Okay I had been having wrist pain in both wrists so I spoke to one of the teaches at the studio I frequent. He told me to be sure and focus the weight on the forefinger, thumb/webbing area which I did. The pain went out of the left wrist and a good portion out of the right. However the right wrist is still paining and is getting worse. I didn’t go to class since Monday due to a cold but returned today and this afternoon my wrist was very sore in certain positions. Another teacher told me it may be an injury in the arm that is causing it and I did injury the shoulder of my right arm when I was in my early 20s (I am now 34). I spoke to another teacher today who said I may need to work on should stabilizers and she went through some in today’s class. It was the first time we did those in class, at least those versions. I will continue to ask more people but I wondered if anyone had a similar injury or maybe some info that could help. Thanks.
Good question, so many people get wrist pain or discomfort in yoga, and I did at first. I kept at it and eventually it went, but I really don’t know why, so I’m just trying to get your question noticed, to see if anyone can “shed some light” on how to deal with wrist pain.
Without knowing the nature of the OPs practice (the style, frequency, duration, poses) and the nature of their living (employment, nutrition et al) it is virtually impossible to do anything more than surmise.
It is the equivalent of saying “my car makes a noise, what’s wrong with it?”.
Do you warm up your wrists before practice and release them after?
I’ve had wrist pain in the past, this is what I can offer…
Is your mat thick/soft? A thinner firmer mat could make a difference if it is. Sinking into carpet or a too thick mat, turns out, can hurt the wrists.
Is there a lot of hand on floor work in your style of yoga and are you going very often? Perhaps too often for your wrists to handle? If so, maybe alternate with a different style of yoga (or crosstrain with another form of exercise if that’s what you use it for) that doesn’t affect the wrists so much.
And yes, pain in one part of your body really can be caused by injury in another related part. Wrist from shoulder, etc. A good physiotherapist could shed more light on that.
Hope you can figure it out!
Hi,
I had severe wrist pain when I started yoga 3 years ago. It was extremely annoying and upsetting, but it did go away with time. What I did was balance out the vinyasa power practices with just easygoing Hatha. now I am doing power practice every day and no issues. But…I figured out why this was happening. I’m stiff as hell, and when i go into downward dog, my heels are far from the ground. As a result, a lot of weight goes into my arms and therefore my wrists. I practice in Asia, and the women here are incredible, they are so flexible and all of them…their heels touch the ground in downward dog and none of them suffer from wrist pain. Because their heels touch the ground, a lot of their body mass is transferred to their legs, which makes it a heck of a lot easier on the arms and wrists.
But there is and still is a plus side to this…my arms have bulked up and toned up in ways I never thought possible, and now, when I wave goodbye to someone, I do not cause minor earthquakes in other continents from the sheer force of my arm blubber wobbling everywhere.
So, being stiff is annoying, as it creates difficulty in getting that perfect alignment, but your body will compensate and the pain will go away eventually. In the mean time, enjoy what changes it makes to your body. I hope your pain goes away and you continue to practice yoga, its great fun.
I would recommend practicing Garudasana (eagle posture) and Parshvottanasana (side stretching posture with holding the hands behind the back) - both are good for wrist pain. Practicing them on regular basis will help you cope with that problem.
I had forgotten about this thread. Looks like its back, fortunately I have new findings to share!
There is a triangle in your hand, find that and ask for help if needed.
There is a triangle in your feet as well.
Also, trikona
These are the only ones I am aware of but there are many throughout your body.