Yoga Glossary · Muscles
Wrist & finger flexors
The forearm muscles that curl the fingers and flex the wrist — your grip on the mat.
The front of the forearm holds the muscles that flex the wrist and curl the fingers, their tendons crossing the wrist to each fingertip. They power grip: holding, carrying and, on the mat, pressing the fingertips into the floor.
In weight-bearing poses these muscles are load managers. Spreading the fingers and pressing through the fingertips and knuckle pads in Plank, Down Dog and handstand work recruits the flexors to take pressure off the heel of the hand and spread it across the whole palm — a standard wrist-comfort strategy. They also fatigue and stretch in full wrist extension, which is why wrist preparation matters in arm-balance-heavy practice.
In practice
- Press the fingertips down like you are trying to grip the mat — that is the flexors protecting your wrists.
- Spider fingers in Down Dog: flexors on, wrist pressure distributed, shoulders happier.
- If the wrists ache in Plank, check your hands before your strength — inactive fingers overload the wrist joint.
Poses that engage it
Poses that lengthen it
Related terms
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The Yoga Glossary is an educational study reference. Definitions are standard yoga and anatomy knowledge in plain language; nothing here is medical advice.