For many newcomers to yoga, the low lunge can cause considerable pain in the resting knee. Some instructors recommend folding the mat over to provide extra cushion, but this tactic doesn’t always work. Although a certain amount of weight in the resting knee is unavoidable, there are several ways to reduce knee strain, primarily by shifting the weight elsewhere in the body.

First, you should adopt a long stride whenever you enter a low lunge. This allows you to place more of your weight in the supporting muscles in the legs rather than the kneecap or the top of the shinbone. Once you have a long stride, press down into the top of the back foot. This shifts a great deal of the weight off the knee and allows you to strengthen the muscles along the top of the foot. Furthermore, it allows you to sink into the hips and achieve a deeper back bend.