Hi e,
Anytime you relax or align yourself, you are in a state of greater self awareness, which is a good thing. You are conscious of how you are holding yourself.
If I bend my knees, it is hard not to then make a few other adjustments. If I then open, or relax my pelvic area, I feel pretty open from the waist down, and I can also feel my feet energetically. With a tuck of the chin, and attention to suspending the crown point, or lengthening the spine, a substantial shift has taken place in my alignment and physical awareness.
I would say that just isolating the knees, and bending them, without a few other adjustments, is a very minimal change in alignment. I find it hard, not to at least relax the pelvic area too, as it becomes so apparent to me to do that, after I open the knees by bending them. Anything locked, rigid, or out of alignment, becomes more apparent as you open this awareness of physical stance or position.
We can slip into bad posture/alignment fairly often during the course of a day. Anything that opens things up, relaxes tight muscles, 'unlocks' joints, aligns/or opens the spine, or makes us more aware of our physical position, is good.
Twisting the spine, like in harvesting qi is good, as an isolated exercise to open the spine here and there.
People who do retail work, and stand alot, would probably benefit from bending the knees and floating in the saddle here and there.
I think you should head to Rome today, and practice your standing in the center of the Pantheon. Line up with that hole in the center of the dome.. I see Florence may be closer to you. Must be rough!!
love,
gallen
