Hi All
As stated in post title my downward facing dog seems to cause some wrist pain. Yet the pose seems to central to my ‘basic sitting routine’. That is, I go into it a few times.
Can I substitute something else in its place?
Many Thanks
Well the statement of “wrist pain” without a real intake would flummox those of us trained in yoga therapeutics. Is it sharp pain or dull? Only present in that pose or other poses where the arms are weight-bearing? Is it better in the morning or evening, when hot or cold? And are you a 20-something X-games participant or a 70 year-old cyclist?
More to the point however is how you are doing the pose AND what actions you are doing when you are in it. Many students do not have a proper foundation (hands and feet in this case) because they’ve been busy being taught “other” things (or nothing at all). In fact many students actually collapse into and bear the brunt of the pose on the heels of their palms.
You can modify in several ways if adjusting does not help. You can use a wooden wedge wrapped with a mat remnant, you can use gripitz, you can do the pose at the wall, or you can bring the forearms onto the floor in what is most commonly thought of as Pincha Mayurasana prep but somehow called “dolphin”.
gordon
When I first started yoga I would say for the first couple of weeks I had wrist pain because I wasn’t doing the pose properly. I would go to your yoga instructor before or after class and explain your problem and ask him if he can help you make any adjustments to the pose and the way you hold it. One thing that really helped me as well was watching videos on youtube on how to do downward dog. One video talked about wrist pain and how to plant your hands and where to bear your weight and once I watched the video I paid close attention to what they mentioned and found a huge difference.
Hi,
I am with Gordon on this…more info is needed to help you properly.
As Gordon says wrist pain is often because the weight is incorrectly placed into the heels of the hands…it needs to be spread over the whole of the hand.
The angle between the hand and arm should not be sharp…there should be a nice gentle diagonal line through the wrist,arm and back all the way from floor to sit bones…and another diagonal line formed by the legs.
Get your teacher to look at your form and advise you…if you do not have a teacher…GO TO A CLASS…people seem to get hurt, confused or stuck without going to a good teacher…you are very welcome to attend any of my classes…but I may be a little far away…
hi guys thanks for the help.
additional info:
I am 33, and have congenital scoliosis with reasonably significant S style curve. I have, as yet, not been called up for the X-Games but remain open minded.
I am doing my yoga to alleviate upper limb numbness and pain which makes difficult typing and writing and using a mouse.
I attended 5 group lessons 8 years ago.
I have 2 print outs: basic standing and basic sitting. I have found that ‘really doing my hardest’ yesterday with the poses has given quite remarkable benefits in terms of posture and looseness.
As stated downward dog gives some wrist pain yet only later and it also benefits me too. I can definitely look at trying a lean against the wall and also try using the whole hand and not the heel of the palm.
Re: doing the poses well? Some of them I can’t physically manage, but do the best I can.
Thanks folks
gav
Thank you, that is so much more clear.
With that much stuff going on in your body it is challenging to give focused, direct guidance over the internet.
One of the larger issues (for me) is that the therapeutic issues (like the numbness) may call for a specific set of things in a specific set of ways. However what you have sounds like a limited set of general things which only cover standing things and seated things - neither of which, in and of itself is profound for the mission you state.
What I suggest in these situations is a few private sessions with a highly trained teacher that has therapeutics training (preferably more than 500 hours - though there are very good teachers with less and very poor teachers with more). Those sessions should be specifically designed to provide you a customized practice for your living, which includes your body. To me, those things should include methods for tractioning the spine, using the serratus anterior, and using meditation and pranayama in a gentle, healing way.
Hi Gordon that sounds like good advice. I will look into getting a local teacher.
Thanks everyone
g