Hi,
And thank you for joining me.
My name is Catherine and today's chair yoga class is all about the knees.
If you've been struggling with a little bit of knee discomfort or you might have a little bit of tightness or strain above the knees,
Maybe a little below the knees,
This might be a helpful class to incorporate into your week.
It's going to be a gentle strength,
Stability,
And stretch of the knee area.
A little bit in the calf muscles below the knees,
The shins,
The hips.
The full leg.
Find a comfortable chair that does not have wheels,
Something sturdy.
Depending on how high your chair is,
It might be helpful to have some yoga blocks,
One or two,
Or a book of a similar height to prop the feet up for a future position that will do.
This class is osteoporosis and arthritis friendly.
There will be no upper body work happening.
It's all from the hips down.
And if you find this class helpful and useful,
Please like share or comment.
And leave any feedback you have regarding other types of videos that you'd like to see in the future.
So let's get started finding a comfortable seat.
The entire class we're going to work on the back being nice and straight.
So trying to stack the shoulders over the hips,
Maybe soften the gaze as you find this position.
You might start to roll the shoulders back down and away a little bit.
Inviting some space between the ears and the shoulders.
As you lengthen the neck.
Taking a couple of mindful breaths here,
Resting the hands on top of the leg.
Or maybe taking one hand to the abdomen.
When you're into the heart.
Finding a few full deep breaths here,
You might set an intention.
Whether it's for your practice,
Your day.
Or any span of time.
Might be a statement of gratitude.
That you send to your knees.
For all the work that they do and have done for your body.
Repeating your statement or intention to yourself here.
So you take another photograph in.
Full breath out.
Starting to flutter the eyes open if the eyes are closed or the gaze is soft.
Arriving to your seat.
You may eventually need to adjust how far ahead you are in your seat,
So don't worry,
Wherever you've landed right now is great.
We're going to start with a little bit of heel work.
So we'll work from the bottom up starting with lifting the heels.
So if it feels better for you to alternate heels,
You can lift one and then the other.
Think about stretching the bottom of the feet.
Maybe lifting both together.
And down really focus on lifting and lowering Avoiding any sort of momentum.
Really working all around the ankles and feet here.
Keeping the spine lifted up nice and tall.
The hands could be holding the sides of the chair if that feels more supportive or resting on the tops of the leg.
Relax the muscles of the neck.
The jaw and the face.
And if you feel like you're tensing up anywhere else in the body.
Just come back to the breath.
Taking deep breaths in and out the nose is always a good idea if that feels okay for you.
Let's take five more heel lifts,
Whether you're alternating or doing.
Them together.
It doesn't matter the speed.
After the next one we'll stop and hold.
We're going to take some knee lifts now.
So we're going to start to lift one knee and lower.
Lift the other knee and lower.
Really,
It's just a foot lift to get started,
But we're going to add on.
So alternating sides.
We're lifting one foot and the other.
Again,
The hands could be on the sides of the chair or the tops of the legs.
Now we're going to start to add on.
It doesn't matter which side of the body you're on.
So if you're mirroring me or if you're starting on the same side,
It doesn't matter.
Just keep the back straight.
Keep the core strong.
The hands on either the left or the sides.
Start to lift the knee now.
Straighten the leg.
Bend the knee and lower.
Switch to the other side.
Bend,
Straighten,
Bend,
And lower.
Continue to alternate nice and slow.
It doesn't matter how straight the leg comes.
You might hear a little bit of kinking or crackling depending on how your joints are feeling today.
Be mindful.
Of how far you're stretching the leg.
And continue to alternate.
You might also start to feel this higher up the leg,
Even towards the hip.
That's normal.
It's all connected.
We're still alternating,
So bend,
Straighten,
Bend,
And lower.
Lift,
Straighten,
Bend,
And lower.
We're going to take two more on each side,
Starting now.
Straighten,
Bend,
And lower.
Continue here.
Finding your breath.
Noticing one side might feel different than the other That's the last one.
Let the knees sway a little bit side to side.
Maybe the hips join,
It's big.
Or as large of a sweet like the knees or windshield wipers,
Sweeping to one side.
And then the other.
We're gonna move on.
We're gonna start to circle the hips now.
So either lifting the legs straight or keeping a bend,
We're just gonna find little circles of the knee.
So really the hip is circling here.
And then after a couple times one direction,
Circle the other way.
Your leg might be a little more extended to do this.
Start to lower down.
Maybe it's easier holding the side of the chair.
Lift the knee.
Take some circles as large or small to the opposite leg.
And then change direction.
Just a few on each side.
Nice.
Start to lower the foot back down.
Come back to the center of your chair.
Found yourself a little sideways there.
Continue to find the strength through the back.
Soften through the face.
We're gonna continue through the knees.
So this time we're gonna straighten the right leg.
You can do the same leg as me or mirrored.
Straightening the right leg,
You might hold underneath the leg or hold the sides of the chair.
