Protecting Your Wrists in Downward-Facing Dog

by Nina

There seem to be a lot of enthusiasm for my recent post on upper body strength (see Building Upper Body Strength the Easy Way), so I thought I would begin expanding on some of the poses and suggestions I made in that overview. Because so many people have concerns about their wrists in this pose, today I'm going to recommend some variations on Downward-Facing Dog that allow you to reduce or eliminate pressure on your wrists.

To lessen the pressure on your wrists, you can use various props to reduce the angle at which your wrists are bent (the more deeply your wrists are bent, the more pressure there is on your wrists). Depending on which props you have available and what feels best to you, you have three possibilities:

Slant board: Set up your slant board at the top of your mat so the higher side is closest to you. If your hands tend to slip on the slant board, you can wrap the front portion of your mat on top of it. Now, starting in a kneeling position, place your hands on the slant board so the palms of your hands are fully supported and your hands angle down the slant board. Then, come into Cat pose. From there move into Downward-Facing Dog pose and assess how the pressure feels on your wrists. If there is pain or discomfort, try another modification or use one of the options where your forearms are on the floor (below).

Blocks: Set up two same-size blocks on the medium height so their long sides are parallel to the side edges of your mat and their narrow sides line up with your shoulders. Now, starting in a kneeling position, place your hands on the blocks so your fingers spill over the front and sides of the block and your wrist is at much less than a 90-degree angle. Then, come into Cat pose. From there, move into Downward-Facing Dog pose and assess how the pressure feels on your wrists. If there is pain or discomfort, try another modification or use one of the options where your forearms are on the floor (below).

Chair: Place the chair with its back against a wall and its seat facing you. Standing on front of the chair seat, come into a forward bend and place your hands on the side edges of the chair seat, so your arms turn out slightly and you can hold onto the chair seat without bending your wrists. From there, walk your feet back into Downward-Facing Dog pose and assess how the pressure feels on your wrists. If there is pain or discomfort, try another modification or use one of the options where your forearms are on the floor (below).

To prevent pressure on your wrists entirely, you can do Downward-Facing Dog with your forearms on the floor (sometimes called Dolphin pose).

Dophin Pose Version 1: In the first version of this modification, you keep your forearms parallel to each other and shoulder-width apart. Starting in Child’s pose, place your forearms on the floor so your elbows are shoulder-width apart, your forearms parallel to each other, and your index fingers are parallel to the sides of the mat. If you wish, to keep your hands in line, you can use a block between your hands with the bottom corners in the web between your thumbs and index fingers. From there, keeping your head in line with your upper arms, lift your hips into Downward-Facing Dog position. This will be a more intense stretch on your shoulders but should remove all pressure from your wrists.

Dolphin Pose Version 2: In the second version of this modification, you place your hands and forearms in a headstand position, with your hands clasped while your elbows are shoulder-width apart. This hand position is less intense on your shoulders, but may have an effect on your wrists because you are putting weight on the sides of your wrist. So check it out and see how it feels! Starting in Child’s pose, place your forearms on the floor so your elbows are shoulder-width apart and clasp your hands completely, though not tightly,  together. From there, keeping your head in line with your upper arms, lift your hips into Downward-Facing Dog position. As always, assess how the pressure feels on your wrists. If there is pain or discomfort, go back to version 1.