qibrush Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) Hi everyone, I've been doing qigong on and off for about a year now because of school and trips. I've definitely improved in my practice but there seems to be one thing holding me back, my knees. My knees are technically knocked knees because they turn inward. It's really not as severe as most people have but it's enough to be a little noticeable. The problem is is that when I'm supposed to be "relaxing my knees" I can’t. For example holding standing posture with my knees bent has my knees holding tension in them so that after 20 minutes my legs will start shaking from the effort (this limits how long my session can be aswell). I can't relax my knees when I bend them, I can bend them but it requires tension to keep it that way which seems to be a big wall in continuing my qigong practice. I enjoy qigong and I would like to continue to get better at it but it seems that if I can't relax my body I won't be progressing as fast as I would like, and maybe I'll never be able to get to a mastery level even if I do it for long. If anyone has any suggestions I'll be very grateful. Thank you Edited January 10, 2015 by qibrush Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChiDragon Posted January 10, 2015 Hi everyone, I've been doing qigong on and off for about a year now because of school and trips. I've definitely improved in my practice but there seems to be one thing holding me back, my knees. My knees are technically knocked knees because they turn inward. It's really not as severe as most people have but it's enough to be a little noticeable. The problem is is that when I'm supposed to be "relaxing my knees" I can’t. For example holding standing posture with my knees bent has my knees holding tension in them so that after 20 minutes my legs will start shaking from the effort (this limits how long my session can be aswell). I can't relax my knees when I bend them, I can bend them but it requires tension to keep it that way which seems to be a big wall in continuing my qigong practice. I enjoy qigong and I would like to continue to get better at it but it seems that if I can't relax my body I won't be progressing as fast as I would like, and maybe I'll never be able to get to a mastery level even if I do it for long. If anyone has any suggestions I'll be very grateful. Thank you The problem is not your knees. It is normal because you have not been exercising for awhile. Another words, your knees are out of practice. So to speak. You will have the pain for few weeks to months. Eventually, the pain will go away after you practice for a while. Please try not to believe that you can relax your knees while bending. It is physically impossible not to have tension on your knees during muscle contraction. Your knees are bend inward, so let it be and don't try to fight it. If you do try to bend them forward, then you will put more tension on them. Just continue with your practice. It will be alright soon or later......!!! Have fun. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeform Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) Do you stretch before practice? Most knee problems are from misalignments originating from elsewhere in the body. Make sure to get a decent stretching routine and do it daily including before and after your qi gong. Opening up your hips and inner thighs will give you an immediate improvement in your inward turned knees. After practicing qi gong for a while your bones will shift and turn as a result of changes in your ligament and muscle-tendon collaterals. Can anyone recommend some stretching routines for qi gong? I have the stretches that have been taught to me... but there's probably something on YouTube that's worthwhile. Edited January 10, 2015 by freeform 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrei Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) Well that's your limit, 20 minutes, don't push your limit, just practice within the comfortable limits for a long time 3-6 months even more then you push your limits with another 10 or 20 minutes and so on. It is normal to shake when you bend your knees, just don't bend them too much, make sure the knees don't go past the toe's vertical line, just a slight bending is good enough. Edited January 10, 2015 by Andrei Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chang Posted January 10, 2015 It is very difficult to give advice on proper posture without being with the person you are advising. I assume that the main posture which is causing the problem is Riding Horse. Whilst appearing a simple enough posture to adopt it is in fact rarely done correctly so as to protect the knees, open the kua and give proper rooting. You state that you have been practising Qigong but do not give information as to who you have trained with. If you have been learning from DVD’s or books then it may well be a case of failing to adopt proper stance and posture. It will then be a case of your practice simply ingraining poor posture and this will become increasingly more difficult to correct. My advice would be to find a good teacher who can provide sound instruction in the basics and move on from there. You could give your location in this thread and see if anyone has idea’s as to a good Internal Arts school in your area. