Lotus pose is described in the HATHA Yoga Pradipika as the destroyer of all disease. But why do I hardly ever instruct this pose in a general class? Ancient promises were often oversold. Lotus pose is more often the destroyer of knees than of disease. For people who have a great deal of external rotation available in their hip socket, Lotus Pose is trivially easy. They were probably able to do the pose long before taking up yoga practice. For most people, however, this pose is not and never will be available, and trying to force it will damage the knees. Lotus Pose requires 100-110’ of external rotation of the femur in the hip joint. Most people can externally rotate their femur only 35-40’ before training. The missing 70’ of external rotation comes from the knees. ‘Hip Openers’ may increase the range of femoral external rotation that was restricted by muscular inhibitions, but most people will be stopped well short of the magic amount by bone- on- bone compression in the hip socket. If a student persists in attempting to achieve Lotus at the expense of their knee, the medial meniscus will first complain with pain in the inner knee, then tear. Every student has to determine whether the risk of the pose is worth the purported rewards. For students who have the bones to easily externally rotate the femur in the hip socket, there is probably no risk to their menisci even with regular Lotus practice. However, if your femur cannot rotate, do not try to compensate by over- stressing the knee joint. Some stress in the knee is ok, but not to the point where there is pain. Yoga carries some risk of injury as any physical practice. Staying mindful, aware of your limitations and well informed will prevent most injuries from happening and allow you to enjoy yoga practice for years to come.  The post is based on extensive research of Bernie Clark and his book ‘Your Body, Your Yoga’.