Battling Body Burnout: Knees & Ankles

Staying active, whatever that looks like for you (hitting your mat, training for a marathon, taking a hike, etc.), is great for the body and mind. That said, when you’re exercising regularly, it’s important to listen to your body and take care of it.

Day to day, we ask a lot of our ankles and knees. All the physical pressure we put on these joints leaves them particularly susceptible to injury. Here are some tips to protect your knees and ankles from burnout:

Watch Your Alignment

Whether you’re in a Yoga Sculpt or C2, it’s easy to rush in and out of poses and forget your alignment. This can cause damage over time. Protect your ankles in standing postures by pressing evenly through the base of your big toe, pinky toe and heel to distribute your body weight evenly across your feet. Protect your knees by making sure your knee always faces the same direction as your toes and that your knee is always stacked over or behind your ankle. In open hip poses, lightly flex your toes towards your shin to stabilize your knees.

Use Props

Using a block or a strap might feel different at first, but they can definitely help protect your knees and ankles. In any seated postures, you can use a block to bring the floor closer to your seat and take pressure off your knees. In seated forward folds, place a strap around the arches of your feet and flex your toes towards your shins. This will help with ankle mobility and deeply stretch your calves and hamstrings.

Looking for other ways to use props to support your knee and ankle health? Ask your CorePower teacher for suggestions before your next class.

Stretch Between Classes

Even just 5 minutes of stretching once or twice a day can be super beneficial. We like this stretching sequence to keep your ankles and knees healthy.

• Ankle Circles: Stand with your feet hip distance apart and hover your right foot off the ground. Circle your ankle 10 times clockwise and 10 times counterclockwise. Repeat left side.

• Knee Circles: Stand with your feet together and place your hands on your knees. Circle your knees 10 times clockwise and 10 times counterclockwise.

• Supine Hamstring Stretch: Lie down and stack your heels under your knees. Use a strap, belt or towel around the bottom of your right foot. Hold the ends of the strap and extend your right leg up to the ceiling. Stack the right hip, knee and ankle in one line and flex your right toes toward your shin. For more sensation extend your left leg long onto your mat. Hold for 30 seconds and switch legs.

• Supine Figure Four: Lie down and stack your heels under your knees. Cross your right ankle over your left knee and flex your right toes toward your right shin. For more sensation, pull your left knee in towards your chest and interlace your hands behind your left thigh. Hold for 30 seconds and switch legs.