Wrist Pain Tips for your Yoga Practice

Wrist pain is complaint I hear many of my clients struggle with. We get stiff wrists from everyday repetitive movements, like driving and keyboards, and for many of us the only time we counter that is at yoga class! This is an especially common complaint with pregnancy as well because of fluid buildup in the joints. This excess fluid and laxity in joints creates compression of nerves, which causes numbing, tingling, achy & painful wrists and hands known as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. And if you've been given fluids during labor, this can trigger these issues postpartum too.

Suffer from wrist pain during your Yoga asana practice? Try these tips for relief now!

1. Be careful of using fists: This can be a solution but not one I'd actually recommend. There are 27 small bones in the hand, and 8 small bones in the wrist! By creating fists and pressing them into the floor with body weight, you are likely doing more harm than good and risking greater damage to these tiny and sensitive bones. If you do take this approach at any point, keep your thumb out of the fist.

Remember, yoga is focused on releasing tension rather than creating it... think of the tension you are creating by making fists through your practice. Also notice what often happens to your jaw when you make a fist. Clenching, right? It's like you are getting yourself into defensive mode - the opposite effect we would want!

2. Modify poses by coming down to elbows: Keeping the elbows stacked right under shoulders and taking the hands and wrists in front is a great modification to give your wrists a break! Pretty much all the same poses can be done on elbows rather than hands, so come down at any point and you'll receive the same benefits of the poses. Remember to keep the naval hugging into your spine so you aren't collapsing into the chest or shrugging into the shoulders.

3. Use a folded blanket under the heels of the hands: This softens the angle that the wrist is flexed to, taking it wider than 90 degrees. This deep flexion in the wrist can get uncomfortable and feel too intense, so adding that extra support will ease it up. It can feel like your hands are working extra hard (especially in a pose like Downward Dog), they are because of the uneven surface. Many little muscles in you hands are activating that we may not use when our hands are flat, just like your foot wiggles in a standing balance pose as you start awakening little muscles.

After a few practices with this method, you'll get that stability, balance, and strength and notice a huge difference and relief from wrist pain! As you feel stronger and more comfortable, you can start to unfold the blanket and lower the hands little by little.

4. Just skip hands/knees all together: Also a totally acceptable solution. There are a million ways to practice yoga asana (poses) that include seated, standing, and lying back. While I encourage supporting & loosening up wrists with method #3, always listen to your body and change or modify the practice to suit your needs. If you come to class and the instructor has a sequence that isn't working for you and your wrist pain, we always want you to adjust to do what feels right for you!

I'd love to know if these help you. What are your other pain points that you'd like some suggestions for?! Send me a message below so I can share more tips like these!

🖤Christie