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cheya Posted January 10, 2015 If you're actually trying to realign your knock knees, an experienced yoga instructor may be your best bet. This would absolutely have to be in a one-on-one consultation. Don't just sign up for a yoga class! Probably ditto for Pilates. If your ankles roll in, another first step is to get orthotics, which can help support your knees. Good luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mYTHmAKER Posted January 10, 2015 Try pressing out to the side with your feet so your feet - ankles don't roll in towards each other. In this position you will have arches in your feet and your knees will have better alignment. And of course correction from a good teacher is a must 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChiDragon Posted January 10, 2015 ...... The problem is is that when I'm supposed to be "relaxing my knees" I can’t. For example holding standing posture with my knees bent has my knees holding tension in them so that after 20 minutes my legs will start shaking from the effort (this limits how long my session can be aswell). I can't relax my knees when I bend them, I can bend them but it requires tension to keep it that way which seems to be a big wall in continuing my qigong practice. I enjoy qigong and I would like to continue to get better at it but it seems that if I can't relax my body I won't be progressing as fast as I would like, and maybe I'll never be able to get to a mastery level even if I do it for long. If anyone has any suggestions I'll be very grateful. Thank you It sounds like you are doing Zuan Zhuang(站摏) other than QiGong. Is that what your were doing....??? If you don't want to be standing still with the knees bent for a long time, perhaps you would like to try something more dynamic like the Yang style Tai Ji. This style allows you to move around bending one knee, alternately, at a time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soaring crane Posted January 11, 2015 My advice would be to find a good teacher who can provide sound instruction in the basics and move on from there. You could give your location in this thread and see if anyone has idea’s as to a good Internal Arts school in your area. That's a must for sure. And at the very least, provide more details to what is being praticed now, and the source of the information. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qibrush Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) That's a must for sure. And at the very least, provide more details to what is being praticed now, and the source of the information. I'm doing Ken Cohen's 100 day qigong guide. Lately I've been going very deep in my meditations so I don't know if that had an effect on this but today when I did qigong I had my deepest session yet. It lasted close to an hour and I had my knees bent in the same way (just slightly bent I'm not going over the toe line) and only toward the end did my legs start to shake but only very minimally and nothing too drastic at all. I thoroughly enjoyed this session but I really don't know what changed. I guess my knees just had to get used to it or something like that. I'm near Orlando, Fl if anyone knows a good teacher near this location I would be very grateful. Edited January 13, 2015 by qibrush Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soaring crane Posted January 13, 2015 I'm doing Ken Cohen's 100 day qigong guide. Lately I've been going very deep in my meditations so I don't know if that had an effect on this but today when I did qigong I had my deepest session yet. It lasted close to an hour and I had my knees bent in the same way (just slightly bent I'm not going over the toe line) and only toward the end did my legs start to shake but only very minimally and nothing too drastic at all. I thoroughly enjoyed this session but I really don't know what changed. I guess my knees just had to get used to it or something like that. I'm near Orlando, Fl if anyone knows a good teacher near this location I would be very grateful. well, that sounds like a positive development but, fwiw, you could well be sinking too deep into the knees, most people do. What you can try is first locking your knees to the rear, enough that you feel the stretch in the hollows of the knees. Hold that for maybe ten seconds, then release the tension very slowly. Your knees will give and feel very light, and will not really be "bent". That's the feeling you want to maintain during your sessions. Repeat the little warmup exercise three times before settling into your qigong routine. And do it once ina while during your qigong, too. I believe KC is one of those authors who uses comments like "knees slightly bent", without any real explanation of what is meant by that. The knees should be relaxed, that's that priority. If they're not, there's no flow. Think of all the joints in the body as locks in a shipping canal. If the locks are closed, the water doesn't flow and the shipping lane shuts down. And the longer a lock stays shut, the faster it dries out... And in the body, the bigger the joint, the bigger the effect on the whole network. And going into a knee bend has to be accompanied with more adjustments to the posture. The knees, obviously, but also the pelvis/lumbar region. I'm picturing you standing there with bent, knock-knees and a sway back, and I'm thinking, get thee to a teacher. But in the meantime, don't "bend the knees", just do that little exercise I described (well, give it a try, anyway). Personal instruction is important. A good teacher will show you how to initiate all this stuff from the pelvis and hip joints, and how to coordinate it with your breath. There have to be tons of qualified teachers and schools in your area. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
