Yin Yoga for the Wrists

This discussion group is for questions about Yin Yoga and other body parts, such as shoulders, feet, wrists, etc.... Also, this is the place to discuss various conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis, etc.
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Bernie
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Yin Yoga for the Wrists

Post by Bernie »

I was recently asked the following question:

Do you know of any wrist stretches that I could use in yin? I was thinking along the lines of ... having a student come into child pose, arms extended out in front with their fingers and thumb pointing towards their torso (back of hands to mat), palms facing the wrist holding this for 2 minutes, counter pose would be palms to mat.

Here are some thoughts on how we could use the Yin Yoga techniques for this fragile area.

We can look at exercises for the wrists in a few ways: we could use yoga to mobilize energy flow to this area. For that, the upper body Pawanmuktasanas are nice. [Check out the section in YinSights describing these: http://www.yinyoga.com/ys2_2.2.7.1.4.2_ ... tasana.php]

If the problem in the wrists relate to repetitive stress syndrome, or carpal tunnel issues, you may not want to move the wrists too much. Better then may be to apply a Yin Yoga-like stress to the area, as long as it is not too much.

Often I will combine some gentle yin-work for the wrists while students are holding seated forward folds, like Caterpillar or Shoelace. Butterfly would work too. I have the students start by holding out their hands, palms up and then lower their fingertips to the floor. Now the palms are facing forward. From here they can roll over the hands, bringing the palms to the floor. They should only go so far that they feel a nice stretch in the front of the wrists/forearms. If there is too much juice, they should sit up a bit more, and/or bring their hands closer to their body. If there is not enough juice, they can move the hands further away and lean more into the wrists. This will work the fascia and ligaments on the inner wrists.

This is similar to the effect we get with prayer hands behind our back, but not everyone can do that. This seated wrist work is accessible to anyone.

The counterpose is also nice and works the connective tissues on the back of the wrists (great counterpose for all those deadly yang down dogs and plank poses.) The approach is the same but this time, when the students extend the hands out in front, they have the palms facing down. Again, lower the finger tips to the floor and lean forward enough that the back of the hands move towards the floor. This often feels to me like I am dragging my knuckles on the floor, so I call it the "prehistoric gorilla yoga pose."

I think, in general, you can use the Yin Yoga philosophy for any area of the body, including the wrists. Find a do-able stress, not too much but not too little, and let it soak in. At any sign of pain, back off. If the area is already damaged, the student may want to let the area heal first, or at least seek advice from her health care professional, before attempting yin for that area.

I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes.
Cheers
Bernie
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