When people talk about running, usually in terms of what they can’t do, knee pain often comes up. Now, I’m not a doctor but I have been called one of cake decorating; this is just my advice based on my own experience and what worked for me, BECA– USE OMG I HAD KNEE PAIN. I was in a predicament where I had to train for a half marathon fast, and probably upped my mileage too quickly. I wore a knee brace during my runs, but I think it put too much strain on my hips, because they stopped hurting pretty much immediately after I stopped running with the brace. Over time, I’ve strengthened my knees, or rather, the muscles around them, and they hardly cause me problems anymore. I’m giving it to yoga on this one. Before I discovered Yoga With Adriene, and my main source of exercise was walking around LA, I was an achy mess. I was a wee 33 year old, and I’d been working in kitchens a little over a decade. If you’ve ever seen an ad for kitchen work, one of the requirements is being able to stand for at least 8 hours at a time. It can be rough, LOL IT’S THE WORST HELP ME. I’d come home with the achiest feet, knees and back. When I decided it was time to get in shape, I started with yoga. I’m not exaggerating when I say the aches and pains went away pretty quickly after starting a regular regime! And I like to exaggerate a lot! These days I can tell when I haven’t been hitting the mat enough because my back gets so tight. ANYWAY! You gotta strengthen the muscles around your knees! Here is a great video to start with:

Doing this Hero Pose video felt amazing after my first half marathon. For more leg strengthening videos, check out the playlist I made my friend Britney!