1)Wash in washing machine on cold with a little bit of soap. If your mat is really dirty you might have to run the wash twice or scrub it with a scrub brush under running water to loosen the dirt.
2) Lay your mat on a towel. Roll mat up with towel. Step on mat, so that towel can absorb any extra water.
3) Hang mat to dry out in the sun or in a dry location. Your mat will take a day or two to dry.
Our theme this week is KNEE HEALTH. Enjoy!
pil-oga-robic | BODY
WEAK IN THE KNEES
The knee marks the meeting place of three bones: the shinbone (tibia), the thighbone (femur), and the kneecap (patella). Unfortunately, the knee's mechanics are better suited to chasing animals for dinner than to sliding into second base, says Stephen Messier, professor of health and exercise science at Wake Forest University.
Every year, nearly 11 million Americans complain to doctors about knee pain. Orthopedic surgeons operate more often on the knees than on any other body part. The findings of a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine highlights the importance of evenly building the leg muscles to keep the knee joint properly aligned - a task for which yoga and Pilates are perfect.
William Roberts, M.D., president-elect of the American College of Sports Medicine says, "Tension in the muscle is fine. Sensation directly above the kneecap is not a problem, but if the tension is on the sides of the knees, I'd back off."
pil-oga-robic | MIND
6 Ways to Protect Your Knees
1. Avoid Hyperextension: When joints are overly mobile and flex too far back, they're hyperextended. In the knees, hyperextension often occurs in poses in which the legs are straightened.
2. Start with your feet. Proper alignment through the feet is the key to building strength evenly in the ligaments on both sides of the knee. Separate your toes and press actively through the four corners of your feet in every pose, even inversions. If your feet are out of alignment, your knees are going to suffer.
3. Keep your knees in line. In positions in which you bend your knee,first align your bent knee over your ankle, then draw your kneecap in line with your second toe. Lift up through your arches.
4. Tune in to subtle signals. If you feel achiness when you come out of a bent-knee pose, you may have worked too hard.
5. Build strength by balancing. Very dynamic balancing protects the knee against future injury by training the functional alignment, not just working the muscle.
6. Warm up with hip openers. If your big joints aren't open, your small joints will always take the stress.
Pil-oga-robic | WELLNESS
Treat those Knees! Here are some tips to reduce knee inflammation:
-Icing the knees after a workout in an ice bath/ or with ice pack. Kneel or sit in tub full of cold water and a few scoops of ice (10 mins), OR for less sever pain use ice pack (20 mins).
-Increase your tumeric intake. View post on blog for a few recipes from Vegetarian Times that include turmeric: Mellow Yellow Rice Noodles w/ Roasted Peanuts and Potato and Baby Spinace Masala
-Eat Cherries or take a cherry supplement. They are rich in antioxidants and decrease inflammation and relieve syptoms of Osteoarthritis. Some studies show it to be as effective as aspirin at revealing pain.
(Thank you Yoga Journal for all of the great information!)
Take special care of those neat-o knees this week!
Hannah + Ishbel
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