One of the common concern for students in my yoga classes is the wrist pain while doing some common poses like Cat-Cow pose (Marjaryasana), Hunting Dog pose, Plank pose variations and Downward Dog pose (Adhomukha Svanasana) in which your wrists are in extension and bearing weight.
The following modifications/precautions will help ease the pressure off the wrists and decrease the pain:
1. Make sure you are distributing the weight evenly between the heel of your hand and the ball of your hand. It is so common for practitioners to be dropping all the weight of the upper body down into the heel of their hands and not utilizing the entire palm for support. Create a suction cup effect in the center of the palm as well as the channel between the base of the thumb and the pinky finger, as it takes pressure off the wrist.
2.Practicing hands and knees (Cat-Cow pose) on your finger tips will take much of the pressure off the wrist joints and can be used for easier poses like Cat-Cow and Hunting Dog, but would likely not be so effective in Plank. In Triangle pose (Trikonasana), the fingertip method can be very helpful. Start with short periods of time in the poses and gradually work up to longer holds as your fingers and hands get stronger.
3. Another simple modification is to make a fist with your hands and place the flat proximal phalanges (the closest finger bone to the hand) on the floor, with your two hands oriented so the inner wrists face one another. This keeps the weight on the wrist joints very even between the thumb and pinky sides of your wrists. It can work nicely for hands and knees (Cat- Cow), but should not be used for Downward-Facing Dog pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana), as it will jam and compress the pinky side of your wrist joints. Remember to keep your fingernails trimmed so you can tuck your fingers into your palms to make a stronger, more stable fist.
4. A little lift under the wrists and heel of the hands can complete relieve pain and pressure in the hands. One inexpensive way to accomplish this it to simply tightly roll the front narrow edge of your yoga mat under a turn or two. Because it will tend to want to loosen or unroll, hold it in place with one hand as you get the other hand into position. Ideally the heel of your hands should press into the center of the rolled mat and the ball of the hands and your fingers will be on the bare floor in front of your mat. You will still want to press the heels and balls of your hand down evenly as recommended above. This can work well for Hands and Knees position as well as Plank and Downward-Facing Dog pose.
5. Dolphin Pose- Using the forearms instead of hands while doing a Downward Dog pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana) also helps the students do the pose without hurting their wrists. Kneel on the mat. Lean forward placing the fore arms on the mat, shoulder width apart with palms facing each other. Inhale and tuck the toes behind you. Exhale and push your hips up and come in downward dog pose. Keep the weight evenly distributed on the fore arms and the legs.
I hope these small changes wil help the "wrist challenged" students!