Wrist injuries or sensitivity seem to be a common injury I hear at the studio. It can make taking a yoga class difficult because there are a lot of times teachers ask you to put weight on your wrists. I have experienced this injury in the past so I understand the challenge of a wrist injury in yoga! While recovering from a wrist injury here are some ideas on how to still practice yoga with sore wrists.
Tips on how to practice yoga with sore wrists or a wrist injury
1. Skip Chaturangas Entirely
Holding a plank can be taxing on sore wrists and shifting forward to have an acute angle in your wrist can be downright excruciating. Give your body some love here while you heal. Sometimes it might feel good to hold a high plank and then transition into downward facing dog. But skip that when it does not. Other options are squat tuck and curl in lieu of chaturanga.
2. Make a Fist
When holding a high plank, make a fist, knuckles down to the ground. Press into your mat and keep a strong core, hugging your abdomen in toward your spine. Then when you are ready, transition to child’s pose before you continue with the class flow.
3. Use Blocks
For arm balances, gripping on blocks might make the poses feel better as you recover. It is also worth trying this in high plank. Place firm blocks under your wrists and then wrap your fingers around the side, gripping the sides of the block. This creates an arch in your hand as the palm of your hand lifts and some much-needed relief for your wrists.
4. Use Your forearms
Instead of transitioning with chaturanga, hold a forearm plank and transition to the dolphin pose. Using this option gives you a fantastic shoulder and core workout. Drop to your knees before you transition to the next pose.
Using the same idea, try forearm balance variations instead of arm balances on wrists for inversions. Both Crow pose and handstand can be adapted by paralleling your forearms on your mat instead of your wrists.
Here are three yoga classes I designed for sore wrists, all under 30 minutes.
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