Posted by Robert
Hi Ela – as Gabrielle says, “pull up your kneecap with your quadriceps muscles” …
What this means is that if you are standing up and you strongly clench your thigh muscles so both legs are rock solid, you *should* see some muscle definition appear at the front of your upper leg (the quadricep) and at the same time your kneecaps should be pulled upwards by the contracting quadriceps.
The distance they rise may vary according to the power of your quadriceps.
In Bikram method yoga, this is most obvious in poses where both legs are “locked” (Pranayama and Ardha Chandrasana for example) and the balancing poses where one leg is “locked”, although there are many other poses where pulling up the kneecap using the quadriceps is important if the leg is straight.
I chose to answer this as I used to have very poor quadricep strength due to a broken thighbone many years ago – the physiotherapist who eventually assisted me in my pre-Bikram yoga days was appalled that when I engaged my quadriceps, nothing happened (ie the kneecap didn’t move)!
After only a few weeks of yoga (going pretty much everyday), I quickly rebuilt my leg strength.
So it make take a little time to have something noticeable occur with the kneecap – doesn’t stop you trying though.
Hope that helps!
Robert
