Yoga Props to Protect Your Knees
/Yoga is a great way to improve knee mobility, strength, and stability. It also offers a great way to explore movement when you have knee conditions. However, yoga poses and fitness positions that require you to be on your knees can be uncomfortable for many people. Below I discuss props you can use to pad your knees when in a quadruped position or resting on your knees. The yoga mat you use in your practice is helpful in that it provides a couple millimeters of protection, but for many people they aren’t enough.
The folded mat can still be quite cushioned apparently…
Fold Your Mat
The easiest method to increase padding for your knees is to double up your mat. This requires no additional items and you can still keep much of the mat’s length. Double up about five inches of your mat where your knees will be.
The drawback here is that the mat can round, fold awkwardly, or curl up as a result. Also, for some people the folded mat still doesn’t provide enough cushion.
Use an Additional Mat
An additional mat can be a second full yoga mat that you place on top of your other mat, either fully or crossways where your knees would be. Alternatively, you can use a second mat designed to protect your joints. These are smaller and specifically add cushion for the knees. You can buy them as a knee mat for exercise or even find them as a mat for gardening.
The mats that are specifically designed to protect your knees are generally thicker and provide more cushion that just a second yoga mat.
Good Substitutes
Additional mats are not necessary for practicing yoga on your knees. Yoga blankets are often available in studios and a blanket from home can work as well. Try to use a smaller blanket, so it isn’t too thick under you. Folded bath towels make great substitutes. Hand towels are generally too small and thin.
Leg Length Discrepancy Props
Using props to manage differences in limb length improves your body’s alignment. If you are on your knees, you will only need additional props if your femurs are different lengths. Small femur differences generally do not require additional height under the shorter leg, but if you are uncomfortable and your hips are not close to being level place additional padding under the knee of your shorter femur. One of my favorite props for this is a pot holder. It provides cushion and just enough height to level my hips. Pot holders are small and easy to add to one side of your body.
Learn more about leg length discrepancy yoga props here.