Pain in the back of the knee

I have been practicing glidewalking for some time after learning it from he book. I like it and don't want to go back to my old ways. I have had pain in my right knee for several weeks now and suddenly it dawned on me that this probably has to do with my change in walking technique. The pain is in the back of the right knee and it is very tender there. I cannot squat without a lot of pain because it seems to be a bit swollen there. I wonder if my new way of walking puts more of a stretch in that area. In the past I have had a blocked SI joint on the left side. This probably influenced my movements when I was still walking with my hips leading. How should I proceed? Keep walking? Rest? Use a painkiller?

We cannot know for sure what is causing the pain in the back of your knee. Not being able to see what you are doing as you walk makes answering your dilemna difficult. However, there are some areas that you can explore.

First of all, there are some approaches that have helped others: Resting the knee, elevating the leg and using ice to help with the swelling. Back off a bit on glidewalking. Don't walk long distances until the pain is gone. Take shorter steps. Consult a medical professional if the pain does not go away or if it becomes worse since it is not clear whether glidewalking has caused the pain in the back of the knee.

What we have noticed in teaching the Gokhale Method to thousands of students, is that whenever you are changing old habits and using your body in a different way, pain can be an advisor that you need to adjust what you're doing. When we experiment with a new way of walking, muscles that aren't used to working, will be asked to start working. Patience with the muscles is need here; we find that students who ease into new movements slowly and don't overstretch tight muscles can avoid problems with their body. We advise students not to jump to the ideal posture that they are seeking right away.

Some questions to ask yourself: Are you locking your back knee when taking a step? During glidewalking, we straighten out our back leg but keep the knee soft. We do not lock the knee. Keeping the back heel on the ground for a long time during the step encourages a soft knee.

Your standing alignment will also affect what is going on with your glidewalking motion. Chapter 6 is about Standing and is key in glidewalking. Glidewalking is complicated. It would be worthwhile to take the foundations course so you can get hands on guidance through aligning your body well before you begin to glidewalk. Lesson 5 of the course is dedicated to glidewalking.