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Shivoham
India
107 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 25 2008 : 05:49:56 AM
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I have been practicing padmasana for a while. But suddenly one day
my knees started paining. Now I know I have damaged my outer knee ligament. I am not even able to sit in siddasana. so I had no choice other than stoping the practice. This is frustrating
Is there any body here who have gone through the same problem. Can any one help me in overcoming this? |
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Propundit
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - Nov 25 2008 : 1:30:35 PM
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While it is possible that you did damage the ligament in your knee, it is also possible that the pain is from muscular imbalance - when some muscles are too strong or tight, and others get too weak or loose, the nerves can feel much pain, even when there is no damage. With an imbalance, the knee cap can slip a tiny bit and press against the pain sensors.
You may want to see a doctor to determine exactly what is wrong. If you are like me, these things may be enough to bring you back to full health: Rest, Massage, and Yoga exercises to strengthen the muscles above and below the knee, in the front and in the back of the knee. |
Edited by - Propundit on Nov 25 2008 1:32:02 PM |
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Scott
USA
969 Posts |
Posted - Nov 25 2008 : 2:17:28 PM
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In my opinion...
When you sit in meditative postures they should be totally relaxed. So the biggest obstacle to practicing asanas is actually preparing your body to sit in them.
You should be fully stretched in all of your leg and hip muscles before even attempting to sit in padmasana. When you do it, your legs shouldn't feel stretched. They should feel completely relaxed, and like they can just easily flop into the posture. If that's not the case then you shouldn't even attempt it.
There's not an easy way to heal a ligament besides resting it and keeping the area healthy. Light massage can help. But I wouldn't stress the area at all.
Work on basic stretches for the legs and hip. Here are some ideas, but you can look into it more in other places too:
http://www.abc-of-fitness.com/stret...-stretch.asp
Don't stretch past the point of pain! Start out, go into the stretch lightly and hold it when you feel the muscle tighten at the point where it's beginning to feel a stretch.
You should do it every day, working towards getting each muscle as flexible as it can be. It's a long process, but it'll save you the torment of getting injured again. And you'll be healthier and feel more light because of it. |
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Shivoham
India
107 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2008 : 01:55:00 AM
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Hi,
Thank u Brothers for the reply.
I took rest, did oil massage and pranayama. now the pain has reduced. According to doctor its a ligament tare. but I think there is also little problem with muscles along with ligament. |
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Shivoham
India
107 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2008 : 02:12:31 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Propundit
While it is possible that you did damage the ligament in your knee, it is also possible that the pain is from muscular imbalance - when some muscles are too strong or tight, and others get too weak or loose, the nerves can feel much pain, even when there is no damage. With an imbalance, the knee cap can slip a tiny bit and press against the pain sensors.
You may want to see a doctor to determine exactly what is wrong. If you are like me, these things may be enough to bring you back to full health: Rest, Massage, and Yoga exercises to strengthen the muscles above and below the knee, in the front and in the back of the knee.
Can u tell me some yoga exercises which u did for ur problem. Cos its not the ligament which always pains its the muscles and nerved around it. |
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Propundit
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - Dec 04 2008 : 09:18:27 AM
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I will check at home on a book I have on yoga and the knees. Here is what I can remember.
One position is the half-frog. This stretches the muscles on the front above the knee.
http://www.ehow.com/video_2351117_s...lf-frog.html
Another involves laying on the back, and raising one leg (I use a strap to assist). This stretches the muscles on the back of the leg above the knee.
Gentle forward bends are good. Also, there is a stretch where a person is seated and both legs are forward. Will check on the details of that.
One book talks about proprioception (self awareness of muscles) as being important to leg and knee function. They recommend that people practice standing, with eyes closed, and raise one foot off the ground slightly. It sounds easy, but for the average person, can be tricky. I thought I had good balance from doing tree pose, but had to learn to stand with eyes closed. This very quickly makes one aware of the many muscles in the feet and legs, and how they interact to keep us standing.
Will post more later. |
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yogibear
409 Posts |
Posted - Dec 06 2008 : 08:59:25 AM
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quote:
Is there any body here who have gone through the same problem. Can any one help me in overcoming this?
I have shivoham.
In fact, I injured my knee 30 years ago doing galavasana. I pushed it to hard. Now it is a source of chronic pain. But if I avoid poses like natarajasana (balancing poses seem to be what aggravate it the most) it doesn't bother much. Sometimes I start to do that pose again and gradually the pain returns. It is a weak spot and cannot withstand certain stresses.
I reached my deepest state of meditation sitting in the half lotus when I was 18. It is completely un necessary to do full lotus for meditation. I can still do some very extreme lotus pose variations but choose to sit in a chair with one foot on the floor and the other under my perineum when I meditate.
I bet that if you polled the advanced practitioners on this website, hardly any, if any, are doing the full lotus when they meditate.
As far as injury goes, you definitely need to back off if you insist on sitting in lotus for meditation over the long haul.
If the pain is from muscular imbalance, you will suffer injury sooner or later if you continue to sit for long periods, i.e., go beyond your comfortable capacity.
Everybody has muscular imbalance. The ultimate therapy for this is meditation because of the deep relaxation it produces thruout the body. Releasing your grip on the mind causes a corresponding release of your grip on the body. If you combine this with some type of body work, like chiropractic, PT, or some other form of manual therapy, it is the best of both worlds.
I think very few people can sit comfortably in the lotus position for a sustained period of time and physical ease is a prerequisite for meditation success.
Personally, I just don't bother about the lotus anymore when it comes to meditation because my guiding principle is to be physically at ease.
A person needs to be a little creative sometimes when it comes to this stuff, based on their own unique situation. That is how I have dealt with it.
My point is that, ultimately, it is not that important. My recommendation would be to reconsider the necessity of using the lotus pose when you meditate.
You should still be able to meditate right now if you use the pose I mentioned previously.
There are some good recommendations in the main lessons for finding a comfortable meditation pose. Hope that helps some.
Wish you the best, yb.
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Edited by - yogibear on Dec 06 2008 09:03:20 AM |
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Shivoham
India
107 Posts |
Posted - Dec 11 2008 : 03:48:24 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Propundit
I will check at home on a book I have on yoga and the knees. Here is what I can remember.
One position is the half-frog. This stretches the muscles on the front above the knee.
http://www.ehow.com/video_2351117_s...lf-frog.html
Another involves laying on the back, and raising one leg (I use a strap to assist). This stretches the muscles on the back of the leg above the knee.
Gentle forward bends are good. Also, there is a stretch where a person is seated and both legs are forward. Will check on the details of that.
One book talks about proprioception (self awareness of muscles) as being important to leg and knee function. They recommend that people practice standing, with eyes closed, and raise one foot off the ground slightly. It sounds easy, but for the average person, can be tricky. I thought I had good balance from doing tree pose, but had to learn to stand with eyes closed. This very quickly makes one aware of the many muscles in the feet and legs, and how they interact to keep us standing.
Will post more later.
Yes bro, that really helps. Thanks 
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Shivoham
India
107 Posts |
Posted - Dec 11 2008 : 03:58:26 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by yogibear
quote:
Is there any body here who have gone through the same problem. Can any one help me in overcoming this?
I have shivoham.
In fact, I injured my knee 30 years ago doing galavasana. I pushed it to hard. Now it is a source of chronic pain. But if I avoid poses like natarajasana (balancing poses seem to be what aggravate it the most) it doesn't bother much. Sometimes I start to do that pose again and gradually the pain returns. It is a weak spot and cannot withstand certain stresses.
I reached my deepest state of meditation sitting in the half lotus when I was 18. It is completely un necessary to do full lotus for meditation. I can still do some very extreme lotus pose variations but choose to sit in a chair with one foot on the floor and the other under my perineum when I meditate.
I bet that if you polled the advanced practitioners on this website, hardly any, if any, are doing the full lotus when they meditate.
As far as injury goes, you definitely need to back off if you insist on sitting in lotus for meditation over the long haul.
