Ever take a yoga class and leave with your wrist aching? If you answered "yes" sadly, you are not alone. I have been practicing yoga for a long time. I enjoy it so much that five years ago I became a teacher. I love what it does for my body and my mind. I do not love what it does to my wrists.
Since I have been teaching yoga I find it harder and harder
to make time for my own practice so I take classes every chance I get. A few months ago when I was on a ski trip in
CO I took a yoga class offered by the hotel.
The class was going great until about 20 minutes into the practice when
the instructor gave a cue that I hear way too often: "ground down through
your hands". If you take a lot of
yoga classes I'm sure you've heard it too. After hearing that cue I glanced around the
room and guess what I saw? Yup. Wrist braces on several of her students. Sadly I wasn't surprised.
Recently I've been seeing a lot of articles on how to
protect your wrists while practicing yoga.
I've found them all extremely detailed, difficult to understand and
consequently not much help. As yoga
teachers we are responsible for protecting our students. We should know the purpose of our
instructions and we should always choose our words carefully so that our
instructions do not leave students confused or even worse, injured. I don't
think you have to be an anatomy expert to be a good yoga teacher, I think what
makes a good teacher is one who uses common sense. It is very simple: If our wrists were meant to
support our entire bodyweight we would walk on our hands, but we stand and walk
on our feet therefore our bodyweight belongs on our feet. Just common sense right? So here are my tips to protect your wrists
while you practice:
1) KEEP YOUR WEIGHT IN YOUR FEET
First of all don't ever grind down into your hands! Always shift your weight back into your feet
and try to be as light on your hands as possible. If your hamstrings are tight down dog is
going to be a wrist and shoulder killer.
Bend or drop your knees until your hamstring flexibility is better. Dropping to your knees cuts the load on the
wrists substantially and instantly.
2) USE PROPER ALIGNMENT
Keep your wrists lined up directly under your shoulders or
slightly in front of your shoulders whenever possible especially in side plank
to decrease the angle and lessen the pressure on your wrists.
3) ASK QUESTIONS/USE PROPS
If your wrists hurt during class ask your teacher for
help. There are many modifications you
can try that may help you. There are
also props and wrist wedges that can help too. A good teacher will offer suggestions and sound
advice as to what to do if the pain persists.
4) NEVER PUSH THROUGH PAIN
If you've tried all the modifications and the props
available but your wrists are still hurting during practice then you need to seriously
cut back or stop practicing until the pain subsides. When you return to practicing start slowly
and don't do a lot of poses that force you to put a lot of weight on your
hands. Never push through wrist
pain. Wrists are delicate joints and you
could end up with permanent damage if you continue to practice with pain.
5) REMEMBER WHY YOU ARE THERE
Remember that yoga is supposed to improve your health
and well being. If your wrists become
damaged it can seriously and negatively affect your quality of life and overall
well being. Ahimsa is a very important
limb of yoga meaning "do no harm" that includes yourself and would be
contrary to your practice to continue if you are harming yourself.
Remember that it is your body and your responsibility to
protect it. So ask questions and be an
advocate for yourself so that you can continue to practice safely and
comfortably. Your wrists will thank you for it!
Namaste~
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