Knee Care

Maintaining healthy knees is so important for those of us with an active lifestyle. Knee pain and knee injuries are quite common and can take us away from the activities that we enjoy. The knee was designed for forward and backward motion so it is easy to understand how imjuries can occur when knees are torqued or twisted. Yoga is a great way to strengthen and create suppleness in the knee joint. Yoga provides a nice approach because it allows you to also strengthen and support the areas of the body that can cause knee pain. Weak ankles puts more compression on the knees. Standing poses in yoga can help with strenthening the ankles. Focus on lifting the inner arches of the foot and pressing the outer edges of the feet into the mat. Tight hips and glutes can also lead to knee pain and ankle instability. Our hip muscles stabilize us as we walk so tightness here can affect even the most basic activity. Tight hips and glutes can also cause the knee to rotate inward during lunges. Focus on tracking the knee right over the ankle in lunge positions.

Here are some great poses to strengthen and stretch the muscles in the hips, glutes and ankles so that you can keep your knees healthy!

1. Viraana (Hero Pose): Keep your feet parallel to one another and right up against your outer hips.
2. Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side angle pose): Press the outer edge of your back foot down firmly, lift the inner arches of both feet and keep your front knee aligned with your ankle.
3. Parsvottanasana (intense side stretch pose): Lift the inner arches of both feet, lift your inner knee and knee cap.
4. Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose): Lift the knee cap of your standing leg and activate the arches of both feet. For help with balance use a block under your hand or press your back heel against a wall.
5. Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (Pigeon Pose): Use a block under your hips and ensure your hips are neutral. Press the top of the back foot into the mat to align the back knee.
6. Viparita Karani (legs on the wall pose): To align knees, you can use a strap around your thighs.

Yoga Pose of the Week- 9/10/10 Wheel

Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow or Full Wheel Pose)

Benefits
* Expands chest and shoulders

* Stretches hip flexors and core musculature

* Stretches wrist flexor muscles

* Strengthens muscles that control the shoulder blades

* Strengthens gluteus muscles of the hip and hamstrings at the back of the thigh

* Strengthens low back musculature

* Relieves some forms of low back pain

* Therapeutic for asthma, opening accessory muscles of breathing

* Traditionally thought to stimulate the thyroid and pituitary glands, counteract depression, and aid in infertility.

Cautions
* Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or tendonitis of the wrist

* Low Back pain aggravated by extension

* Shoulder impingement

* High Blood pressure

* Headache

Steps
(OORD-vah don-your -AHS-anna)

urdhva = upward

dhanu = bow

1. Lie on your back with the soles of the feet on the floor, close to the sitting bones, feet hip width apart and parallel to the sides of the mat. Place your hands on the floor just above your shoulders with fingers spread wide, finger tips pointing towards the shoulders.

2. Take a moment to set your foundation. Root all four corners of the feet evenly. Activate the inner thighs so that they are energetically moving towards each other, but remain hip width distance. Send the arms bones (humerus) into their sockets so that you feel the shoulder blades come on to your back. The elbows are energetically moving towards one another but remain shoulder width distance.

3. Press evenly into the feet and lift your hips and lower back off the mat, coming into a baby bridge. Pause. Press into the palms evenly and lift your upper torso off the mat, bringing the crown of your head to lightly touch on the mat.

4. Reset your foundation (inner thighs and inner upper arms drawing towards each other, firmly rooting hands and feet) and press into the palms once again to straighten the arms and lift the head off the floor.

5. Let the neck be long, relaxing with gravity. Breathe.

6. To come out of the pose, slowly begin to bend the arms and legs, tuck the chin towards the chest, and lower the spine to the earth.

Modifications
* The most common deviation from our foundation is the feet turning outward as we lift up into the full version of the pose. Ensure the sides of your feet are parallel, which may even feel a little pigeon toed. You may also use a prop (below) to ensure your feet stay parallel.

* Similarly, the elbows like to wing out to the sides as we attempt to recruit more strength to lift up into the full version. The strength actually comes from the engagement of the shoulder blades on the back, with elbows isometrically drawing towards one another. You may use a prop (below) to aid in this sensation.

* As you transition from baby bridge to the crown of the head, do not put a lot of weight on the head itself. It is merely a balance point and you should not feel compression in the neck or skull.

