Extended Side Angle Pose
Stay pain-free: how you can protect your knees
This exercise is brought to you by Spiraldynamik.
Stable knee joints are essential for absorbing impact while running, preventing misalignment and avoiding injury. It's therefore a good idea to work on maintaining a straight leg axis when running. The extended side angle pose is an extremely effective yoga exercise to help with this.
HOW IT WORKS
Begin this pose in a straddle position, with your feet around a leg's width apart. If you are doing this on a mat, place the outer edges of your feet parallel with the narrow edge of the mat. Purposefully rotate your left leg outwards from the hip joint. Continue this outwards rotation through the knee and lower leg to your foot, the heel of which should now be facing to the left. Bend your knee over the centre of your foot. Press the outer edge of your right foot firmly into the ground, lifting the inside of your ankle. You should now have formed an arc from the heel to the ball of your big toe.
Next, slide the fingertips of your right hand down towards your right foot. Guide your shoulders towards your pelvis. Raise your right arm to form a large arc. Be sure to keep space between your earlobe and shoulder.
Now, bend your upper body as one entity to the left as far as you can go. Lower your pelvis until your left forearm is touching your thigh. The forearm stabilises the knee in its axis. Position the back of your pelvis beneath your outstretched right leg. The ribs on your right side should be angled forwards, towards your armpit. As you breathe, focus on the inner strength that’s holding you in this position. Try to release your left arm from your leg. The wide angle should remain stable.
Hold this position for a few gentle breaths then change sides.
Note no. 1 – Proceed with caution if you suffer from any pain in your ankles, knees, shoulders or hips. In the event of inflammatory arthritis of the knee and hip, it is advisable to adapt the intensity and degree of pelvic bend accordingly. The position of the hip joint of the front leg is critical in the event of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI).
Objective: the extended side angle pose improves the rotational direction of the leg axes, strengthens the thigh muscles and aligns the major joints. This exercise is ideal in the event of inflamed soft tissue (pes anserinus), early knee arthrosis or misalignment of X and O legs.
The alignment of the front bent knee is also crucial for preventing injury to the lateral ligament and meniscus. Stabilising the pelvis and flank is hugely beneficial. Rotating the torso works the oblique stomach muscles.
Our book recommendation:
Medical Yoga 2 – TRIAS Verlag
Dr. med. Christian Larsen, Christiane Wolff, Eva Hager-Forstenlechner