I have slightly cricked my knee so I need to adjust my practice to avoid all poses which put a strain on knees, including sitting crossed-legged. I’ve looked at the various programmes, including the restorative practices, but I can’t find one that cuts down on these poses, or that is specifically geared towards knee injury.
Does anyone have any suggestions ? I had got into a good daily routine and I really don’t want to stop ! (also being locked-in I really need it …) Thank you !
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I have two replaced knees so I feel ya! I do what I can in each class. If I cannot do something or it feels dangerous to my knees, I will either modify or do a pose that works for me. A modification for pigeon is to lay on your back, knees bent and cross L ankle over r knee. Wrap hands behind right knee, and pull knee toward chest. You can adjust and find what works for you in this pose. Then switch to other side… for seated poses you can just move into Dandasana or do sit-ups or boat pose while the instructor is doing something else. It is ok to modify and to do your own thing, just continue breath work and move slowly. Good luck. Hope this helps a bit.
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Hello! Thanks for this question. We don’t currently have any classes that are specifically designed for knee injuries but I’m putting it high on our priority list right now. @rangergirl02 gave some great advice if you would like to try some gentle hatha classes. Choose Hatha under style and either Beginner I or II under difficulty level on our Yoga Classes page.
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I, too, have some knee issues occasionally that will flare up. Sometimes instead of cross-legged, I will sit with my legs straight out in front of me or in a half-butterfly pose. I can never do malasana fully (squatting pose because it is tough on my knees), so I will do something else like a forward fold or do a half-squat instead. Modify what you need to and take care of those knees. 
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Thank you all for the suggestions, I will give it a go. And yes, a class with a selection of knee-friendly poses would be great, look forward to it !! Cheers
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I’ve been dealing with knee issues for a while - Guy’s focus on the knee class, and the mogul muncher from yoga for athletes are AMAZING for knees
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I also have to watch my knees. Yoga is also slowly improving my knees over the years, so hopefully it will for you. I can now do child’s pose-with a block under my hips/on the back of my calves. I sit on a block for hero’s pose. I don’t go deep into squats. Figure out what bothers you the most and especially watch that so you don’t get hurt. For me, it was bearing weight on a bent knee that I really had to watch and that is improving too. I too would love a class with knee-friendly poses!
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Hi everyone. I just want to let you know that I have a gentle hatha yoga class coming soon that is for knee arthritis, but can also be great for any other reason you are looking to increase range of motion in a gentle way. I’ll post it here when it’s ready.
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The Yoga for Knee Arthritis is up now!
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I wanted to share what I did as this really worked for me …
My knee problem came out of cranking up my practice too much too soon. My knees weren’t protected as the muscles did not have a chance to get the strength up to support the increased exercise.
So I used the below from Youtube.
Warning: it’s a bit cheesy but really effective. Obviously you can use others instead.
Basically after resting I did the 7 laying down exercises twice a day ( morning and evening ) on my bed. It takes less than 10 minutes and it basically works on all the muscles around the knee.
The pain went quickly, then I continued doing them and increasing the reps until I felt all the muscles around the knee were nice and strong, then restarted the yoga practices here ( I really missed Fiji ! ) .
If I was starting from scratch or powering up my practice I would now do strenghtening phisio exercises first.
Good luck all !
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I always have a blanket handy to quickly pull over for extra knee cushioning and it really has helped in keeping me doing the classes painfree. Also you could cut down an older mat just for the knee area for extra cushioning or double up by using 2 mats.
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After doing some internet research and observing my body I think my problem comes from knee twisting during some poses / transitions. I found this video that is extremely clear about the issue and tells you (me) what to do instead. Perhaps this will help someone else. It is in the tai chi context but it is applicable.