* Using Props:

To keep feet parallel: If your proportions match the width of a block, you can place a block the long way between the inner soles of your feet, pressing the edge of the big toe as well as the edge of the inner heel into the block to keep awareness to parallel feet. Be sure that the block is wide enough to keep you at least hip width distance with the feet.
To keep elbows parallel: Make a loop in strap that is as wide as shoulder tip to shoulder tip. Place the strap around both of your arms, above the elbow (in the direction of the shoulder). Enter into the pose as above, using the strap as guidance to keep elbows parallel. You may also press out into the strap to get extra lift.
To draw inner thighs towards one another: Place a block between your upper inner thighs (narrow width) and transition through the pose without releasing the block.
To aid in opening the chest and shoulders: At the wall, place two blocks shoulder width apart with the narrow side in contact with the wall. Set up for the pose, placing your hands onto the blocks so that the fingers are draping over the edge with the palm and balls of the hand firmly on the block. This will give you extra height that may be missing if you are tighter through the shoulders and chest. If you are using wooden blocks, create slack in your yoga mat first so that you can wrap the end of the yoga mat over the blocks to prevent sliding.
To aid in opening the hip flexors or low back: At the wall, place two blocks hip width distance apart with the narrow side in contact with the wall. Set up for the pose, placing your feet onto the blocks. This will give you extra height that may be missing if you are tighter through the hip flexors. If you are using wooden blocks, create slack in your yoga mat first so that you can wrap the end of the yoga mat over the blocks to prevent sliding.

Beautiful Skin the Natural Way...

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Best Health Foods for Radiant Skin

By Michelle Gelok, RD • August 16th, 2010

If you rely on a concoction of expensive creams, lotions and serums to keep your skin looking radiant, you may also want to take a look at what’s on your dinner plate. Not surprisingly, research continues to show that the foods you eat can play a vital role in keeping skin looking its best.

Flaxseeds
Flaxseeds, also known as linseeds, may be small in size, but pack a powerful punch when it comes to keeping skin looking healthy. A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that after just twelve weeks of receiving a daily dose of flax seed oil, women not only experienced better skin hydration, they also had significantly less red, rough and scaly skin. Often touted for their link to heart health, flaxseeds are loaded with alpha linolenic acid, a type of omega-3 fatty acid that keeps skin hydrated and healthy looking.

Green tea
Green tea continues to make its mark as a superfood thanks to study findings suggesting it may contain potent skin healing properties. This of course is in addition to the long list of other health benefits that green tea has to offer, including boosting heart health by protecting against heart attack, and protecting against arthritis. As for healthy looking skin, green tea can’t be beat. It’s easy to prepare, inexpensive and loaded with powerful disease fighting antioxidants called polyphenols. Studies have shown that green tea has strong anti-inflammatory properties, and may even play a role in the prevention of skin cancer caused by ultraviolet rays from the sun. Enjoy it hot, or make a pitcher of green tea iced tea with a squeeze of fresh lemon for an ultimate hot weather pleaser.

Papaya
This tropical fruit gets two thumbs up when it comes to younger looking skin thanks to its exceptional vitamin C content. In 2007 researchers studying the association between nutrient intakes and skin aging appearance found that women between the ages of 40 and 74 years who consumed the most vitamin C had the least wrinkles. The findings aren’t entirely surprising seeing as vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that plays a role in the synthesis of collagen, a protein responsible for skin elasticity, often used in cosmetic surgery. Researchers found that women with the highest vitamin C intake also experienced less visible dryness of the skin. Aside from papaya, other excellent sources of vitamin C include kiwi, strawberries, tomatoes, red bell peppers and oranges.

Green leafy vegetables
In case you need another reason to eat your greens, research findings from Australia suggest that a high intake of fruits and vegetables, specifically green leafy vegetables, may protect against skin cancer. In the study, researchers followed over 1300 people for eleven years and found that the people who consumed the most fruit and vegetables were half as likely to develop skin cancer, compared to those who skipped out on their daily servings. Researchers found that the protective effect was due in part to a high intake of green leafy vegetables. The benefits of green leafy vegetables don’t stop there – they are packed with vitamins A, C and K, contain a hefty dose of folate and are known to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke, as well as promote brain health. Green leafy vegetables aren’t just lettuce and spinach, this family of vegetables also includes kale, Swiss chard, rapini, collard green and beet greens.

Almonds
Almonds are hard to beat when it comes to healthy looking skin. That’s because they are rich in vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that protects cells against damage caused by free radicals. Some studies have shown that vitamin E may actually help prevent damage to skin cells caused by ultraviolet rays. Almonds also have the added benefit of being a great source of essential fatty acids, which can help keep skin hydrated and supple and a good source of high quality protein. Other sources of vitamin E include sunflower seeds, wheat germ, olives and spinach.

Water
No surprise here, drinking plenty of water is one of the easiest, least expensive and most effective ways to keep skin looking its best. From flushing toxins out of the body, to transporting important nutrients – water wears many different hats when it comes to keeping the body in top form, and skin health is no exception. Drinking water keeps skin cells hydrated and plump and can also prevent dry, flaky skin.

Prevention is key
The bottom line is that while some foods may reduce wrinkles, protect against sun damage and keep your skin looking its best, nothing can replace proper skin care, including sun protection and staying out of the sun when it’s at its strongest.
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