10 Expert Tips for Preventing Aerial Yoga Wrist Pain

Some aerial yoga poses like the downward-facing dog, the plank pose aerial, and the upward-facing dog, can place a significant amount of weight on your wrists.

When combined with the extensive range of motion that aerial yoga demands, there’s always a chance of suffering from wrist strain, pain and other wrist problems.

And if you are not careful, you may end up damaging your wrists, making it hard to undertake even minor tasks or enjoy your yoga practice. So, how can you prevent wrist strains and other wrist issues in aerial yoga?

Here are some expert tips to guide you in preventing aerial yoga wrist pain:

 

Ensure Proper Warm-up Before Your Session

As much as it may sound obvious, some people tend to assume that warming up is not necessary. However, warming up is an important part of any workout routine, including yoga swing workouts.

You may be probably asking yourself why you should warm up before doing something that appears basic like the downward-facing dog. Well, warming up first before starting your yoga sessions offers numerous benefits.

First, warming up will lubricate your joints, improve blood flow and relax the adjoining muscles. Wrist mobility is extremely important.

Second, warming up will also prepare your body in readiness for the physical stress it will endure, during your yoga hammock workout. Therefore, your wrists will be ready to support your body weight, once you start doing your yoga hammock workout.

Third, stretching, which is usually a part of every warm-up, will help to increase the flexibility of your wrists, thus helping to reduce the likelihood of strains and sprains.

As you can see, warming up first before starting your aero yoga workout will go a long way in helping to prevent aerial yoga wrist pain and wrist injuries.

An effective pre-workout warm-up routine should last approximately 5 to 15 minutes or when you can start feeling your heartbeat beginning to elevate.

 

Adjust Your Surface

As noted earlier, poses like the downward-facing dog tend to place a considerable amount of weight on your wrists. And if you have problematic wrists, then you may end up with aerial yoga wrist pain.

Fortunately, you can reduce the amount of overall weight your wrists are bearing, by raising the ground. For instance, you can place wedges, blocks, a chair or any other item under palms, to raise the floor.

When you do this, you will transfer some of the force placed on your wrists to other parts of the body. And as a result, you will reduce the risk of injuring your wrists or aggravating a wrist injury.

 

Listen to Your Body

A significant number of wrist injuries in aerial yoga are caused by over-enthusiasm. For instance, if you are a beginner in aerial yoga, you may want to do all the poses perfectly and from the first day.

However, this is not always possible, since your body will need time to adjust to the new workout routine. And if you rush your body, there is a high chance you will end up with wrist injuries.

Therefore, always ensure you listen to your body. And if you feel pain in your wrists, then your body is telling you that you need to make some adjustments, whether energetically or physically.

By becoming self-aware and listening to your body, you can easily correct, modify or even stop a pose, before you expose yourself to wrist injuries.

So, whether you are a beginner, intermediate or an advanced aerial yogist, you should always be ready to listen to your body and adjust your workout accordingly.

 

Strengthen and Lengthen Arm Muscles

If you want to prevent wrist injuries, strains and pain, then you will need to healthy wrists. And healthy wrists are flexible and strong.

When the muscles surrounding your wrist joints are strong and balanced, the risk of strains, sprains, or fractures will be considerably reduced.

To strengthen your wrists and avoid aerial yoga wrist pain, you should start with gentle exercises, which will also benefit your forearm muscles. After all, there is no point in strengthening your wrists if your forearm muscles are weak.

Various workout equipment like resistance bands, hand grips or stress balls can help strengthen your wrists.

A gyro ball is also a great piece of equipment for strengthening your wrists. However, it may take some time to learn how to use it properly. But once you master it, it will work not only your wrists but your entire forearm.

 

Use Wrist Supports

Also known as wrist wraps, wrist supports will help to protect wrists during various types of sports and exercises. They are quite popular among many athletes and even dancers wear wrist wraps.

And you can also use them during your suspended yoga poses, to prevent aerial yoga wrist injuries.

 

Stretch and Strengthen the Shoulders

If your shoulder joints are tight or their movement is restricted, it will affect how you place or position your hands on the floor.

Therefore, if you are looking for ways of preventing wrist pain and strains, you should also consider stretching your shoulders. Apart from stretching your shoulders, you also need to work towards strengthening them.

When your shoulders are weak, you may be forced to shift more weight to your lower joints, creating imbalances and unhealthy pressure. These hand imbalances will eventually lead to wrist injuries.

So, before you jump into the rigorous yoga hammock poses, you should first start with workouts or variations that will help to stretch and strengthen your shoulders.

When you combine shoulder and forearm strengthening exercises like the low plank, side plank pose and the one-legged reverse tabletop, you will significantly strengthen your arms and wrists,

This will help to improve posture, thus preventing the imbalances that usually lead to wrist injuries, thus preparing your body for more demanding workouts.

Any pose that stretches and strengthens the shoulders, upper back and spine is great

 

Strengthen Your Core

If you have a weak or imbalanced core, you will end up shifting most of your weight forward while leaning onto your wrists. Shifting your weight forward is a means for the body to move away from the weak core.

And as you do this, you will be placing an unbearable amount of strain on your wrists, and you may end with wrist injuries.

By strengthening your core, you will keep your body properly balanced. As a result, you will no longer have to shift your weight further forward, thus reducing the risk of wrist strain and sprains.

 

Master Proper Body Alignment

When you are performing poses that directly involve the hands like the downward-facing dog, you need to pay attention to two key things, so that you can avoid aerial yoga wrist pain and strain.

And one of them is proper alignment. When you are performing arm balancing aero yoga poses, you should always ensure that the center of your wrist is aligned with the outside of your shoulder.

You also need to make sure that both index fingers run parallel to each other. Once you master this alignment, you will avoid bending sideways, which is one of the main causes of wrist strain.

Second, you will need to master how to utilize your strength. Whenever you are doing yoga hammock poses, you should ensure you spread your fingers evenly and grip the floor.

When you spread your fingers, your hands will be better positioned to adjust to the small weight shifts that may happen, whenever you are doing arm-balancing exercises. And this will protect your wrist against excessive pressure or straining too much.

 

Distribute Your Weight Evenly

Similarly, equal weight distribution is also vital when it comes to preventing exercise wrist injuries and pain.

So, what exactly does equal weight distribution entail? Well, it involves positioning your elbows and wrists in a way that you don’t dump your entire body weight on your wrists.

For instance, if you are doing a pose that involves placing your palms on the ground, you should do it in a way that your entire body weight is distributed throughout your hands.

And if you are doing an arm-balance pose like the crow pose aerial, then you should try as much as possible to lift your body weight through your core, instead of doing it with your wrists.

 

Take it Easy

At the end of the day, you are doing suspension yoga poses to keep your body fit and have fun. Therefore, don’t be too hard on yourself or try to work through wrist pain, in an attempt to satisfy your ego.

So, if you feel pain at any time, don’t continue with the pose or the workout you are doing. You should stop right away and seek medical intervention. Trying to do a yoga hammock workout when your wrists are injured may aggravate the situation.

And you may end up being sidelined for months. Therefore, make sure you observe your limits and take as much rest as possible.

 

Aerial Yoga Wrist Pain

Improper body alignment, a weak core and lack of conditioning may all contribute to aerial yoga wrist pain during your suspension yoga sessions.

Achieving pain-free wrists during your suspension yoga workout shouldn’t be hard if you follow the above tips.

In case you have a pre-existing wrist condition or you are recovering from a recent risk injury, it will be highly advisable to first consult your physician before resuming your yoga hammock workouts.