pain in wrist.

[karina]

hello.
I am teaching a handful of my friends yoga. I am following a few different books, and I have attend classes for over a year now. One student commented that his wrists were beginning to hurt, especially after the downward dog and other various poses. I had the class turn there hands around, so their fingers were facing their knees, (and we were on our knees, doing the table pose) and it seemed to help a little. any other positions i could use? advice? thank you!

[InnerAthlete]

Hello Karina,

I'd like to be very clear in my reply. I am not advocating the teaching of yoga by those who are not trained to do so - no matter how sweet, kind, mindful, careful, and giving those persons are. Yoga is a powerful tool and as such students can be injured from an improperly conveyed practice even when that is not the intention.

I'd not go to an untrained dentist, surgeon, acupuncturist, or P/T. Likewise I'd not place my body at the behest of an untrained yoga teacher. But apparently some would and do.

There are a variety of reasons for wrist pain in Adho Mukh Svanasana. In some cases that can be addressed with an action. In other cases it must be addressed with a modification. Telling the difference is the assessment process a trained teacher engages in the teaching process.

Is everyone practicing with you experiencing the same wrist pain? Or just this fellow?

[brianMedine]

Karina,

The pain in the wrist could be an Repetitive Strain Injury. If the student went from doing no yoga to full on training daily the motions may be too much. If it is the case I would suggest to have him/her to lay off the wrist movements for a while, let them relax and repair themselves.