OCTOBER THEME | Iyengar yoga for knee health
2nd October 2025
Each month we have a different theme to share with you some of the wisdom of Iyengar yoga and how our teachers can help you as students. In this post, we’ll explore how we can nurture knee health through awareness, safe movement, and practical routines, so your knees can serve you well, today, tomorrow, and into the years ahead.
Our knees are more than just hinges between thigh and shin, they’re essential pillars in our every movement, silent workhorses bearing weight, absorbing impact, and enabling both strength and flexibility. Yet so often, we take them for granted until stiffness, strain, or pain insist we pay attention. Drawing on wisdom from Iyengar Yoga, we begin to see how the journey to healthy knees is one of alignment, mindfulness, and steady care.
Nurturing Your Knees with Iyengar Yoga
One of the key principles in Iyengar Yoga is the importance of lifting the kneecaps and making them centred. This seemingly small action plays a significant role in protecting the knees and preventing overstretching of the hamstrings, promoting stability, balance, and a safe practice.
As Jo Lovell points out in Nurturing Your Knees: A Journey to Healing Through Iyengar Yoga, understanding how our knees move how they align with hips and ankles, how they bear our weight, how much flexibility (or lack thereof) and strength surrounds them is the first step toward healing.
The Yogic Approach to Knee Care
Mr Iyengar regarded the condition of one’s legs as a symbol of vitality and youthfulness, much more so than the face!
Iyengar Yoga doesn’t just treat symptoms—it addresses alignment, balance, and structural awareness. Working with props, sequences, and modifications allows practitioners to:
- Protect overstressed joints during recovery
- Build strength in supporting muscles
- Restore mobility gradually and safely
- Cultivate awareness of alignment to prevent injury
With patience, consistency, and the wisdom of Iyengar Yoga, we can learn not only to heal knees in difficulty, but to support them for a lifetime of movement
This sequence from Svejar, is based on a program developed by B.K.S. Iyengar for the relief of knee pain (as described in his book Yoga for Sports, pages 90–91).
The sequence was presented and practised by Julio Dieguez Papi, a martial artist as well as yoga practitioner and teacher, who is also the model in her drawing.
“And for a more detailed study, senior teacher Lois Steinberg gives detailed therapeutic alternatives in her book specifically on knees.
Please note that these sequences are recommended to be done only under the supervision of a suitably qualified Iyengar yoga teacher after consultation with your medical practitioner.
Find a teacher
As general Iyengar Yoga teachers, we are able to assist with general aches and pains in class, but we also have more senior teachers who have therapy training and are able to deal with more complex injuries. If you would like to find a local Iyengar yoga teacher you can search here.
Knee Resources for Iyengar yoga teachers and trainees
If you are an Iyengar Yoga teacher and have access to the the Therapy Committee video archives you can access two excellent videos which detail how to use props to protect the knee joint, reduce pain in the knee and work therapeutically to build strength and mobility. You can sign up to the video archive here. The Therapy Committee has also supplied helpful materials about the anatomy of the knee.
- A clear Anatomy of the Knee overview, showing bones, ligaments, menisci, common misalignments (knock-knees, bow-legs, hyperextension) and how structure affects function. Iyengar Yoga UK
- Photos of how to use knee spacers to help illustrate minor adjustments or supports that can protect joint integrity during practice
What the Science Says
Our research committee shared with us a pilot study on Iyengar Yoga for osteoarthritis of the knees (Kolasinski et al., 2005) showed that an 8-week programme of modified Iyengar postures significantly reduced pain and improved function in older adults, even among those with obesity.
This evidence reinforces what many practitioners already experience: when approached with alignment, props, and patience, Iyengar Yoga can be an effective tool for managing joint pain and supporting long-term mobility.
Further Reading
• BKS Iyengar, Yoga the Path to Holistic Health (2001) p.315f
• BKS Iyengar, Yoga for Sports, p.90f
• Lois Steinberg, Iyengar Yoga Asana Alternatives: The Knees (2015)
• Krishna Raman, A Matter of Health (1998), p.212, fig.50; p.466ff
• Astadala Yogamala 7, (2008) p.285f
These resources help us build a more grounded, multidimensional view of what supporting knee health means not just symptom relief, but structural awareness, regular alignment work, modification, and consistency.Whether you are a beginner or an experienced practitioner, paying attention to the position of your knees will greatly enhance your yoga practice and support the long-term health of your body.
Teachers: Get Involved
If you are a teacher and would like to take part, we’d love to hear from you. Throughout October, you can:
- Share photos or videos of your own practice with the knees in mind on social media, tagging @iyengaryoga_uk
- Contribute your reflections, teaching notes, or short articles on the knees by emailing us at content@iyengaryoga.uk.org
Together, we can build a rich collection of knowledge, inspiration, and practical resources for supporting students and teachers alike.
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