The Autistic Yogi Reflects on the Knee in Acro Yoga

Often in Acro when we L-base we are told to keep the legs straight. I don't think this is healthy for beginners because they have not developed the appropriate stabilizing muscles, because of the locking mechanism of the knee.  When we do a bone stack and the knee locks out then we are able to release the muscles from around the knee from being activated. By keeping a bend in the knee and drawing the knee cap toward the hip we do a coactivation of muscles around the knee, and if we press the toes away from the knee we activate the calf muscles which further adds stability to the knee. To further add to the strength have the outer foot pressing towards the ankle and this will activate the front muscles of the lower leg further adding stability to the knee joint.

The knee also does not act alone and requires activations from both the hip and ankle joints. Practice balancing postures with the balancing knee slightly bent.

It is imperative that as we navigate through acrobatic postures and movements that we work on our knees health and advance in an intelligent format without skipping steps in the hopes of advancing quickly.

There are many resources online on knee health and safety and I encourage each individual to do their due diligence in discovering what methods work the best for them. Consider advancing your anatomy knowledge through professional instruction so that we don't have to try and reinvent the wheel by going through trial and error. The single handed best resource I can suggest is to take the Yoga Synergy Anatomy & Physiology Online training, Simon Borg-Olivier and Bianca Machliss have developed what I consider to be the most thorough examination of yoga and movement and how our bodies work through the various postures that we encounter from basic sitting to standing to extreme mobility for the super athlete. This training is indespensable for any and all movement practitioners!

http://yogasynergy.com/main/anatomy-physiology