Poses for Your Wrists

Weight-bearing poses can wreak havoc on your wrists. Try these alternatives for the same benefits without the strain.

Because there's more to life than hip openers.

Fire up your abs for this difficult asymmetrical arm balance, Eight-Angle Pose.

The key to Parsva Bakasana is twisting enough to place the outer edge of one upper arm far around the outside of the opposite thigh.

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, a well-known backbend, will challenge you to lift and open your chest.

A compact arm balance, Crow Pose and Crane Pose tone the abs and the arms, strengthen in the core, and focus the mind.

Parsvottanasana encourages balance, body awareness, and inspires confidence.

Adho Mukha Vrksasana boosts energy and confidence, and can literally give you a new perspective on life.

A powerful arm and wrist strengthener, Side Plank takes its two-armed sibling to the next level, as an arm balance.

Chaturanga Dandasana is not merely a push-up. This pivotal yoga pose is instrumental—so it's important to practice it properly.

No more awkwardly waiting in Child's Pose while everyone else in class makes their way through warmups.

Purvottanasana counteracts the effects of Chaturanga by stretching the pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, and anterior deltoids.

Are certain poses a pain in your… wrist? Try these alternative asanas.

Want to fly? Fire up your core. Firefly pose is an arm balance pose that requires more core strength than arm strength.

Nurture your love-hate relationship with Plank Pose. A beginner's best friend, it's the perfect precursor to more challenging arm balances.

Try these alternatives to get all the same benefits without bearing weight on your hands and wrists.

In this excerpt from his new book Yoga Therapy: Foundations, Methods, and Practices for Common Ailments, Mark Stephens offers methods for warming up and massaging the wrists to reduce pain in yoga practice.

Your wrists bear weight in so many yoga poses—not to mention every time you do a vinyasa. These 8 poses can help you keep your wrists pain-free.

By nature, our wrists are particularly prone to injury. Learn how to protect them in your practice.

Try this simple warm-up to promote safe practice and healthy joints.

Twister, anyone? The pose that ties you up in knots also loosens up your mind, as you ride the wave of wobble.

This arm balance relies more on precise positioning than on strength, making it more accessible for students beginning an arm balancing practice.

According to Hindu lore, the Peacock symbolizes immortality, love, and patience. Peacock Pose, called Mayurasana in Sanskrit, works to lovingly strengthen the core while stretching the palm side of the wrists.

Heal your carpal tunnel syndrome for good with this innovative yogic approach.

Check out Angela Pirisi's author page.

Pose Dedicated to the Sage Koundinya II tones the belly and spine, strengthens the arms and wrists, and gives your self-confidence a big boost.

Eka Pada Koundinyasana I or Pose Dedicated to the Sage Koundinya I has a lot going on—the twist, the legs going their separate ways, oh, and the arm balance. Master it.

Strengthen your wrists, arms, and abs, hanging in the balance of Tolasana.

Practicing Anjali Mudra is an excellent way to induce a meditative state of awareness.

Need an energy boost? Urdhva Dhanurasana can help—and strengthen your arms, legs, abdomen, and spine in the process.