our-yoga

Hi all!

First of all, apologies for my long-ish absence from the blog - life has been busy, and I have been busy enjoying it!

Anyway, last week a reader (who also happens to be my Aunt!) asked me for a variation on the sun salutations and vinyasas that could be done with a severely sprained wrist. Having had this type of injury before, I've recorded two short videos that show you what I recommend.

1. Sun Salutations (from standing)

This sequence replicates includes back-bending and forward bending, just like a traditional sun salutation, but it used only the legs and the abdominals - no weight on the wrists. So it's safe to do even with a badly sprained wrist.

However, if you are not used to doing the roll-up shown in the video, it can take some practice until you are able to come back up to standing all in one go. As you are coming up, make sure you hug your belly button to your spine so you can lift to standing from the core. If you're not sure you can do this without "catching" yourself with your hands, just skip this step and come back to standing after navasana (boat pose) by crossing your ankles and standing back up.

You can also reverse this to do a vinyasa-style movement in between poses from sitting.

2. Vinyasa (not for severe sprains as it puts weight on the elbows)

This sequence could be used to replace a vinyasa from downward-facing dog. Because your weight is on your elbows it is fairly safe for the wrists, but some of the weight does radiate down the forearms, so I wouldn't use it while you still have an acute injury - it would be more appropriate for the recovery phase.

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Last weekend I was down in Vancouver staying with a friend, and on Sunday morning we went to a led Primary practice at a lovely independent little shala. The practice leader had just returned from 3 months in Mysore where he was assisting Sharath, so I'm assuming we were doing Sharath's count, for those Ashtangeeks out there who are interested in those sorts of details. :)

It was my first full Primary (led or home) since I "broke up" with my Ashtanga practice nearly a year ago, so I have been reflecting on how it felt. Here's a rundown:

• Sweaty: In a good way! The studio was heated and fairly full, and once I got into the twists (which always generate heat for me), the sweat really started to flow. Compared to my chilly morning practices at home, it felt great!
• Long: I'm not sure how long actually, a bit under 2 hours I think, but given that I spend most of my waking hours bouncing down a mountain these days, I don't usually practice for more than an hour or 90 minutes. At one distinct point towards the end, my concentration flew out the window and the leader called me out for being a breath a head on the vinyasas. Whoops!
• Smooth: I thought I would find the practice hard, given how long it had been, but it felt smooth and I had enough energy to carry the practice all the way through. I have to say I would have been hard-pressed to do it all the next day, though.
• Unconstrained: I didn't do the rolls in Garbha Pindasana (I never liked those), and I didn't even attempt cakrasana (never could do that without pinching my neck... "one day, gurunam" as my first teacher used to say), and I didn't feel "un-Ashtangic" about it, because I have made my peace with being un-Ashtangic, if that makes sense!
• Same-old, same-old: By which I mean the same old irritations flared up, that led me to stop doing exclusively Ashtanga in the first place: wrist pain, and rotator cuff (shoulder) pain, both on my right side (I'm positive my cakrasana issues are connected to these too, and it's all rooted in my precious curvy spine). My vinyasas are a lot smoother and more controlled as a result of the work I've been doing over the last year, but doing every vinyasa, even carefully, was hard on those weak spots. I'm pretty terrified of injuring my wrist again so I've renewed my efforts to work on those problems with targeted movements in my home practice. 
• Different: My first Ashtanga teachers learned the practice in the early 90's, so there were some small differences in the practice that took me by surprise. The practice leader, Geoff, emphasised the inner aspect of the practice as opposed to what the body can do, which was great. He also told us that Sharath is teaching a different version of the tristana these days, which is breath, drishti and alignment of the body, with the bandhas being rolled into "breath". My injury-wary inner teacher approves of the latest addition, although I think the young man next to me, sweating, grunting and twisting himself into postures, could perhaps have used some more explanation. ;)

At the end of the practice, the practice leader asked me how it felt, having been away from the practice for so long. I told him it felt great, but mentioned it was hard on my wrists.

Thinking about it afterwards, it felt like going back to a house you used to live in after some time away. It feels familiar, maybe even nostalgic, but it's no longer home and you have a new reality.

NB: The cover image was sourced from Ryan Spielman.

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Today I am most lucky to have not one, but two guest posts up on some of my favourite yoga blogs.

Please check out the blog of the fabulous Nadine Fawell for another detailed, photo-illustrated sequence of therapeutic yoga stretches for low back pain.

And then, head on over to Nobel's ever-philosophical Ashtanga yoga blog, Yoga in the Dragon's Den, for a post on how I maintained a vinyasa practice with a wrist injury.

Enjoy, comment, share, and keep the yoga blogsphere buzzing!

