Each month, yoga coach Gwen Lawrence shows us the best poses for athletes. As always, consult a doctor before you begin any new exercise program.Whether youre a pro athlete -- or a keyboard warrior spending hours pounding away at your desk each day -- wrist care is important and makes sense. As an athlete, you need to have grip strength, be able to absorb falls and have powerful arm strength. One key to gaining those qualities is a supple wrist. If youre at your desk all day youre overdeveloping all the tiny muscles in your hands and wrists, which can then develop chronic pain.Try these wrist openers to gain freedom in your hands and wrists.Reclining seated mountainTo properly open a joint, you need to stretch surrounding joints and muscles at the same time. This pose accomplishes that for you.Keys to the pose:* Start on the floor, sitting up straight.* Place your hands on the floor behind you. Play around with the direction the fingers point according to where you feel the best stretch. Whatever you choose, be sure your hands are symmetrical to each other.* Lean back on your hands, with your palms flat and fingers spread evenly.* Inhale, lengthen your spine and push the floor away. Then exhale, open your chest and heart forward, while squeezing the shoulder blades together behind you.* Do this move for one minute of focus and breathing.Inverted tableThis move takes the reclining seated mountain to the next level. You might want to progress to this once you feel you are executing the previous pose well. You will continue to stretch the entire shoulder girdle, forearms and wrists. Then progressively add the strength element of the arms when you lift up, making it a well-rounded yoga move.Keys to the pose:* Start sitting, and place your hands on the floor behind you with your fingers spread and palms flat.* Make sure you find the optimal direction for your fingers to point for the best stretch for you. Keep your knees bent and feet flat. Distribute your weight evenly between your feet and hands.* Inhale and lift your hips off the floor, aiming to eventually lift them as high as your knees. Exhale, then lower back down.* When youre in the lift, push evenly into your hands, pushing the floor away, and gently squeezing your shoulder blades toward each other. Pause before you lower.* Do this for 1-3 minutes depending on your ability.Downward facing dogThe beauty of this pose is that you get a less direct, gently angled stretch on the wrist joint, while strengthening all the shoulder and arm muscles at the same time.Keys to the pose:* Set your hands shoulder-width apart, with palms flat and fingers spread out evenly.* Your feet should be approximately hip-width apart. For the purposes of your wrists, do this pose with bent knees.* Inhale and push the floor away, then exhale gently and drop your head down toward the mat.* Breathe and hold this pose for 30 seconds to one minute.Wrist turnsThis pose is the kingpin stretch for the wrists and should be considered as an everyday move if you are experiencing tightness and pain in the wrist joint. Approach this move slowly and mindfully, so as not to be too aggressive when you first do it.Keys to the pose:* Start on your hands and knees. Make sure your wrist joint is directly under your shoulder joint.* Stretch one wrist at a time. Turn the right wrist to the right, moving a little more each time until one day, your fingers are pointed toward your body.* Inhale, push the floor away, lengthen the neck out of your shoulders and hold for 30 seconds. Slowly come out of it and switch sides.* Do this move two times on each side.Reverse wrist openersAll the previous moves focus on a flexing stretch of the wrist joint -- this move is unique, because you will finally feel an amazing extension stretch. It might feel strange at first because its not a stretch you do or feel regularly, so approach it slowly and, before you know it, the small muscles in the wrist joint will begin to release and you will finally experience new freedom and flexibility in the wrists.Keys to the pose:* Start on your hands and knees. Bring your left wrist under your shoulders, palm facing up. Spread your fingers evenly.* Put your right hand on top of your left wrist to gently press down on the left hand.* Lean into the stretch until you reach your limit, then hold and breathe for 30 seconds to one minute.* To come out of it, lean away from the stretch and slowly release your left wrist.* Repeat the move on your right hand. Wholesale Brewers Jerseys . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. Eric Thames Jersey . -- About a third of the way through the regular season, the Washington Wizards are at . http://www.cheapbrewersjerseyschina.com/stephen-vogt-jersey/ . