In the event that you have experienced any wrist injury or wrist discomfort, you know how tough it is to carry out a yoga pose that requires your hands to make contact with the floor. Wrist ailments, conditions, and accidents can consist of focusing on a personal computer all day long, previous injuries, performing yoga poses improperly, or pushing too hard while not getting enough flexibility or strength to perform the poses correctly.
We extend our wrists often, whether it is typing on a personal computer, writing, or anything else we may do during our day. Only a few actions happen when having a flexed wrist; when the fingers are pulled down towards the floor. The imbalance between using the wrist in different positions leads to a loss of range, and an imbalance within the wrist muscles. This may cause pain when getting into a yoga pose that needs the wrist to carry the body’s excess weight.
Typical postures that trigger discomfort within the wrists are yoga poses, such as the crow, downward-facing dog, upward-facing dog and side plank, simply because they need the wrists to be in total extension, and to maintain the body weight up. Each of these poses can be achieved on your forearms, taking away all pressure on your wrists. Concentrate on your wrists, and make adjustments while you are in the pose.
Stretch your wrists after every yoga class. Clasp your fingers together with your palms facing away from your body and try to straighten your arms. Hold this for several breaths and repeat as needed.
I also recommend that beginning yoga students, and anybody with wrist injuries, begin weight bearing on their own – slowly. Instead of suddenly launching into a yoga pose, start by investing a bit of time every day on your hands and knees; in this position your wrists may adapt over time to bear the weight of your body. Do this so the wrists can gradually become accustomed to mild weight-bearing postures, such as table, cat and cow.
There are many different types of wrist supports that you can use as an option, while you do yoga. Wrist supports, or braces, restrict the movement within the wrist. Many wrist conditions are due to repetitive movements; and sometimes, a brace provides enough pain relief by controlling the range of motion.
Conclusion
While Hatha yoga contains therapeutic warm-ups and stretches for the wrist, it also contains postures that can aggravate a pre-existing wrist condition. Sometimes, resting the wrists and modifying postures is the best course of action. Joint pain will not be resolved by pushing through a posture.