Our Palms - Our responsibility While many of us believe we practice well, we usually fail to notice the little things that may hurt our practice.
There are so many things to consider and pay attention to while entering and staying in an asana (a yoga posture), that those little angles and corners are not getting the right attention.
This habit of ours, which is more common than we would like to believe, causes of illness and unnecessary pain.
From bone pain to muscle contractions, through headache and fatigue, and even nausea.
Taking the wrong posture in the wrong way is dangerous.
Perhaps the most common mistake people make is placing their palms the wrong way.
While our mat is there to support us and aid us by providing both balance and cushion, it will not help us if we place our palms the wrong way.
As our palm consists of no less than twenty-two bones, it is a very sophisticated structure, and it needs our full attention at practice.
While placing our palms down and pressing them with our weight, we push those bones into the mat.
If they are not aligned, the pressure will cause them to push one against the other.
On the short run, it might create anything from immediate pain, headaches, backache, and even fatigue.
On the long run, this can cause many illnesses, from arthritis to many spin complications.
The fact that our palms are structured so delicately with so many bones, demands our full attention and understanding.
In order to avoid injuries, not only do we need a high quality premium yoga mat to provide real support, but we need to be alert.
Placing Our Palm Correctly - To Avoid Yoga Injuries There are a few main things we must pay attention to in order to keep our palms from injuries.
The first and most important is our mind.
We must have an image of our palm in our mind before we place it on the yoga mat, and especially before we put any weight on it.
The image we create will help us achieve a higher state of concentration directly at our palm, thus helping the nerve system detect the structure and help us move it correctly.
In time, this procedure will be embedded into our mind, and will take less attention then in the beginning.
The second thing on the list is to make sure we spread our fingers.
Spreading the fingers seems to be taken less seriously then it should be.
The fingers are not only structured by many of the bones in our palms, but they are also connected to ligaments that go through our palms, and all the way to our ulna and radius.
By placing our fingers in a full spread position, we allow space and flexibility in the palm, thus making more space for all the bones to settle in without crashing each other.
The way our palms should be facing depends entirely on the asana we practice.
Either way, when an asana calls for palms on the mat, our fingers should be spread full length and with the biggest gap possible.
Do not be shy, and move slowly to a greater space then you are used to.
The thumb should be stretched as much as possible, while the ligament that is connected to the thumb must be pulled back.
You know it is pulled when you see it under the skin.
It is a very common mistake to let the thumb rest aimlessly on the mat.
Another important point in yoga palm alignment is the root of the palm.
The root of the palm is the connecting point which holds the vessels and tunnels that sends blood and nerves to our hand.
A strong and flexible wrist means a better grip of the ground while not creating damage.
While placing our palms to the mat, we must pay attention to the wrist, not putting the weight on it immediately, but slowly and with care.
The overall feeling of a good palm-down should remind us of a pump, which is created by the middle of the palm being above the mat, capturing a little bit of air.
Once the weight of the body goes to the palm, a pump-effect is created, giving us perfect stability from our connection to the mat, and to the ground.