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So much of our regular Ashtanga yoga practice relies on being able to bear weight with our hands: Chaturanga, vinyasas, jump-backs and jump-throughs, you name it. Because of this, injury to the wrists can often be a very debilitating and demoralizing blow to our practices. It's easy to become discouraged when a particular body part that has served us so well and whose reliability in carrying us from point A to point B on the mat we have virtually taken for granted suddenly breaks down and becomes the source of great pain rather than pride. 

But if you are suffering from wrist pain or injury, fear no longer! In response to my recent call for guest posts about healing from injuries in the practice (I'm still accepting guest posts, by the way, just so you know...), La Gitane from Yoga Gypsy has written a very illuminating post in which she describes in great detail her journey of healing from a recent wrist injury. She includes some very useful suggestions on how to modify your practice to work with this great bane to Ashtanga practice; now we will have no excuse not to practice if and when, God forbid, we injure our wrists. Sigh...

Before I shut up and let you read her article, I feel that I should also say a couple more things about La Gitane. In my mind, she is most famous in the Ashtanga blogosphere for writing that infamous open letter to Ashtanga back in June, in which she admits that she's, ahem, seeing other yoga. Ha! Talk about Brahmacharya violations... (Bad Lady!) I don't know if she's now back with Ashtanga, or if she's still persisting with her Ashtanga infidelity; in either case, what other people do (or don't do) behind Ashtanga's back is none of my business, so I'll leave it at that :-)

In "real" life, La Gitane works in international development as a communications professional, and is based in East Timor. She also teaches yoga.

Alright... now that I have gotten my daily ramble out of my system, I shall leave you in peace to enjoy La Gitane's post. More later.

• Practiced (wearing the brace) without putting any weight on the wrists
• Instead of sun salutations A, I warmed up my back and hamstrings by simply moving through tadasana - urdvha hastasana with a backbend - utanasana - looking forward - utanasana - urdvha hastasana with a backbend – tadasana.
• I practiced the standing poses as normal, except without placing any weight on my injured wrist in poses like trikonasana, parvritta trikonasana, parsvakonasana etc., and I avoided any odd angles for the wrist like bringing the hands into reverse prayer in parsvottanasana, or grasping the foot in ardha baddha padmottanasana.
• For all poses that required putting weight on the wrists, I substituted others that targeted similar areas of the body. So for example, I substituted cobra or shalabasana for upward dog, dolphin pose for downward dog, dolphin plank for plank pose, fish for purvottanasana, bridge for urdvha dhanurasana, and so on.
• Instead of taking the traditional vinyasa between seated poses, I practiced the following standing vinyasa that was taught to me by one of my Ashtanga teachers. It doesn’t place any strain on the wrists but still emphasizes core strength and stretches out the back between poses. (You might want to add halasana between navasana and standing up to help get some momentum!)

• Once my wrist was generally pain-free and stable, I began to gradually and mindfully re-introduce weight bearing poses, while continuing to wear the brace.
• Before practice, I warmed up my wrists with some gentle wrist stretches. (See this old blog post for details: http://yogagypsy.blogspot.com/2012/04/simple-excercises-for-wrist-pain.html)
• In addition, I used extra padding under my wrists at all times I was putting weight on them. An extra yoga mat is perfect for this. Place it under the palm of the hand with the fingertips hanging off the support. This reduces the angle between the wrists and the floor and helps line up the arm bones. For a vinyasa practice, two extra mats is ideal, because you can place one either side of your feet and it won’t interrupt your flow.

• No jump backs / forward / throughs
• Plank and chaturanga with knees on the ground
• Fewer breaths in downward-facing dog, or dolphin pose instead
• Replace upward facing dog with cobra / shalabasana
• No arm balances
• For all vinyasas between seated poses, I continued with the standing vinyasas shown previously

Week 6

Part II: Identifying the root causes

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Wrist pain can be a serious disturbance, both in daily life and on the mat. Although by no means a substitute for seeing a qualified doctor or therapist, here are some simple exercises that can help to release strain in the wrists and build up their strength and flexibility.

You don't have to have done any yoga to do these stretches! However, keep in mind that these are NOT intended for anyone who has or is recovering from a serious injury, and remember that in yoga, pain = no gain: so if you feel pain in any of the stretches, stop doing it immediately.

I'll start with some simple exercises, and then include a few general tips about wrists in yoga practice at the end of the post. Unfortunately I don't have my camera handy, but I will update this post at a later date to include some pictures!

Simple exercises for stretching and strengthening the wrists

Remember that yoga works through a combination of movement, intention and breath! So before you do these stretches, establish a deep, even breath. As you go through the exercises, keep the rhythm of the breath in mind, and focus your awareness on the sensations you are feeling.


