Yoga is a great way to challenge the body, improving both your flexibility and strength. However, there are times – such as when you are a beginner, when you have injuries, or when you are learning a new, intense pose – that you have to exercise a greater degree of caution. Because while yoga is an excellent and very safe way to exercise, there can be times when you may put your body in danger. One such particular area of concern in yoga is the wrists.
Since a lot of asanas happen on our hands, we inevitably put a lot of pressure on our wrists. In order to do so safely, here are some important pointers to remember
- Recognize the Red Flag – The first step to ensuring wrist safety is knowing when to raise an alarm. Many often believe that pain is a sign of the muscles getting stronger or increasing endurance, but it is not so in yoga. Never continue holding a pose if it is giving you trouble. It is also a good idea to talk to an expert yoga teacher to know which kinds of uncomfortable feelings or strains should warrant your attention.
- Warm Up – Just like your legs and core benefit greatly from some warm-up exercises, so do your wrists. Ensure that you are not carrying any tension or strain on the wrists. Circle them around to get the blood flowing, and when you do get to your hands, distribute the weight evenly amongst your palms and fingers.
- Begin Slow – Bearing our body weight on our hands is not something a lot of us are generally used to, so it is a good idea to begin slowly. Modify some poses to take the majority of weight out of your hands. It is also important that you learn the correct way to do an asana, as it can prevent you from putting undue weight on your wrists.
- Take A Break – If the pain has become regular or intense, it is best to step back and reduce your practice of weight-bearing asanas. This allows your inflamed wrist muscles to heal. When you do reintroduce these asanas, be sure to go slow and steady to prevent a resurgence of the pain.
- Develop A Strong Core –The core refers to the muscles in your abdomen, hips, and obliques. Surprisingly, it has been found that developing these muscles can help in strengthening the wrists, as more core strength means increased efficiency of the rotator cuff muscles and thus lesser pressure on the wrists. Hence, your goals for some killer set of abs can benefit your wrists too.
- Seek Expert Help – If the discomfort feels too intense, or is recurring in nature, do talk to your yoga teacher about it. They can help in pinpointing the issue, and give you appropriate modifications. It can also be a good idea to consult once with a medical professional so as to ensure that there are no underlying or serious problems.
Like all forms of exercises, yoga too requires some little precautions. Follow the points above when it comes to your wrists, and you will be able to do all your favourite asanas without a hitch.
While there are multiple yoga poses which can help one improve their muscle strength, yet we chose to focus on wrists in this blog because wrists are one of the most vulnerable of the body parts. At Hith Yoga, the best yoga studio in Delhi-NCR, we believe in making the most of the yogic experience in our yoga classes.
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