How to Avoid Wrist Pain in Yoga: Hand Set-Up, Alignment and Props

The easiest way to avoid wrist pain in yoga is to change how your weight lands on your hands. Spread your fingers, press through the knuckles and the base of your index finger so the heel of the hand isn't taking everything, keep your shoulders working, and use a wedge, a block or your fists when your wrists need a gentler angle. Most sore yoga wrists come from set-up, so small changes in downward dog, plank and chaturanga make a big difference.

This guide is about the poses themselves: where your hands go, how to share the load, and which props are worth having. If you want the bigger picture of warm-ups, sequencing and how often to practise, read our habits for preventing wrist pain in yoga, and if your wrist already hurts, start with what to do when your wrist hurts after yoga instead.

Why do your wrists hurt in yoga?

Your wrists were built mostly for fine, clever movements, and then yoga asks them to hold up a big part of your body weight while bent back towards ninety degrees. In downward dog, plank, tabletop and every vinyasa, the back of the wrist closes and the front stretches, and the load goes straight through a stack of small bones and soft tissue.

That doesn't make yoga bad for wrists. A University of Sydney study of recreational yoga practitioners found that most of the new pain people put down to yoga was in the upper limbs, and the researchers pointed to weight-bearing poses like downward dog as a likely reason (University of Sydney summary of the study). The same study found that yoga improved existing pain for most people, so the goal is to keep practising and give your hands a better job to do.

The usual culprits are dumping weight into the heel of the hand, hands that sit too far forward or back, shoulders that switch off so the joints hang, a mat that's too squishy, and simply doing far more weight-bearing than your wrists are used to.

How should your hands be placed on the mat?

Hand set-up is the same for almost every pose where your palms are on the floor, so it's worth getting it right once and then checking it every time you come down.

1. Line up the wrist creases. Keep the crease of each wrist roughly parallel to the front edge of the mat. If your hands turn far in, the load shifts awkwardly onto one side of the wrist.
2. Spread your fingers. Open them comfortably wide with the middle fingers pointing forward or very slightly out. A wider hand is a bigger base, so the pressure is shared.
3. Press the knuckles, especially the index finger. Most people let the base of the index finger and thumb lift and sink into the outer heel of the hand. Push the whole knuckle line down, with a bit of extra press under the index finger.
4. Lift the centre of the palm a little. Think of your hand like a suction cup, with the edges pressing down and the middle slightly domed. It should feel active rather than flat and heavy.
5. Grip the floor lightly with the fingertips. You aren't clawing, but your fingertips should be awake and ready to take some weight off the wrist when you lean forward.

If you do this and your wrists still complain, that's useful information, because it usually means the angle or the amount of load is the issue rather than your technique. That's where props come in, further down.

How do I stop my wrists hurting in downward dog?

Downward dog should be a shape where your legs take a fair share of the weight, so wrist pain there usually means too much of you is going forward into the hands.

• Send your hips back and up. Bend your knees generously and push your sitting bones towards the wall behind you. As the weight moves back, your hands get lighter.
• Use your arms and shoulders. Gently turn the upper arms out and press the floor away so your shoulders lift away from your ears. When the shoulders switch off, the wrists end up holding the whole shape.
• Check the distance. If your hands are very close to your feet, your wrists bend further back. Walking the hands a little forward often opens the wrist angle.
• Don't hang in it too long. If your teacher holds down dog for a long time, it's fine to come down to child's pose for a few breaths and go back up.

How should your wrists feel in plank and chaturanga?

In a full plank your shoulders sit roughly above your wrists, your body is in one long line, and your core and legs are working. If your hips drop or your shoulders drift far forward past your hands, the wrists bend further back and take more load than they need to.

Chaturanga is the pose that most often tips sore wrists over the edge, because people lower down while lunging forward. Keep your elbows over your wrists as you lower, hug them in towards your ribs, and only go as low as you can control. Lowering with your knees on the mat is a proper version of the pose, and it's often the smarter choice when you're doing lots of vinyasas in one class.

Upward dog adds a backbend on top of extended wrists, so keep your shoulders back and broad and your hands under your shoulders. Cobra or baby cobra takes most of the load off the wrists if you need a break.

What about tabletop, side plank and arm balances?

Tabletop looks easy, but your wrists sit at a full right angle with a lot of your weight on them, so the same hand set-up applies. Stack your shoulders over your wrists and let your knees take their share.

In side plank, everything goes through one hand, so keep the standing hand slightly forward of your shoulder, spread the fingers and press firmly through the index finger side. Lowering the bottom knee is a great way to practise it with less load.

Arm balances like crow ask the most of your wrists, which is why it's worth building up to them gradually. If handstands are part of your practice, we wrote a whole separate guide to handstand wrist pain and how to train around it.

Which props help with wrist pain in yoga?

Props are there to change the angle of your wrist or to take the wrist out of the pose completely, and none of them are a sign that you're doing yoga wrong. The table below compares the common options.

If you're weighing up wraps, braces and props in more detail, our guide to the best wrist support for yoga goes through what each one is good for and what to look for.

Masha's tip: Before you buy a wedge, try rolling the front edge of your mat once or twice and putting the heels of your hands on it during down dog. If your wrists feel noticeably happier, you know the angle is your issue and a wedge is worth it.

Does your yoga mat make wrist pain worse?

A thick, soft mat feels lovely under your knees, but your hands sink into it, which bends the wrists further back and makes them work harder to stay stable. A firmer mat around 4 to 6 mm thick gives most people a good balance. If you love your soft mat, fold a towel under your knees on a thinner one instead, or put a firm block or wedge under your hands for the weight-bearing parts of class.

Grip matters too. If your hands slide, your forearms and wrists tense up to hold you in place, so a sticky mat or a yoga towel on sweaty days helps more than people expect.

Where do wrist wraps fit in?

I made SneakyDeez for pole, after teaching every day with sore wrists, and a lot of yogis wear them for the same reason. They give firm elastic compression around the joint and sit low on the wrist, so your fingers and palm stay completely free to press into the mat and your wrist can still bend into down dog. That combination of warmth, a snug hug and a reminder to keep your hands active is what people like about them. They won't fix a set-up where all your weight is sinking into the heel of your hand, so think of them as a partner to everything above.

When is wrist pain in yoga more than a set-up problem?

If you've changed your hand position, tried props and eased off and your wrist still hurts, it's time to look at what kind of pain it is. Pain on the pinky side, the thumb side or the top of the wrist can mean different things, and tingling in the fingers is different again, so our guide to the different types of wrist pain in yoga will help you work out what you're dealing with.

The NHS advises seeing a GP if wrist pain stops you doing normal things, keeps coming back, or hasn't improved after two weeks of looking after it at home, and getting urgent help after a fall or if your wrist looks misshapen or you can't move it (NHS: Wrist pain). A physiotherapist who works with active people can also look at your hands in the actual poses, which is often where the answer is.