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Permalink Reply by spin gypsy of Centric Hoops* on May 9, 2010 at 9:53pm

as far as i understand, im not a yoga teacher or anything but have studied yoga for a few years, the knee of the stable leg in any balancing pose shouldnt be locked. its the quad that should be engaged and is often misinterpreted as "locking the knee" which can be very damaging to the knee and surrounding cartlilage. i think as long as you engage your standing leg you should be fine. i could be wrong but this is how i interpreted it

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Permalink Reply by Tara V. Hoops on May 9, 2010 at 10:02pm

As a yoga teacher of 12 years I can't see what would be wrong with it and I fully agree with spin gypsy.

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Permalink Reply by circularlogic on May 10, 2010 at 5:39am

I've had some painful knee problems over the years (I'm 53), & I can honestly say that hooping has made my knees much stronger & healthier! I think the motions you have to learn to do such moves as the flamingo are hugely beneficial to your knees because you have to engage many subtle muscles, tendons & ligaments to stabilize the leg yet keep the hoop going.

The most important thing if you have had knee problems in the past is to GO SLOW (hard as that can be when you're excited about a new move)! Don't spend the whole day obsessing on that one move, but build up to it gradually to give your muscles &c. a chance to accommodate to the new demands. Warm up before you go into it, cool down & stretch afterward, take good care of yourself & enjoy getting stronger! :)

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