From beginners to advanced classes, hearing, “make sure your ankle is over your knee,” is on of the most common explanations in yoga. And although we know it’s important, we never really think about why and in an hour or 90 minute class, it’s a lot for an instructor to explain all that goes along with, “ankle-under-knee.”

Lunges (high and low), the variations of Virabhadrasana (Warrior Pose), Crescent Pose, the different variations of Parsvakonasana (side angle pose), Utkatasana (Chair/strong Pose), Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)… all these poses follow that direction of alignment, ankle under knee.

For basics purposes, we will look at the alignment of the lower leg using the basic low lunge, which is a great build up and strengthener to all the poses mentioned above. The proper placement of the knee over the ankle brings into light the fact that the body is like a line of dominoes and when you move into a pose, the bodies correct movement into any asana is like knocking down that line of dominoes; each one goes in a certain place for the next domino to fall and so on, and so on. However, if one domino is out of place, or not properly aligned, the cascade of dominoes will stop. So will the asana, just short of reaching its full benefits.

The placement of the knee over the ankle in a lunge, brings not only proper alignment of the lower leg, hips and spine, but also balance in the pose and proper muscle stretch and strengthen, as well as proper muscle relaxation.

Allowing the knee to go over the recommended 90 degree angle, when the knees hides our toes in a lunge, although we feel we are stretching, this in fact, brings the stretch to the wrong areas of the body. Allowing the knee to go beyond the toes, not only can cause people with tight calf muscles to raise their heel causing a lack of balance, it also puts unnecessary strain in the ligaments in both the ankles and knees rather than our muscles.

Ligaments are fibrous tissues that holds one bone to another in joints, like our knees. They are what prevent our knees from bending backward, and although they are slightly stretchy, they only allow for joint movement and are not meant to be stretched like muscles are. They were made to stabilize our joints and bones. Over stretching your ligaments leads to weak joints, injury, pain and if torn may need surgery to repair. But properly aligning our knee in a lunge will also do more than save our ligaments from strain, it also allows for proper stretching of muscles.

Allowing the knee to align over the ankle can also bring a deeper stretch into your muscles in the hip and quads of the extended leg behind you and strengthen the quadriceps of the front leg, as it is engaged to stabilize the body in the pose. However, when we think about it, for one muscle to stretch and or strengthen, another, its opposite must relax for the stretching muscle to reach it’s full potential, this is also very important in yoga. With the knee in its proper place, it allows the hamstrings and gluteal muscles of the front, bent leg to relax. However, this stretch goes beyond the hips, although it may not feel that way in the middle of the pose.

As we progress in our yoga practice, we develop balance and strength to deepen our stretches. If we instead move our knee past our toes causing us to lift the heel and this leaves you with a smaller area to balance when you are ready to lift your upper body in a lunge. When we align our bent leg properly, we can bring our center of gravity in alignment as well; bringing our weight to the balls of the feet, the center of the heel and slightly into our big toe for correct balance. Once your upper body is lifted, this also allows you to engage your core muscles in your belly, our abdominal muscles, which in turn allows our lower back to relax, and eventually, our chest to open forward and our arms to reach higher toward the sky.

We all start somewhere in yoga. We may not get very deep in a stretch at first or we may not look like the more experienced people in the room do, but it all starts with alignment, because that is what helps build everything else.

Namaste.