Movement Snacks: Help for your knees (in squats)
|
Hey Reader, When I taught public yoga classes, I'd often make a joke whenever we did chair pose. "Now let's do everyone's favorite pose," I'd say, while most of the room was grimacing. The truth is, no one really likes chair pose. If you happen to be one of the people who enjoys chair pose, congratulations! You are one of the few out there who doesn't do this pose with rage in your heart. When we do chair pose in yoga, it's usually a feat of endurance -- how long can you hold it before your quads set on fire? Chair pose has a lot in common with squats. Personally, I like squats better. I don't have to hold a squat for what feels like an eternity. I just have to move into a squat and out of a squat a few times, while holding weight on my shoulders. Way more fun that way. Unfortunately, squats (and chair pose) are a lot less fun when you're in pain. This leads me to my movement snack for the week. The most common complaint for pain in squats is knee pain. Either the knees are going too far forward of the ankles or the knees are knocking inward. Both make squatting unpleasant, to say the least. I created a video with 2 ways to help work with knee pain and potentially eliminate it. I say "potentially" because without knowing what the true nature of someone's knee pain, I can't make promises. But the 2 options I share are really good ones to try out. Each gives you an opportunity to progress and build strength so you can move on to the next step. I also provide an additional exercise to help train your inner thigh muscles to work and support you when you're doing squats. The video is roughly 20 minutes long. You can watch it here: This video was created by request. Someone asked me to create a video with tips for avoiding knee pain/issues with regular squats, so I made it! I am always happy to take requests for my YouTube channel because I want it to support YOU! If you have any requests for my channel, you can respond to this email or you can use the YouTube post I created asking for feedback and leave it there. Thanks for being a part of my community this year. I am so grateful for you. Warmly, Naomi Want to stay in touch during the week? Here are a 2 easy ways: Follow me on Instagram, where I share movement inspiration 3x a week as acts of resistance, connection, and strength. Follow me on substack, where I write about the intersection of movement, perimenopause, and the culture that we are all moving through. Or better yet, subscribe so you have immediate access to regular essays, including my most recent substacks. There are many ways to support my writing on substack, which focuses on women's health and motherhood during perimenopause through an anti-diet and pro-science lens: 😍 Become a free subscriber |