Day 42 - End of CNIB Campaign and a wrist injury

There was a good turn out for our Great Canadian Yoga Stretch Open House event benefiting the Canadian Institute for the Blind. We still have yet to calculate exactly how much money we raised, but prior to today my students and I raised more than $2500 just through sponsorship of our yoga stretch goals, which is pretty awesome.

The highlight of the day for me was definitely the Acroyoga workshop with Shawn Belliveau, a pilates/yoga instructor and circus artist from St-Eustache, North of Montreal. As one one looker pointed out, the postures we did in tandem are like using the human body as a jungle gym-- lifts, extensions, 'birdies,' and inversions. At one point, I was able to balance in navasana (boat pose) on Shawn's feet. It's hard to describe the postures, but it was lots of fun.

There were many other workshop style classes going on all day. I did one called "variations of surya namaskar." Outside, we served lunch, had a hammock relaxation station set up, a kids table with arts and crafts and even, a chess tournament organized by Penka, one of our yoga teachers, who is also a pro-chess player. A full on carnival.

On a less chipper note, I think I'm injured. Since yesterday, flexing my right wrist has become incredibly painful. Even picking stuff up with my right hand hurts. This is a tough one, because I'm prone to wrist injuries. I used to think it was because of weak forearms, but that's not the case anymore. In Chinese medicine, they believe that injuries have a deeper meaning, and apparently, injury to the right wrist means that the afflicted has an unresolved issue with a female. Perhaps this be related to the email I received from that female yoga teacher yesterday. Hmmm... curious.

Regardless, I had to seriously modify my practice this evening, which is an interesting opportunity. I did most of my sun salutations on my fists, which does not affect the wrist as much and I found that the sivananda sun salutation requires less weight on the arms because of the lunges and the way one transitions into cobra-- knees. chest and chin. I also did a few on my forearms. Post icing and practice, my wrist feels better.


If you suffer from wrist issues in your yoga practice, here are some suggestions, I've come up with:

• Practice on your fists and keep the knuckles, wrist and elbow in line. (Double your mat, so your knuckles have more padding.)
• Use a prop call a 'wrist-wedge' to keep the hand flexion at 45degrees as opposed to 90, or fold a towel under the heel of your hand for the same effect.
• Step back into plank, bringing one knee back at a time.
• Lower in chaturanga from your knees, so that there is less weight in the arms.
• Do downward dog on your forearms.
• If you are on your hands, spread your fingers to distribute the weight evenly.
• If all else fails, focus on resolving your issues with other people, specially a man for a left wrist problem or a woman with a right wrist problem.

If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know.


Next up: Yoga Mala on Mount Royal, another Montreal yoga community fundraiser organized by yoga teachers Dawn and Bram. 10 am, baby!

I'm going to crash. Goodnight, my friends.