Do Your Knees Feel Achy & Stiff?

Do you have knee pain?! If you wake up in the morning and your knees feel a bit achy and/or stiff, you need to spend a few minutes stretching and strengthening the muscles around them!! Today I am sharing 5 poses that you should incorporate into your daily routine to take the pressure off of your knees and increase their mobility!

1. Crescent Lunge: Strengthens the quadriceps to take pressure off of your knee. Make sure your knee stays above your ankle (never over) x 8 breaths each side

2. Supported King Arthur Pose: Stretches the area surrounding the knee - make sure to use a blanket under your knee for support! x 45 seconds each side

3. Bridge Pose: Use a block in between thighs to help further engage your leg muscles. This is a great way to build strength while you stretch! x 30 seconds

4. Chair Pose: Stretches your hamstrings while strengthening your quadriceps. Win/win!! Make sure when you look down you can see your toes (otherwise push your knees further back) x 10 deep breaths

5. Warrior 2: Stretches out the back leg while strengthening the front leg! Make sure your knee stays tracking over your big toe on the front leg and weight is in your heel (not the ball of your foot!) x 8 breaths each side

The key to relieving knee aches and stiffness is movement! Make sure your keeping your joints mobile and practicing these stretches safely!! I want to make a very important note that these stretches/exercises are not intended to treat knee injuries. If your knee pain feels sharp, keeps getting worse, are swelling or popping - please consult a doctor or physical therapist and do not try the poses above! You should practice these stretches/exercises at your own risk! Safety first!!!