Poses for Your Knees

Here's how to take care of one the most important joints in your body.

These gentle yoga postures stretch your IT band and the surrounding muscles, reducing pain and discomfort.

Because there's more to life than hip openers.

Bound Angle Pose, or Baddha Konasana, opens the deepest part of the hip muscles.

Open wide into Prasarita Padottanasana to increase flexibility by leaps and bounds.

Padmasana creates an essential foundation for meditation practice, while stretching the front of the thighs and ankles.

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana is a deep hip opener and forward bend that you should approach consciously to reap its many benefits.

Don't let the name fool you. If you're used to sitting in chairs, Easy Pose (or Sukhasana) can be quite challenging.

Extended Triangle Pose is a quintessential standing pose that stretches and strengthens the whole body.

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana can be whatever you need—energizing, rejuvenating, or luxuriously restorative.

Uttanasana will wake up your hamstrings and soothe your mind.

Find length in your side body, from your heel to your fingertips with Extended Side Angle Pose.

Revolved Head-to-Knee Pose, or Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana, offers a deep, vivid stretch to the side body paired with loving and heart-opening movement.

The foundation of all standing poses, Mountain Pose makes a great a starting position, resting pose, or tool to improve posture.

These accessible yoga positions can stabilize and support your joints and reduce pain.

No student should have to withstand knee pain in a pose. Here are simple modifications for five basic yoga poses to offer your students.

Yoga teacher Aadil Palkhivala shares his instructions to achieve Janu Sirsasana. Plus, reap the benefits and avoid these mistakes.

Modify Janu Sirsasana if needed to find safe alignment for your body.

Find length in the sides of your body and a deeper twist as you move step by step into Parivrtta Janu Sirsana.

Try this simple warm-up to promote safe practice and healthy joints.

Donkey kicks are common as you learn this challenging but ultimately graceful pose.

Alignment is essential for the health of the knees. Unfortunately, practicing Triangle Pose too often without its counterpose can create an imbalance in the joint. Lean how to stay safe.

Grit your teeth and curse your teacher or give your body the support it needs to get more out of the pose.

Check out Katherine Griffin's author page.

Stand strong and avoid injury by learning how to prevent hyperextension of this vulnerable joint.

When you practice Standing Splits focus on the stretch in your quad and hamstring, not how high you can lift your leg.

Check out Julie Gudmestad's author page.

Feeling weak in the knees? These yoga poses and modifications can help.

Yoga can be a source of knee pain or the ideal therapy. Here's a primer on keeping the joint healthy on and off the mat.

An excellent facilitator of good pelvic floor health, Garland Pose, called Malasana in Sanskrit, stretches the ankles, groins, and back while stimulating proper digestion. No worries if your heels don't reach the floor—simply rest them on a folded blanket.

In Extended Hand-to-big-toe Pose, maintaining solid grounding through the standing foot helps keep you steady.

This pose gently lengthens and strengthens even stubbornly tight hamstrings.

Ease up into Half Frog Pose, called Ardha Bhekasana in Sanskrit. This pose strengthens the back while gently opening up the shoulders, chest, and thighs—a loving treat for the entire body.

Virasana can be deceptively difficult for beginners. Learn how to modify it for your body.

Blow off some steam, wake up your face, and lighten up your practice in silly Simhasana.

Strengthen your wrists, arms, and abs, hanging in the balance of Tolasana.

By educating yourself on anatomy, you can protect your knees in yoga poses.

In this challenging version of a twist, your arms wrap around your legs so your hands can clasp behind the back, almost like a lasso or a snare.

Dance with cosmic energy in this challenging yet graceful balancing pose that relies on equal parts effort and ease.

Heron Pose is an intense hamstring stretch. You may need to give Krounchasana some time.

Lay Virasana back and to take the stretch in the thighs and ankles up a notch.

Say hello to leg and ankle strength as you seek stability and extend into this balancing pose, Half Moon Pose.

Upavistha Konasana is good preparation for most of the seated forward bends, twists, and the wide-leg standing poses.

A classic restorative posture, Supta Baddha Konasana or Reclining Bound Angle Pose can be modified for any level of hip and groin resistance.

Virasana is a balm for tired legs at the end of the day, as well as an alternative to Lotus for seated meditation.

Oh, your aching back? Or maybe you can't crack those tight hamstrings. Supta Padangusthasana I or Reclining Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose I is for you.