1. Circles with fists

• Start in a kneeling position, and stretch your arms out to either side (keeping the shoulders relaxed as much as you can).
• Beginning on an exhalation, make fists with the hands, squeezing tightly. As you inhale, flex the fingers and thumb out as wide as they will go.  Repeat this 5-10 times.

2. Press/pull

• Next, inhale and press the palms away from you and spread the fingers wide (as if you were pushing away two walls on either side of you). Exhale and bring the tips of the fingers and thumb together in a "point", and draw the point down towards the floor and maybe even farther back towards your body.
• Repeat this inhale/exhale 5-10 times
• Come to the inhale (palm press) position. Engage the arm muscles and really press outwards through the palms as if you were pushing away two walls on either side of you (recollections of Star Wars, anyone??). Stay for 5 breaths.
• Come to the exhale (pointing) position. Draw the "point" towards your body and stay for 5 breaths.
• Experiment with moving the wrists in slow circles, with the hands in either the palm press or the "point" position. Do this for 5-10 breaths and then switch directions. Get creative - see if you can have one wrist go one way and the other wrist move in the opposite direction!
• Shake out the wrists

 3. From all fours

• Begin with the palms flat on the mat, fingers spread wide. Lift all the fingers up off the mat, and then from thumb to pinky press them all down again, and then from pinky to thumb, lift them up again. Do this a few times.  You can also lift one finger at a time and then replace it.
• Very gently, turn the right fingertips back towards the body, placing the palm on the floor, and stretch the wrist in this reversed position. If it feels ok, you can also gently wiggle the fingers and thumb here. Hold for about 5 breaths then repeat on the left hand.
• If the above two felt good, you can also repeat this turning the hands to the right, and then to the left. so that if you had an imaginary compass, you would have completed the exercise with the fingers pointing in all four main directions.
• Very gently, lift up the right hand and place the back of the hand on the floor, with the fingertips pointing towards you.  Waggle the fingers and thumb slowly a few times. Then draw the tips of the fingers and thumb together in the "point", lifting the fingertips off the floor to point up towards your body. Be very gentle and only go as far as feels ok.  After 5-10 breaths, release and do the other side.
• Come back to kneeling, and gently massage the wrists and lower arms, or shake the wrists out to release any other tension.

 Some general tips about wrists in yoga asana

source: yogatuneup.com

If you practice yoga asana, some types of postures can put a lot of strain on the wrists, which are pretty complex and delicate things!  In particular, downward facing dog can really put the wrists under stress if you are new to yoga or holding the pose for a long time.  Here are some tips that hopefully can help.

1. Always check the alignment of your hands in downward dog. Ideally, your hands should be as wide apart as your shoulders. Wrist pain in yoga can sometimes originate from the shoulders, so really check this if you aren't sure! You can use a bit of chalk or a crayon to mark where your shoulders are on the mat if you are lying down, and then place the hands accordingly. Next, fingers should be spread, with the middle fingers pointing straight forwards and the thumbs pointing towards each other. This should make it so that the creases of the wrists are aligned parallel to the front edge of the mat.
2. Practice your alignment and taking weight onto your hands by using a wall: placing your hands at shoulder height, palms against a wall, fingers spread as wide as you can, and push your palms strongly into the wall.  Practice pressing evenly through the palms and engaging the muscles of the arms. Then, gently lean towards the wall, bringing a bit of weight to bear onto the hands, and practice holding for 5-10 breaths.
3. Try to press evenly through the hands, especially by pressing through the base of the thumb, the base of the index (pointer) finger, and the outside edge of the hand.  Also, take some of the load into the lower arms by pressing the fingertips into the mat and strongly engaging the muscles in the forearms.
4. Consider using some support, especially if you are new to yoga or have very delicate wrists. One option is to place a foam block under each hand - this is a great way to do downward dog in general, and also works for other poses with funky wrist alignment (note: if you are doing this, it helps to put the blocks against the wall to make sure they don't slip, especially if doing a pose like urdvha dhanurasana).  Another option is to use a rolled up yoga mat or a nice firm blanket at the top of your mat, and place your hands on it rather than the floor.
5. Modify the pose: Respect your body and don't push it too far! For downward dog, another alternative if your wrists are bugging you, say in a vinyasa class, but you still want the benefits of the pose, is to bring your forearms to the floor for a modified downward dog (also called dolphin pose).
6. If you are doing stronger postures like arm balances, you can create a more forgiving surface for your hands by folding up your mat or using a firm folded blanket or a towel (make sure your hands won't slip).

I hope that helped! Any experiences or tips to share?

[top image from: source: biggmotivation.com]

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