How many of us have heard that phrase before???
For those of you who have practiced Bikram Yoga at least once or twice, you’re probably familiar with the phrase “lock the knee lock the knee lock the knee!”. Locking the knee does NOT mean locking your knee so hard that it hyperextends and protrudes backwards. So what exactly is the proper way of “locking the knee” and what is the purpose and benefit of us doing so?
The phrase is a little misleading because what you should be doing is “locking the quadricep muscles around your knee”. First of all, locking the knee requires you to engage your quadricep muscles (aka Thighs) in order to hold your leg stick straight. Tightening the quads provides protective support to your knees. The reason people have weak knees is usually because of a lack of strength in the surrounding muscles rather than a problem with the knee itself. The practice of Bikram Yoga aids this problem by intentionally engaging the muscles around the knee. Locking the knee also keeps your kneecap in alignment, preventing potential future injuries and serving to keep your knees healthy and strong!
In order to prevent injury, here are some ways you can ensure that you are “locking your knee” correctly:
- Check the placement of your feet – if your feet aren’t in the correct position, your knees tend to overcompensate for them, leading to potential injuries.
- Make sure knees are aligned directly over your ankles - this will help with your posture and alignment of your feet to knees.
- Be careful about hyperextending your knees - it’s one thing to lift your kneecaps and a whole other thing to push it too far back and locking it out to the point that your whole leg is stiff. To prevent this, make sure you are working your quadriceps and using them to pull your knee “up”.
Once again, a video to demonstrate how “lock the knee” should be done:
