Movement Snack: Building Resiliency in The Knees
May 19, 2022 | Written by Leticia Padmasri
This month we will give our knees some movement snacks!
Just like nature is more dynamic now in the spring season, so am I. I bet you are too! Jonah and I did a lot of garden work with my mom who is visiting from Brasil. We are walking a lot more too.
I am so grateful for the work I do with my knees so all these increased activities are just fine for them.
Here I want to share with you a movement snack for your knees so you can take a break from sitting and work on some knee mobility and strength.
This works on the back of the knees generating possibly more strength to the hamstrings, more resiliency, and stability to these joints.
Resilient knees in turn give us sustainable and long-lasting healthy movement in life. In addition to contributing to creating resilient knees, these are great movements for the circulation of lymph.
Addressing the lymphatic system during the spring season is an important element to keep Kapha dosha (water and earth energy) balanced.
The lymph vessels serve as the drains of the body that support the venous system. Lymph nodes filter substances that travel through the lymphatic fluid. We have six or seven nodes located in the legs near the knees. If the lymph flow is poor and congested, the fluid can become heavy and thick and this is the Kapha dosha accumulating inside of us….
The body will have difficulty draining the waste out of the body, which can be experienced as swelling in the joints, particularly at the knees and ankles. These are common areas of swelling since the lymphatic system does not have a pump.
Any movement is going to assist the flow of lymph. This movement snack is a particularly good lymph mover: the legs are inverted, supporting fluid flow in the lower limbs, and the flexion and extension of the knees add muscular contractions, further increasing lymph flow.
Note this is working on just one piece of the whole. For resilient and strong knees, you want to target multiple ranges of motions and muscles. Check out my library of classes where we work on all of it.