If the pain is from muscular imbalance, you will suffer injury sooner or later if you continue to sit for long periods, i.e., go beyond your comfortable capacity.
Everybody has muscular imbalance. The ultimate therapy for this is meditation because of the deep relaxation it produces thruout the body. Releasing your grip on the mind causes a corresponding release of your grip on the body. If you combine this with some type of body work, like chiropractic, PT, or some other form of manual therapy, it is the best of both worlds.
I think very few people can sit comfortably in the lotus position for a sustained period of time and physical ease is a prerequisite for meditation success.
Personally, I just don't bother about the lotus anymore when it comes to meditation because my guiding principle is to be physically at ease.
A person needs to be a little creative sometimes when it comes to this stuff, based on their own unique situation. That is how I have dealt with it.
My point is that, ultimately, it is not that important. My recommendation would be to reconsider the necessity of using the lotus pose when you meditate.
You should still be able to meditate right now if you use the pose I mentioned previously.
There are some good recommendations in the main lessons for finding a comfortable meditation pose. Hope that helps some.
Wish you the best, yb.
Yes.. thats what I too have learned. Siddhasana(My favorite) is best when we consider all these things. Any way I will miss not only Padmasana but Full Matsyasana and some other asanas also due to this pain 
Thanks |
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Chiron
Russia
397 Posts |
Posted - Jan 08 2009 : 02:02:27 AM
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| The longest I have sat in padmasana was 1 hour and 40 minutes. How about you? How did you damage your ligament? Is it permanent damage? I practice padmasana frequently and sometimes with intense pain but I didn't know it can cause permanent damage. |
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Ambrose
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2011 : 9:28:24 PM
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Hello,
two years ago I hurt the insides of my knees in poses such as half lotus. I pushed myself past the pain for weeks. I thought the pain would go away. I could not imagine that an injury could come from just sitting. It seemed absurd to me that damage could occur without some kind of impact. I stopped sitting in those poses when inflammation started in my left knee.
My knees have been getting better very slowly. It is a very frustrating process. The mri scan said there was nothing wrong with my knees what so ever. I find this so strange. When ever I close my knee (even in a pose like child's pose) I get this pain in that same place. I don't understand why it won't heal, especially since the mri scan showed that there weren't any tears!
It is only after hurting my knees that I started practicing yoga and that I was told that knees are unforgiving. I'm still hoping my knees might "forgive". I practice iyengar yoga diligently avoiding anything that feels painful or 'not right'. I've started rolfing as well.
The benefits of mindfulness meditation are something I miss a lot. I find that sitting in a chair doesn't quite do it for me. My back or neck start hurting.
I guess I don't have advise or opinion. I simply wanted to share my experience with all of you.
all the best |
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riptiz
United Kingdom
741 Posts |
Posted - Jul 11 2011 : 11:27:23 AM
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Hi,
I have been doing mild knee stretch and balancing for proprioception for in total 3 mins daily and for 6 weeks.My normally 'shot' knees( 30 yrs of Karate) have never felt so good in years.Optimum time for a stretch is 30 seconds. Any less is waste of time and any more does not give any greater results.For stretching I place the top of my foot behind on a desk and move back until the knee is stretched.This gives greater control and if the pain is excessive you should back off.
L&L
Dave
p.s I got my info from the book 'Treat your own knee arthritis. by Jim Johnson |
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woosa
United Kingdom
382 Posts |
Posted - Jul 11 2011 : 2:57:33 PM
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Hi Shivoham
You might just not have 'the bones for it'. Paul Grilley's DVDs - Yin Yoga, and 'Anatomy of Yoga'. He has looked at how anatomy effects poses. Not everyone can do them. It's not all to do with muscle flexibility but how your bones are.
I can't do the wheel pose; headstand or spread leg forward fold. It's to do with my bones getting in the way. (Well that's my excuse)
So if it is causing you pain. Don't bother! Knees are too important to mess up. Do another pose instead. |
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Padmasana and ligament damage on knees
