Emma Lovell Yoga

This week we’re considering the hands and wrists.  We’re thinking about keeping our wrists and fingers mobile and healthy through variation in movement, and also how best to use the hands to support us in poses to avoid injury or strain.  Here’s a handy guide on where to place the weight in downward dog:

We tend to push a lot with our hands in yoga, supporting weight through our hands in many poses, but never actually ‘pulling’ with our hands.  It’s important to keep the joints healthy and not trapped in the same movement patterns by using the hands, wrists, and shoulders  in other ways, for example hanging:

Katy Bowman has a great article here on preparing for hanging and swinging, with variety being the key:

‘Vary your hand positions and vary the surfaces you hang from. Vary the bars and sometimes head for the trees. Size and texture are variables. So are scapula and hand positions. The more you mix it up, the more of “you” you invite to the party.’