingers, bend your knees and elbows, and stretch your back among many other functions that make you an active and mobile human being. Exercising your joints is important to having a healthy and pain free body. Yoga offers several exercises that help you to keep your joints healthy. The various asanas help your joints to stretch which releases a lubricant known as synovial fluid. This fluid keeps the joint of your bones healthy and lubricated and also helps prevent arthritis. Here are some yoga exercises you can follow:

Basic Movements – These simple yoga workouts are for beginners as well as the sick or elderly. The neck exercises are called the Kanthasnachalana and help to increase stamina and flexibility of neck muscles. The shoulder asanas are called the Skandhasanchalana which help the shoulder and back muscles. The hand workouts are called Hastasanchalana and help in maintaining healthy joints in your arms and shoulders. Lastly the leg movements, called the Padasanchalana help build strength and flexibility of hips and arms. These basic movements can be performed by anybody without supervision of any experts.

Back asanas: There are several back exercises in yoga which help you relax your spine and helps it make supple, strong and healthy. These exercises are called Tadagasan, Swastikasan and Januhastanasa. These are not basic exercises and you would need an expert to help you perform these.

Asanas Involving legs: The leg drills in yoga help you stretch your leg and hips muscles and joints, thereby helping you prevent joint pains and keeping them healthy in the long run. These exercises are called Pavanamuktasana and Ekpad Sahajasta Bhujangasana.

The yogic exercises stated above are some of the many which help you to keep your joints healthy and prevents any degeneration and other problems till old age. However, Yoga like any other form of exercise, when done incorrectly can hurt you. Therefore it is very important that you consult a physician and a reliable Yoga instructor before you start.

Yoga Training for Healthy Joints

Many thanks to: www.yoga-teacher-training.org.

By Jenny Park

When you are young, you might be lucky enough to live without joint pain. You might not understand why skeletal health is such a big part of a yoga teacher training course. Anyone who has suffered joint pain knows what an important role the joints play in overall body function and a healthy, happy lifestyle. When the joints are uncared for, the pain can make it unbearable to accomplish everyday tasks. Whether you currently suffer from joint pain in the form of things like arthritis and other rheumatic conditions, or you don’t suffer at all, yoga is great for prevention, reduction or elimination of pain.

A joint is the connection between two bones that allows the body to move freely in several manners. Our bodies are amazing structures that bend and twist in ways that over time we may not be appreciative of, until it is too late. That is why exercise is so important; we need to keep our bodies in a physical state that allows for a good quality of life.

Yoga has proven to be a key element in keeping ourselves fit, and functional. Not only does it increase flexibility, improve joint health, and keep us a healthy weight; it supports a healthy mental being as well. Yoga training is an exercise choice that is gentle on the joints, and increases the heart rate in order to reduce any possible swelling. It also builds muscle through poses being held for some time. Strong muscles support the joints and relieve extra pressure on them.

There are many asanas that target the joints of the body, and anything therapeutic will help reduce pain. Some of the more well known Yoga exercises for joints are listed below.

• Forward Fold – This simple pose does so much. It releases tension in the back, legs, arms, and neck. Gently nod and turn the head right to left in the pose, and stretch the arms behind the back with the fingers interlaced for an added benefit.

• Sun Salutation – This sequence of poses is perfect for an allover joint benefit. There’s a reason it is often used as the very first sequence of a routine. It is best for the lower back and calves, though it can be strain on ankles and wrists.

• Warrior Poses – Work the hips by opening and stretching them. Incorporate a triangle pose for a flow of postures, and work the back and arms as well.

Tips for Students

Just thirty minutes of a slow and gentle style of yoga such as restorative, 3-4 times a week will alleviate joint pain, or keep the joints in tip-top shape. It is a small commitment for a huge benefit! Any person who has joint pain should research potential yoga schools carefully to find an instructor with specific knowledge of therapeutic practices to reduce pain. Look for yoga therapy or restorative sessions taught by a certified yoga teacher or therapist.