We're just gonna hold the leg straight.
For a few seconds.
The hip is working hard,
The quad is working hard,
You might feel it a little through the knee.
Keep breathing here.
Need to shimmy a little forward of your chair or back.
Make any adjustments and then come back to the hold.
We're holding for a few more seconds.
Notice if you're holding your breath Keep breathing.
Good.
Start to bend the knee,
Lower the foot down.
Maybe sweep out that knee a little bit.
Coming to the other side,
We're gonna straighten the leg.
There might be a little bit of a bend in the knee.
It's okay,
As much of a bend as there is.
We're going for as straight as possible.
You might hold under the leg for stability.
Try not to lean forward too much,
Keeping the back up straight if you can.
We're holding the sides of the chair.
Trying to keep the leg as straight as you can here and as still as you can.
Keep breathing.
Notice if the shoulders want to tense up or the core.
See if you can keep the rest of the body strong.
But supple.
Couple more seconds here.
Start to lower down and let that knee sweep side to side.
If one leg is feeling totally different with these exercises,
That's normal.
Maybe one knee has had a little bit more work than the other or is feeling a little more discomfort.
It's all about finding balance.
So if you want to do a couple extra movements on the knee that's troublesome to you,
Feel free to adjust the quantity and quality of the stretches to what meets you.
Just being mindful of how it feels in your body.
Moving on,
We're gonna come to a figure four.
So we're gonna take one foot to cross over the opposite knee.
If this does not feel accessible,
Another option would be to cross at the ankle.
If you have a block or book,
That could be another option to take that and cross the foot onto either the block or the book.
Whichever one you're at,
Notice if there's a pull or sensation in the knee.
It might feel better to flex the toes back towards the shin.
Find the point that feels safe and comfortable.
Think of a tension between three and 10.
So 10 is your match.
Stretch.
Try to keep this around a three.
You don't want a big,
Big sensation.
So whether you're on the block,
The top of your leg or across the ankle.
And just take a couple of sweeps of the knee now.
So lift and lower the knee.
Keeping the rest of the body still.
And lower.
Go nice and slow.
You might be feeling this around the hip.
You might be feeling it around the glutes.
We're going for about eight if you can.
And after the eighth lift,
We're going to pause and hold.
Stay here a little bit longer.
With the foot either flexed back towards the shin or relaxed.
One more full breath on this side and start to lower the foot down and straighten the leg out.
Maybe straighten the leg and lift the toes.
Lifting and lowering the toes,
Finding foot and the leg to come back to comfortable.
Pull the foot back and take the opposite side.
Again,
Knowing this side might feel or look very different,
Either crossing at the ankle.
The block,
Or the top of the knee.
Find what works on this side.
Maybe the toes are flexed back a little bit more.
Maybe the hands are resting on the legs,
Either the shins or the upper legs.
Or the side of the chair and eight times we're gonna lift.
And lower the knee.
If the option that you chose does not feel right,
You could always lower the foot down.
Or lift the foot up.
Working all around the muscles surrounding the knee.
Supporting the knee.
Finding stability.
Stretch and strength.
Through the knees that work very hard for us.
If you're counting,
You should be close to eight.
We're gonna pause and hold for a few breaths.
Maybe softening your gaze if that's helpful.
Closing your eyes,
Softening the jaw,
The neck muscles.
The space around the shoulders and the ears.
Good start to straighten that leg.
Maybe the toes are up,
Maybe the toes are down.
Maybe you wiggle the leg a little bit side to side and then we'll bring the foot back in.
Okay,
You can move the block out of the way for just a minute here.
And we're going to come to a lunge.
So depending on how your chair is,
This may or may not work or be comfortable for you.
I'll give a couple of different variations.
So if you're comfortable kneeling on the floor,
You could pad some blankets.
On the floor wherever you are on a carpet and let the knee come down.
We're going to come to a low lunge.
So one option might be to rest a leg across the chair and let the opposite knee come down towards the floor.
The toes could be curled under or flat depending on what surface you're on and what feels comfortable or you might have the block handy.
Another way that often works well is to have the corner of the chair.
And the hips surrounding the corner of the chair.
So we want to stretch the quad,
The back quad,
Whichever way you're facing.
And you want to be able to hold on to the chair and keep the rest of the body upright.
So if you take this corner option or you took the option facing the side or you're kneeling down on the blanket.
Find what feels supportive.
And the idea is to get a stretch all above this knee here.
So you might feel it right away.
Or you might not.
If you don't,
Start to lift the arm that the knee is bent on.
So your back knee,
You're going to lift that same side arm.
If you're still not feeling it up the front of the leg,
Up the quad muscles,
Maybe lean back just a little bit.
Not rounding back,
Just a little hinge back,
Holding onto the side of the chair.
Now it's probably starting to fire up there if it hasn't already.
Maybe you lower the arm down or keep it lifted.
Keep breathing here.
Good.
And then I'm going to hold the chair and work your way back into the chair.
