How to deal with wrist pain during yoga
Wrist pain during yoga is an incredibly common complaint – especially when starting a practice or ramping up an existing practice. Here are 5 things you can do to help ease wrist pain during yoga:
Change your yoga mat
During yoga teacher training we could spend up to 10 hours in the studio running each other through sun salutations and full classes. When trainees started to complain about wrist pain our teacher suggested thicker yoga mats (Lululemon makes a good one). No, this isn’t a sales pitch, they really offer great support!
Proper hand placement
This is key. You want a spread-out hand that is strongly connected at the thumb and index finger and you don’t want to put too much weight into the heel of your hand. Just like anything else with yoga, you have to practice proper hand placement until it becomes natural.
Use props
Props are a great way to help you find hand placement that works for you. You can simply fold a blanket or towel and place it under the heels of your hands to adjust the angle of your wrists. Or you can get a yoga wedge or yoga gloves.
Modify your poses
Take downward facing dog on your forearms. This is called dolphin pose and it will stretch your calves. You can also take plank on your forearms. You can also modify your practice as a whole. Try yin yoga which will require less time spent on the hands. Or look for classes that focus more on the legs and lower body.
Take care of your wrists and listen to your body
Roll your wrists out and practice gentle stretches. If you work at a computer you’ll want to do some counter stretches. Take time off if you need to, pushing yourself will only keep you away from your practice longer.