Just like any pose, lift or technique the pose must adjust to the body. We can only make so many adjustments before the pose, lift or technique just might be thrown out because the risks out way the benefits. Believe it or not it’s your “simpler” poses like child’s pose or happy baby that get thrown out. Hands in down dog are not always best flat. There may be too many issues going on in the wrist for this to work out in the long run. I will have clients cup their hands, make a fist, use a blanket or cone down to forearms or rest in child’s pose and wait until the next posture.
Here are some options for your hands. The top two pics are your typical set up. But not everyone can do this b/c it creates too much pain; even after I’ve taught them how spread the floor, shift backwards to shift that stress away. It doesn’t always work. The bottom two pics were a suggestion from a friend a long time ago. This has helped a lot of people. But this too is not the answer. The last pic is placing a blanket or finding speciality gloves that prop the heel of the hand up. This minimizes the compression forces out of the wrist. If being on your hands like this and doing push-up, chaturangas or anything else on your hands is only making them worse and not stronger. Then strength isn’t the issue. There may be dysfunction sitting in the upper quarter somewhere that may need to be cleared or these movements need to be taken only to an intelligent edge and then resting. Not forcing yourself to be in the posture or lift liger then necessary. That creates problems. There is also the option for fists and that is in the previous video on option for the hands.
I was going to go over a bunch of anatomy and decided for this post it simply wasn’t as important as what your posture WILL begin to look like if you don’t start paying attention to head position. You may be thinking that it’s just down dog and only for a few minutes. But down dog head position is a small representation of how you hold head throughout the day. Sitting in front of a computer, looking down at your phone, maybe you lack confidence, maybe you breasts are large and you feel conspicuous, looking down in balance postures just so you have balance which carries over to you looking down while you’re walking. I see it everyday and I get to help people correct that everyday. Then one day your neck hurts, you have numbness going down one or both arms. You’re developing a dowagers hump which has its train wreck associated with it if you don’t start correcting your posture. Structural physical stress has huge ramifications to the body physically, mentally, emotionally and maybe even spiritually. Start changing your head and shoulder position and you will start to see and feel not just physical changes but on the emotional and mental levels as well. Like feeling better. And who doesn’t want to feel better