Swipe out the knees,
Sway out the knees a little bit and come straight to the other side.
So any of those variations,
Depending on which knee may be feeling discomfort or strain today,
Maybe you're down on blankets on the carpet or floor,
Try to soften under the knee.
Maybe you have a block somewhere supporting you.
You might take the side chair or the corner edge of the chair.
Watching out for any props you have in the way.
So the knee is coming down and we're getting the stretch right from the knee up to the hip.
If you're not feeling it yet,
Start to maybe reach that arm up.
So you feel this one straight line of energy from the knee up to the hand.
If you're still not feeling it,
Maybe lean back a little bit.
Couple breaths here.
Keep your balance.
Maybe you're holding on to the back or the side of the chair.
The arm doesn't have to be straight.
It's helpful.
But it doesn't have to be straight up.
Keep holding here.
A couple more seconds.
And then lower the hand Guide yourself back to the center of the chair.
Bring the legs back in.
Give them a little shake.
Side to side and out,
Maybe pop,
Pedal out the feet if that feels nice.
I'm going to take another straight leg option here.
So coming to the center of the chair feeling supported,
We're gonna straighten one leg forward.
It can be kind of hovering off of the mat.
If it helps to hold underneath the leg,
That can work too.
Keeping the leg about as straight as you can without totally hyper extending the knee.
We're gonna have the legs straight and we're gonna go out with the toes.
Center and in.
Eight times,
Out,
Center,
And in.
Out,
Center and in.
Out,
Center,
And in.
Keep going with this for a few more at a pace that works for you.
Could also do the same movement seated.
Maybe on the carpet.
On your bed.
Extending the leg out.
It's not a big movement,
Little in,
Center and out.
Maybe you're counting.
Maybe you're not,
We're going for something close to eight in each direction.
Let's do one more each way.
Come back to center,
Lower the foot down.
And bring the foot back in.
Pause,
Observe,
Notice what you feel,
And we'll take the other side.
Straightening the opposite leg out,
Either holding under the leg,
On tops of the legs,
Or the sides of the chair.
Keep the rest of the body straight up.
Try to keep the body engaged.
Going out,
Center,
In,
And center.
Seven more times.
Stay with your breath.
You can watch the foot or you can just trust the wisdom.
Of your body.
No,
You don't always have to see.
What direction you're going or how far.
Or what your knee looks like.
Your body knows what to do.
You don't have to watch it.
And you don't have to watch me.
You can just follow the movement as the toes turn out,
Go to the center and back in.
Try two more.
Unless you were counting and you've already reached 8.
Or unless you're at a little bit of a slower pace.
Take your time,
Do as many as that feels comfortable,
Starting with about eight.
You can always add on or do.
The same thing multiple days in a row if it feels good to really stabilize all around the knees.
Coming back to the seat,
This is where we might or might not use some blocks or books to come under the feet.
Really depending on the height of your legs.
And the height of your chair seat,
You might place a block,
Book,
Something sturdy to come underneath your feet.
We're gonna come to a butterfly pose,
Bringing the soles of the feet together.
The hands might come outside the legs or the knees.
This is a more active butterfly.
Maybe you hold the sides of the chair.
Try not to lean forward.
Try not to round the back forward.
Try to stay straight up if you can.
We're going to lift the knees and lower.
Again,
We'll go for eight tries today.
Maybe you only do two and you hold.
Maybe you do more than eight.
But we'll start with eight.
A good starting point for today.
Couple more.
And then after you've done about eight,
We're going to pause and hold.
Let the knees land wherever they land.
Let the hands rest wherever they rest.
Maybe even take the hands and just.
.
.
Rub down the leg slightly,
Pressing the energy off the knee.
Releasing,
Letting go.
Anything in the legs that's no longer serving you.
Letting the energy brush off.
Back into the earth Take your time to guide the knees back in.
If they're comfortable rested on the block,
You could keep the legs rested on the block.
If you wanna push the block forward a little bit,
You could push the block forward.
Coming to our final resting pose.
Letting all the benefits of the practice sink in here.
You might start to lean back depending on if there's a back or a comfortable place in your chair.
Or maybe stay seated.
With the feet on or off blocks,
You can just rest the legs.
Rest the hips,
Rest the body,
Rest the eyes.
Maybe put the hands up into a receiving position.
Once again,
Taking this time to seal the practice.
Knowing that the knees are getting stronger.
More flexible,
More fluid.
Sending gratitude and love.
To your entire body with a big inhale,
Inhaling all the love that you can.
As it enters through the body down to the toes.
Exhaling,
Letting go.
Of anything that's no longer serving you.
Taking a couple full breaths here in and out.
Staying here for as long as it feels good.
If you feel ready.
To complete the practice today,
You can start to wiggle fingers and toes,
Ankles and wrists.
Letting the hands rest wherever they land.
Lap heart center We close this practice of chair yoga for the knees with lots of love and gratitude.
Thank you so much.
