Padmasana is the posture for excellence associated with yoga. Even in ancient texts, Padmasana has been the posture that has consistently being mentioned in ancient texts such as Siva Samhita, Gheranda Samhita, Hatha Yoga Padripika and so on… So everyone of us when we first came to yoga, that’s the very first picture we have of a yogi in our minds. As a consequence, we try too hard to achieve this posture without considering the cultural differences that make our bodies not so prepared for this āsana. In the traditional India to which this posture belongs, people sit on the floor for eating, people walk long distances and sit in squad for hours while working the land, even the traditional toilets in India require squat skills. So knee flexibility is quite different between both worlds. This is without even mentioning the different body types we have in western world compared to the long limbs and short torso that most yogis in India have. Due to this reality, most of us need a lot of preparation in order to develop the required space and mobility to perform Padmasana and it’s variations such as Ardha Baddha Padmapaschimottanasana (in the picture), without injuring our knees (specially our meniscus).
Because of the intrinsic relationship between the ankles, knees and hips, we must ensure that we start by opening the hips. For instance, if your knee doesn’t come down, don’t press it down. Instead, pay attention to what happens in your hips and ankles and see if you can create relaxation in both joints and select postures which can create more mobility in the areas. Each body is different and we will have different necessities and required different preparations. There are many postures that improve knee flexibility, for me, one of the most effective ones is squad. But the most important practice, is patience and consistency.
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