Customer Reviews

Yoga for Healthy Knees: What You Need to Know for Pain Prevention and Rehabilitation (Rodmell Press Yoga Shorts)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Written by a yoga teacher who fixed her own knee pain with the help of yoga, I found this book very easy to use. Here's a few reasons why I liked it:

-it's not too long (its smaller than I pictured, 95 pages, but that was fine with me
-the idea here is to help your knees out by strengthening what's weak and loosening what's tight
-this is accomplished through yoga poses which you hold for a minute or so
-there are 3 different sequences of poses depending on your needs (nice)
-there's even a short routine for those busy days we all have

Finding a yoga teacher is suggested, but with all the pictures, descriptions, and sheer straightforwardness of the poses, I don't feel like it's a must. In short, this is a good, safe place to start if you have a general knee problem. Also highly recommend Treat Your Own Knee Arthritis.

I knew my knee problems were due to muscle weakness and imbalance and my origninal plan was to just strength train the muscles surrounding them and avoid the Hero Pose forever. This book showed me how the muscles radiating from the hip and pelvis affect the knee and how to gently elongate them. The pose before a modified Hero Pose is the Half Frog, which stretches the exact muscles required for me to sit in it for 45 seconds with no discomfort. The asansas for strengthing the leg include balance poses which really, REALLY fire off the necessary muscles in the leg to stabilize the knees. To do the therapeutic program one goes through the poses in order as presented and it takes about 45 minutes. The author offers a shorter program and my only complaint is that the page numbers aren't included next to the listed poses.

This book is very useful for those of us with knee problems. Some of the poses presented may be familiar from other sources, but the instructions for doing them are very detailed and supplement information available elsewhere (in the extended triangle pose, for instance). The focus on how your knees specifically are feeling (and should be feeling) in each pose is great. I also like the model this book uses; she looks like a regular person who has become flexible through consistent practice, not like some Olympic gymnast that you could never hope your efforts to match. I've been doing about 7 of these poses a day for about a week, and my knee pain has already lessened. Yoga is the best! This book is a bargain.

This guide book should not only be read by people with knee problems, but also by those wanting to develop the bodily awareness that comes from an understanding of basic yoga asanas. While I don't suffer from knee problems, I was drawn to Sandy Blaine's concise descriptions and the attention to detail for the 17 poses presented. This is particularly true for her advice on how to internally support our knees without locking them.

I had knee pain due to runners knee (patella tracking) and started physical therapy. I did PT twice a week for 4-5 months and the pain worsened and became chronic. I could not exercise and even sitting at work was painful. I went to an orthopedist and had x-rays and a MRI to rule out other issues and he found nothing other than the patella tracking issue and suggested me to continue on with more PT. At this point I decided to try yoga, even though the PT felt it would be a waste of my time. I got this book since it was specifically for knees and went through the full routine for a week and felt much better and went cold turkey on PT as it was doing nothing other than thinning my wallet. Within a month I could exercise again (not run though, too much pressure under the kneecap still). After 3-4 months I can run again with no discomfort. For maximum sustained benefit Yoga needs to be practiced consistently and I do find if I go too long my knees will both me slightly, much like the author warns of. The poses in this book are basic and were not intimidating to me with the exception of Hero Pose which I did not attempt for a few months, but now I can comfortably hold the pose for a few minutes with no support. Explanations are excellent and pictures are sufficient. Overall a must buy for those with knee pain.

The yoga postures and exercises in this book are definitely helpful for coming back and strengthening after/during knee problems, relieving pain, and regaining mobility. I have noticed positive results from doing the exercises for a short time. I initially gave it a 4 star rating because I would have liked to have more options/exercises included, but what's included is so valuable that I realize my error -- it's definitely a 5 star! (It won't let me change my rating at this point.) It was a great purchase and I highly recommend it for anyone who is trying to be rehabilitated from knee injuries or who has osteoarthritis of the knee (I have both, and both have been helped). These exercises have helped me much more in a short period of time than those given me to do by the physical therapist did over an extended period of time (for osteoarthritis, and ACL injury and a meniscus injury). Some of the P.T. exercises actually seemed to exacerbate the problem, so I approached the postures in this book very cautiously. However, there has been NO downside, only positive results. Highly recommended!

Knees bees. Whatever. Just got this book a week ago, so as far as helping knees per se, don't know, but most impressed with it. These few yoga exercises limbers up the entire hip, leg area. It identifies which side is tighter. She even rightly points out to go barefoot often to strengthen feet that have been too conditioned to shoes.

I'm not a fan of static stretching, although athletic and engage in speed skating, weightlifting, running, hiking, but this book could stand alone as a stretching book, utilizing yoga.

For such a cheap price, it's a steal.

I've had knee pain off and on some 20 years. I happened to see this while looking for yoga goodies for my home practice (I just started yoga, whatta difference for the better in a short time!, never stopping now!!!) Thought this book might help with that strange grinding and transient pain I get... OMG! This book makes complete sense as to why most of us have knee pain!!! The poses work on strengthening and stretching everything around the knee (actually the entire rest of the leg!) so the knee gets some relief to do only what it is supposed to do. Knee pain? Stretch those quads and hamstrings and groin muscles! I just went through the majority of the poses right from the beginning, and let me tell you, within the first 3-4 exercises you will realize why your knee hurts by showing you how tight the main working leg muscles are. Why couldn't my original knee doctor figure this out??? Why did he have me struggle with exercises that FOCUSED on the knee, which of course I had to stop since it hurt and never seemed to help?! I am going to incorporate these poses into my home practice ASAP--I can feel the nice stretch I just got in the thighs and hips without feeling like I blew out my knee.

The book has 3 main sections: 1. Factors in common knee problems 2. Practicing yoga for knee care 3. Everyday knees. The first and last sections are pretty short, but to the point. The second section is all the poses you should focus on to help the knees. Poses are meticulously described, good photos (not creepy) of what the pose looks like and even has model using props for support (like many of us will need when we start!) There is also a part for putting the sequences together for active rehabilitation, healthy knee maintenance, and my favorite... I don't have time to practice! sequence.

A very well-thought out book that makes it obvious how to begin helping your knees--thank you Sandy!!! An excellent book!

Yoga for Healthy Knees is at the top of the list of books I recommend for teaching yoga to people over 50. I always show this book to my students of any age with knee problems. The author is an expert who overcame her own knee pain using yoga. This is a clear, well organized book with a positive, uplifting attitude!

-- Suza Francina, author, The New Yoga for People Over 50, The New Yoga for Healthy Aging and other books for people at midlife and older.

I have arthritis in my knees and hips. I use this book on almosta daily basis. It is easy to read and follow.