Yoga Asana Sequence to Heal Knee Pain

Ah, the knee! Such a complex & delicate thing ~ and such a range of accidents, injuries, abuses/misfortunes of all sorts, it is subjected to. Whether you're a basketball player or skier with a torn ACL or medial meniscus; a distance runner beginning to feel a bit of arthritic in your knees; someone who's contemplating arthroscopic surgery to diagnose an unidentified pain in your knees; or simply tolerating stiffness and swelling (which could indicate Chondromalacia Patellae, among other things); know that you are not alone! Millions suffer from knee pain of one kind or another: of some infringement of bone, cartilage, muscle or ligament, creating various forms of bursitis, arthritis, cysts, and tears, to name the most common of "knee pain" diagnoses. The GOOD NEWS is that your treatment options are many, and the prognosis for partial or full recovery very good. As you research these options, consider a therapeutic Yoga practice as an excellent adjunct (and a way, after you've recovered, of maintaining your knees in their new & healthy state). An intelligently applied sequence of Yoga asanas, performed under the guidance of a qualified instructor, can be a powerfully effective tool for rehabilitating injured knees: for building strength, flexibility & intelligence in this most delicate joint.
Yoga In Context
The term "Ashtanga Yoga" has in recent years become associated largely with the Ashtanga vinyasa form of Hatha Yoga, originated by Krishnamacharya, transmitted to K. Patabhi Jois, and offered now to Western students by well-known teachers such as Tim Miller, Richard Freeman and Eddie Stern. This latter system is characterized by the interlinking (vinyasa), via sun salutation movements, of particular sequences of asanas. The system is composed of seven distinct series, each defined by its own set of asanas, and designed to accomplish a specific goal (e.g. to purify apana, or to cleanse the nadis).
More universally (i.e. in terms of the Six Yogas System), Ashtanga Yoga refers to the eight limbs ("Ashta"=eight, "anga"=limb) of Raja Yoga ("Raja"=royal, "Yoga"=union), which define a path of spiritual liberation (the permanent release from all forms of suffering when the small self of ego is yoked or joined to the Self of Spirit/Pure Consciousness). The Ashtanga vinyasa system belongs to the third of these eight limbs (asana). Traditionally, one did not embark upon an asana practice until their foundation in the first two limbs was firmly established. Also traditional was to use asana practice primarily as a tool for making the body more comfortable when practicing sitting meditation. It has only been in recent years that asana practice in and of itself has been developed as a path through which the other seven limbs of this system might be practiced and refined. The eight limbs of Raja/Ashtanga Yoga are, in brief:
1. Yamas, or Restraints (harmlessness, truthfulness, non-stealing, control of senses)
2. Niyamas, or Disciplines (cleanliness, purification of body, mind and nervous system, study of metaphysical principles, contemplation on God)
3. Asanas or Postures
4. Pranayama, or Un-binding of breath and life-currents
5. Pratyahara, or Turning the attention within, by reversing the flow of the energy of the sense organs
6. Dharana, or Concentration
7. Dhyana, or Meditation, i.e. prolonged periods of perfect concentration and contemplation
8. Samadhi, or Mystical Union
What becomes immediately evident from this listing of the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga, is that the terrain of Yoga, at least potentially, is so much more vast than that of simply the physical body. This point becomes even more clear via this passage from the sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, in which Shri Krishna explains to Arjuna the meaning of Yoga:
"When his mind, intellect and self (ahamkara) are under control, freed from restless desire, so that they rest in the spirit within, a man becomes a Yukta - one in communion with God. A lamp does not flicker in a place where no winds blow; so it is with a yogi, who controls his mind, intellect and self, being absorbed in the spirit within him. When the restlessness of the mind, intellect and self is stilled through the practice of Yoga, the yogi by the grace of the Spirit within himself finds fulfillment. Then he knows the joy eternal which is beyond the pale of the senses which his reason cannot grasp. He abides in this reality and moves not therefrom. He has found the treasure above all others. There is nothing higher than this. He who has achieved it, shall not be moved by the greatest sorrow. This is the real meaning of Yoga - a deliverance from contact with pain and sorrow."
Yet to say that the potential of Yoga is freedom from all (physical, mental, emotional, psychological, psychic) pain and sorrow, is not to deny nor belittle its power to re-balance, strengthen and heal the physical body. Such work, in fact, is often foundational for entering into the more subtle aspects of the practice. And what could be wrong with enjoying radiant good health, freedom from pain, boundless energy, and a felt sense of joy, clarity and relaxation?!
Certain communities of practitioners have developed to a fine art and sophisticated science the use of yoga asana to heal the body. For instance: at the same time that K.Patabhi Jois has been offering to the yoga world the Ashtanga vinyasa system, another student of Krishnamacharya ~ B.K.S. Iyengar ~ has developed an equally powerful approach to asana practice, one of whose strong points is its therapeutic applications. Through Mr. Iyengar's own teaching, as well as that of thousands of certified Iyengar instructors, countless numbers of students have reaped the benefits ~ in terms of relief from chronic and acute conditions of all sorts ~ of this system of working with the yoga asanas. Gleaned from the many years of his practice & teaching, Mr. Iyengar now is able to offer (and has generously listed, in the appendix to his book "Light On Yoga") sequences of specific poses designed to alleviate particular conditions.
The poses (and pranayamas) recommended to heal knee pain & then to maintain healthy knees include:
•All the standing positions
•Janu-Sirsasana
•Parivrtta Janu-Sirsasana
•Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana
•Marichyasana I, II, III & IV
•Akarna Dhanurasana
•Padmasana & cycle
•Virasana
•Supta Virasana
•Paryankasana
•Gomukhasana
•Siddhasana
•Baddha Konasana
•Bharadwajasana I & II
•Ardha Matsyendrasana I
•Malasana I & II
•Pasasana
•Kurmasana & Supta Kurmasana
•Yogadandasana
•Bhekasana
•Supta Bhekhasana
•Mulabandhasana
•Vamevasana I & II
•Kandasana
•Hanumanasana
•Gherandasana I & II
For maximum benefit, this sequence (or some portion of it) should be practiced on a regular basis, and under the guidance of a qualified Yoga instructor ~ someone who will be able to guide you safely into and out of the asanas, modifying them according to your own unique physical condition and abilities.