Enjoy your yoga injury free – Part 1/5

It is pretty safe to say that all people could benefit from doing yoga. Amazing stories circulate how a 90-year old granny fixed her hunchback with yoga, or how someone overcame multiple addictions or anorexia through yoga. The physical, mental and emotional benefits are numerous. However, that doesn’t mean that no one ever gets physically hurt doing yoga. Several studies from around the globe state that around 20% of all yoga practitioners have experienced yoga related injuries. For Ashtanga-practitioners this percentage is 62%.

In 5 blogs I will tell you about the most common ones and how to prevent them. Let’s start with Wrist injuries

1. Wrist injuries

Many of us have not been used to weight bearing on our wrists when we start doing yoga, so all of the down dogs, cat cows, plank, wheel, seal or up dogs, hand stands, arm balanced and so on, can really strain the wrists.

How to prevent:

Correct hand positioning is key here. Make sure that you spread your fingers and press your fingertips into your mat. This helps to avoid hanging all of your weight in your wrists. Also, make sure to leave the centre of your palm slightly lifted. Proper weight distribution can all help with your down dogs and cat cow.

If you are injured:

If you are already dealing with carpal tunnel or have tender wrists, you can consider using blocks for wheel pose or come onto your fists for cat cow, or come onto your lower arms for poses like plank and down dog. Do a cobra instead of up dog. If you are not sure about how to adapt your pose, please ask your teacher for some suggestions, and always listen to your body. Teachers don’t have X-ray vision, and only you know if the pose feels ok. Never practice in pain, yoga should not hurt.

Text: Marlene Smits
Photographer: Sido Wijga