By Kreg Weiss, B HKin • February 12th, 2009

The anterior shoulder and pectoralis muscles present great challenges to our postural health as these muscles tend to be chronically tight. Yoga stretches utilizing interlaced fingers can be an effective method of breaking down this muscular tightness and expanding the heart center. However, these chest openers are often performed incorrectly presenting potential injury for the wrists.

The most common chest expanding yoga stretch is where one interlaces the fingers and thumbs behind the lower back. As the hands grasp, one extends the arms drawing the shoulders back and the chest region open. This interlacing of fingers is sometimes called a version of Yoga Mudra.

The most common error performed with this mudra is in how one positions the wrists and fingers. Many participants enter this mudra by interlacing the fingers without closing the hands. As the arms are sent back and away from the chest, this open palm position becomes exacerbated presenting potential injury in the wrist. In particular, this unmindful flexion of the wrists can generate compressive forces in the carpal tunnel and carpal joints of the hands. For those with pre-existing carpal tissues, this misalignment can easily aggravate wrist conditions further.

Some secondary misaligned hand positions often done in this chest opener:

• Finger Alignment: Rather than fingers interlacing parallel and over grooves of the knuckles, fingers are often interlaced and crossed like lattice work over the other fingers presenting potential torquing motions in the finger joints.

   

  *Lateral Wrist Alignment: When the chest and shoulders are taken into a stretch, the partial action to create the stretch is external (outwards) rotation of the humerus (upper arm). If the anterior shoulder and chest muscles are tight, this resistance will prevent the external rotation from occurring. The result is the hands will have difficulty closing and often creates a compromise by closing only the thumb pad region of the hand. This partial palm closing is often accompanied by a lateral pulling or flexion of the outer wrist. This can be felt as though your thumbs are being pulled in towards your lower back as the arms move away from the body. This imbalanced lateral line can also present chronic conditions to the carpal region and soft tissues of the hand....

  • <<
  • <
  • 1
  • 2
  • >
  • >>

Location:  Montreal, CA

Kreg is a co-founder of My Yoga Online and certified Hatha Yoga Teacher. Several years ago, Kreg discovered yoga while teaching health and fitness. Yoga dramatically transformed Kreg's approach to teaching health and...