The Hands

Weight-bearing through a structure built for grasping. Where the load should go, and the two habits that keep wrists working for decades.

The problem

The hand has twenty-seven bones and it is optimised for manipulation — fine control, opposition of the thumb, grip. It is not a foot. It has no arch designed for load, no heel pad, and the wrist joint that connects it to the arm is built for range rather than for carrying weight at ninety degrees.

Yoga asks it to do exactly that, dozens of times per session.

Some of the load is unavoidable and some of it is a distribution problem, and the distribution problem is entirely fixable.

Where the weight should go

Think of the hand as having four load points, and the goal is to use all four.

The base of the index finger. The most under-used, and the most important. Pressing here distributes load forward, away from the wrist, and it produces the outward rotation of the forearm that stabilises the elbow and shoulder.

The base of the little finger. Balances the index side.

The heel of the palm, inner side. Near the base of the thumb.

The heel of the palm, outer side.

And the fingers themselves, actively gripping, spread wide.

The centre of the palm lifts slightly — a dome, like the arch of a foot.

The two habits

Habit one: spread and press

Every time a hand goes to the floor:

1. Spread the fingers wide. As wide as they go. More surface area, more distribution.
2. Press down through the base of the index finger deliberately. This is the specific correction, and most people are light here and heavy on the outer edge.
3. Grip the mat lightly with the fingertips. Not clawing — active. It engages the forearm muscles, which are what should be supporting the wrist.
4. Lift the centre of the palm.

Ten seconds to set up, and the load through the wrist joint drops substantially.

Habit two: take weight back

In Downward Dog and every position where the hands are on the floor, most of your weight should not be in your hands.

In Downward Dog: send the hips back and up until the arms are struts you are hanging between, not legs you are standing on. You should be able to lift one hand briefly.

In plank: the body is one line and the load is distributed between hands and feet, not stacked over the shoulders.

Between them, these two habits solve the overwhelming majority of yoga wrist complaints.

The common failures

Weight on the outer edge. Hand rolled towards the little finger, base of the index finger light. Extremely common and it puts a rotational strain on the wrist.

Flat, passive hand. No dome, no grip, no engagement. The hand is a slab and the forearm muscles are doing nothing.

Fingers together. Halves the effective contact area.

Fingers pointing outward. In most positions the index fingers should point straight ahead. Turned out, the wrist is loaded at an angle it likes less.

Hyperextended elbows. Locking the elbow sends load straight into the joint rather than the muscle, all the way down the chain to the wrist.

Strengthening the hands and forearms

Ten minutes twice a week changes things over two months.

Wrist rocks. Hands and knees, hands under shoulders. Rock the weight slowly forward over the hands and back, within comfort. Ten repetitions. The most direct preparation for weight-bearing.

Fingers turned back. Hands and knees, hands turned so the fingers point at the knees. Sit back gently. Fifteen seconds, twice. Stretches the underside of the forearm, which is usually the tight part.

Backs of the hands down. Hands and knees, backs of the hands on the floor, fingers pointing back. Take a little weight. Ten seconds. Build very slowly — easy to overdo.

Finger spreads. Spread all five fingers hard and hold five seconds. Twenty repetitions. Trains the muscles that hold the hand wide under load.

Hanging from a bar. Even ten seconds. The best single exercise for grip, forearm and shoulder together.

Farmer's carries. Walk holding something heavy. Builds everything the hand needs.

Warming them up

Before any practice with weight on the hands, one minute:

• Wrist circles, ten each direction.
• Flexion and extension, ten each way.
• Palms together at the chest, press down until you feel the stretch, fifteen seconds.
• Wrist rocks, ten.

What the hands tell you

Two useful diagnostics that cost nothing.

Look at your mat after practice. The wear patches show you where your weight has been going. If the marks are all at the heel of the palm, you have found your problem.

Notice which hand is more comfortable. Almost everyone has one. It usually reflects an asymmetry further up — in a shoulder or the mid-back — and it is worth investigating rather than accepting.

When it is not technique

Numbness or tingling in the fingers, particularly at night. Pain on the thumb side of the wrist when gripping. Pain at rest. Swelling. Any of these means it is worth having looked at rather than adjusted.

There is a full practice available that does not use the hands at all — everything standing, seated, supine, all forward folds, twists, hip work, restorative shapes, breath work, and forearm variations of the weight-bearing shapes. A hand or wrist problem does not mean stopping.