I have a student, a 44-year-old beginner who has been taking one of my classes for about 8 weeks. Last class she had wrist and ankle pain to the degree that adho mukha svanasana (Down facing Dog pose) and Urdhva mukha svanasana (Upward Dog) were uncomfortable. We have gone from very mild exploration of Bhujangasana to Urdhva mukha svanasana in the last two weeks. She says the pain feels deeper then just muscles adjusting. She has also begun practicing at home with videotape recently and practices in a carpeted room. My question: what do you think is causing this pain? Does the carpet contribute? What may I do to help her?
For wrist pain I often find that simply adjusting the hands so that the fingers turn outward, 30 ? 45 degrees will alleviate irritating the problem. As to why she is having both is a bit of a mystery. I have not seen this mixture before. Did you take her through the Joint Freeing Series? Check out her range of motion by comparing it to the images in my book. If not I would recommend doing only that for one week and seeing if the pain subsides. If it does she may consider it a stress reaction, as JFS is balancing for vata which is where we all hold our energetic stress before it becomes emotional.