I grew up with major hyper-extension of the knee and trained myself to stand up straight, thanks to my granny. In yoga class, I have been doing the same but it’s been three weeks and I still cannot ‘lock my knee’. So, I asked my instructor if locking the knee meant that I would have to hyper-extend and he said, “If that’s what works for you. Some people do it.” So, I tried it and oh my god the pain and unbelievably awkward position I was in. “This cannot be right”, I thought.
So I got online and read that it was not right and that I should try sitting with my feet out straight on the floor and engage the quads while keeping my heels down to strengthen them, but I literally could not feel my quads engage at all unless my heels came off the floor. I could not even make them twitch if I concentrated on keeping my heels down. To give you an idea of the extent of my hyper-extension… while in this position, if I flex the way they naturally want to go, my heels come off the floor about three inches.
Anyone got any strengthening exercises that I can do at home that might help? I thought maybe if I got someone to hold my feet down? Am I just being impatient? Thanks for your ideas.
