Wrists are often a weak point when trying to hold the Downward Facing Dog Pose (page 162) and the arm balances. Use these exercises as counter poses (poses that counteract the stretch of a pose) to relieve the strain created from a weight on the arms or long hours at a keyboard.
1 Kneel on all fours and place your hands so the inner wrists face away and your fingers point toward your knees. While keeping the palms pressed down, lean back to take the stretch to the inner forearms. Hold and breathe. Release, and flip the hands so the backs of your hands are on the floor, fingers still pointing toward the knees. Lean back once again to stretch out the top side of the forearms. This stage is similar to Forearm Releasing Forward Fold (page 70).
2 From a seated or standing position, stretch your arms to the sides. Take your hands to Chin Mudra (page 334) by joining the tips of the thumbs and index fingers. Stretch the other fingers down toward the ground. Then, internally rotate the shoulders, turn your palms and fingers to point backward, then upward. (The inner crease of your elbows will be facing down.) Now rotate the arms and shoulders the other way so fingers point forward, then upward. (Elbow creases will face up.) You can either hold and breathe at several stops or move slowly through these positions to work your entire range of motion.
3 Start with your arms out to the sides, palms facing up. Turn your fingers to point down and toward your body, as if you wanted to tickle your side ribs. Press the heels of the hands away. Unhunch your shoulders and, to increase the intensity of the stretch, move them forward.
4 Now rotate your palms so that the fingers point up and stretch toward your ears. Press the heels of the hands away. While you hold and breathe, drop your shoulders and roll them forward and back to find a place where it feels like you get the best stretch.