I am not sure which move did it, but I recently injured my wrists a bit in my last yoga practice, and now doing even doing a simple downward dog and other moves hurt my wrists and are more difficult for meto do.
I do not want to give up practicing.
What can I do to help my wrists hurt less in general as well as what can I do so my positions run smoothly without wrist pain during practice?
The wrists should not hurt in downward dog…if you are doing it incorrectly and your weight is in the heel of the hand it will hurt…
For plank, chaturanaga, updog and downdog the weight should be over the whole hand with fingers apart…then these asanas will not be harmful to the wrist…if you are not sure then ask your teacher to show you…if he/she cannot explain this to you and just avoids theses asanas…find a better teacher.
If your wrists really are just weak…do some strengthening exercises for them(place your forearm on a firm surface with the wrist over the edge…hold something…such as a small dumbell or a bottle of water…then flex/extend…the wrist include all 4 directions)
[QUOTE=Living to learn;65798]
What can I do to help my wrists hurt less in general as well as what can I do so my positions run smoothly without wrist pain during practice?[/QUOTE]
How long have you had a regular practice?
yogacambodia,
Thank you, I think that is very helpful advice. I will try to watch my hands and see what I am doing.
JSK,
I have practiced for over a year, but I have picked up regular everyday practice for the last four months. I never really had a problem with my wrists before, so I don’t know what exactly I am doing wrong now, but it does hurt.
It’s also a good idea to give your wrists a rest, especially if you feel discomfort when you’re not putting pressure on them. Sometimes you need time to allow the swelling to go down and the tissues to fully heal.
And when you do practice, take yogacambodia’s advice. Activate the hands in a way that moves the wrist and hand into relative alignment. This obviously is not possible in a pose like plank, but you can still strengthen and protect the wrists once you know what it feels like to stabilize them.
DoYogaWithMe,
Thank you for your advice. I think I injured my wrists by falling wrong in crow pose, I am now working on making sure I balance my weight correctly in downward dog and been trying to give my wrists a little bit of rest.
I’m guessing (since you’ve not at all mentioned it) that you do a power yoga or vinyasa practice.
[QUOTE=Living to learn;66010]DoYogaWithMe,
Thank you for your advice. I think I injured my wrists by falling wrong in crow pose, I am now working on making sure I balance my weight correctly in downward dog and been trying to give my wrists a little bit of rest.[/QUOTE]
what is the correct weight balance in downward dog? Is there a ratio?
as I understand it it’s more about lengthening the spine when so many get fixated on trying to get their heels to the earth.
if one concentrates on making the “v” and softening in the middle of the back I would guess that takes even more pressure/weight off the front and the wrists.
[QUOTE=Living to learn;65798]I am not sure which move did it, but I recently injured my wrists a bit in my last yoga practice, and now doing even doing a simple downward dog and other moves hurt my wrists and are more difficult for meto do.
I do not want to give up practicing.
What can I do to help my wrists hurt less in general as well as what can I do so my positions run smoothly without wrist pain during practice?[/QUOTE]
this is a similar post you might find helpful 
http://www.yogaforums.com/forums/f16/keeping-weight-off-of-wrists-and-hands-8655.html
Inner Athlete,
Yes I mainly do power yoga
Chitta Control,
Thank you 
City Monk,
Thank you, that link was extremely helpful and you had put into words better what I was feeling than I could. Thank you, that post provided many good tips as well.
This is secondary to the information you have been given so far but I read in ‘Vinayasa Krama’ that in adho mukha svanasana your middle fingers should point straight ahead. If you have weak wrists it is acceptable to have your index fingers point straight infront of you instead.
After nursing a torn ligament (cycling injury) back to health my sentiment is to challenge my wrist without pushing it. I also have begun to warm up this area before practice and sometimes release it during practice even if I am going against the class.
i broke my right wrist once, so now i have wrist sensitivity, meaning, i pay real close attention to my wrists during practice.
also, i draw a lot. so i tend to use these muscles a lot.
one thing to look at when working with any body part is what it connects to, and where it comes from. concentrate on practicing from the center vs the extremity.
as far as wrists are concerned, there are muscles that connect the wrist to the elbow, the elbow to the shoulders, and then to the spine, and to the core. so when doing poses like down dog, focus on correct alignment of the core region. also, it helps to place palms forward a bit. like if you are doing plank, or cat/cow variations instead of placing palms directly under shoulders, place them a little forward. this decreases tension placed upon the wrists.
also, in order to stretch out my wrists i like to do this:
knees and ankles against floor, knees bent, hips raised. elbows on the floor, palms up facing towards the ceiling. thumbs and pinkies stretch away from each other reaching towards the floor. shoulder blades move apart. elbows under shoulders. neck a natural extension of the spine. it feels good for the wrists. : )
good luck.