Knees are complex. They are the “middlemen” between the strong hip movers and the more mobile foot and ankle.
In our yoga practice we practice functional movements that help to stabilize, strengthen and mobilize the knee. The knee acts like a hinge but there is also a degree of adduction, abduction and rotation. Thus small movements, practised slowly and with care keep “the middlemen” happy. Pete Blackaby’s “sprinters” in Intelligent Yoga p112, is an excellent example. Functional movement helps us to discover how we use our body, thus helping us to avoid injury.
F. M. Alexander, in his book , The Use of The Self (1932), investigated sports injuries. He felt that medical diagnosis of a problem must investigate the way a peson “used” himself. This is because the ways we “use” ourselves, the habitual movement patterns that we acquire, affect functioning and can either directly or indirectly influence a person’s recovery.
Inside Yoga 