Yoga Cures
Yoga Cures: Keyboard Strain
By Nicole Kwan
Double your digit flexibility with these three yoga moves
Typing is a source of both pleasure and pain. While gushy e-mails are obviously not the same as dry letters to corporate, both can lead to achy fingers and unhappy wrists. Until our computers start using mind-reading technology (scary thought), try these fix-its from Karin Wiedemann of Urban Yoga in Washington D.C., creating breaks in your keystroke-centric day. Use these to prevent and to relieve.
Figure Eights
Sit up tall in a chair and bring your hands together in front of you, fingers interlaced. Keeping your elbows bent, alternately push your hands to the side so that your right wrist bends back, and then the left one. Using this back-and-forth as a base, start moving your hands in an imaginary figure eight. This will allow your wrists to rotate more fully, not just bend back and forth. Do this until you feel relief.
Overhead reach
Continue to sit upright and relax your arms at your sides so your palms face out comfortably. Taking an inhale, lift your arms up overhead and interlace your fingers. Turn your palms up to the ceiling and either keep your arms slightly bent or straighten them. Hold for 10 slow, deep breaths. On your last exhalation, let your arms float back down to your sides. Then inhale, again interlacing your fingers overhead, but this time interlace them with the opposite hand on top. In this stretch be sure to lift the thumb side of your hands as much as the pinky side. Hold for 10 slow, deep breaths. This overhead reach stretches out the muscles and connective tissue in the forearms and hands while also bringing flexibility to the hands and fingers. Plus, it boosts your circulation.
Finger-bender
Sitting up, bring your right forearm towards your chest. With your left hand, bend back your right fingers (minus thumb) towards the floor to your right. Hold for 10 slow, deep breaths. Then bend those same four fingers the opposite way, with your palm pushing down towards the floor. Hold for 10 slow deep breaths before repeating with the left hand.
Go to the Instruction tab of our video player to see how to do these wrist-relievers
Comments
30 Mar 2008, 11:10
31 Mar 2008, 08:39
Hi! Yes, this will help you stave off carpal tunnel. Hope it helps!
27 May 2008, 20:28
06 Jul 2008, 01:18
I have CPS in both my wrist and nerve damage in my neck. I used to practice a lot of yoga, but now I'm totally affraid to do it. I just dont want to hurt wrist anymore (Im aware that yoga didnt hurt me, Im a computer programmer after all). Is there anything I can do to get back to yoga are there variations for posses like downward dog. Books, medecines, teas, whatever could help me overcome this. I'm gaining a lot of weight and getting a little depressed because yoga was my life. Help anyone?
if not what can?