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. 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MINNEAPOLIS -- Candace Parker and the Sparks jumped with joy on the court, joined in celebration by a guy named Magic Johnson who once made basketball championships a habit in Los Angeles.Parkers old college coach, the late Pat Summitt, was there in spirit too.Nneka Ogwumikes short jumper with 3.1 seconds left, off the rebound of her blocked shot, gave the Sparks a 77-76 victory over the defending champion Minnesota Lynx in the deciding Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday night for the franchises first title in 14 years.Parker had 28 points and 12 rebounds to earn MVP honors of the Finals and her first WNBA title, capping a trying year marked by the death of the beloved Summitt, with whom she won two NCAA championships at Tennessee.The journey to get here I wouldnt have wanted to do it with anybody else, Parker said. Its amazing when you surround yourself with good people how fun it is.Sparks coach Brian Agler started his postgame news conference by playing a recording of the Tennessee fight song, Rocky Top, from a phone in front of him at the podium. Parker cried as she leaned over to hug her coach.Ive never been around somebody that has been critiqued so hard, Agler said, and Ive never been around anyone Im happy for than Candace.Said Ogwumike: Shes been through so much. Shes probably the most misunderstood person in the league. I told her I wanted her to get one.Parker heard Summitts voice in her head, recalling the time-worn advice to focus on defense and rebounding.You cant control if shots go in or shots dont, but what you can control is defense and rebounding, Parker said.Rebekkah Brunson made one of two free throws with 23.4 seconds left to give the Lynx a 74-73 lead. Parker answered with a layup on the other end that Maya Moore countered with a jumper. Then Ogwumike hustled her way over to the loose ball after Sylvia Folwes blocked her first attempt. She coolly swished it.Lindsay Whalens heave from just inside halfcourt bounced high off the backboard, setting off the celebration for the Sparks and silencing the sellout crowd of 19,423.Moore had 23 points and 11 assists for the Lynx, who fell short of matching the WNBA record of four championships. The Houston Comets won four straight titles from 1997-2000. The Lynx played in the finals for the fifth time in the last six years. They won three.The team that won this game deserved to win the game, Moore said, so its just hard to have it come that close.Chelsea Gray reeled off 11 consecutive points for the Sparks, capping that run with a smooth up-and-under layup to put them in front 60-59 early inn the fourth quarter.ddddddddddddParkers putback with 3:06 left gave L.A. a 71-63 lead, putting the Lynx in trouble.But Moore seized the moment with a 3-pointer that brought Minnesota within four points, and Parker forced an off-balance 3 on the other end. Whalen stole the ball from Kristi Toliver and finished the fast break with a layup to tie the game at 71, setting up the final flurry.On the next play, Ogwumike hit a jumper that appeared to come after the shot clock expired. The officials signaled for a review but never looked at the basket. Los Angeles led 73-71 with just over a minute left. Seimone Augustus answered with a jumper, but those points proved to be critical.Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, making sure to credit the Sparks for their performance was livid about the non-call afterward.Its not enough just to apologize and send out a memo that they got something wrong, OK? These players are so invested, and something must be done about the officiating in this league. Because it is not fair to these great players that we have, Reeve said.The WNBAs new postseason format with the field ordered by overall record regardless of conference sure worked well, leading to this classic matchup between the two teams that fought all summer for the top seed and featuring several of the leagues biggest stars.I hope that we gained a lot of fans from around the world and around this country, Augustus said.The game was remarkably close, with 24 lead changes and 11 ties with no team ever leading by double digits.CHAMPIONSHIP ATMOSPHEREThe sea of green T-shirts donned by almost everyone in the crowd produced a deafening soundtrack from start to finish befitting a game for the trophy.Even Johnson was there, wearing all black while sitting courtside to root for the Sparks team hes a part-owner of and spoke to after the loss at home in Game 4 on Sunday. His presence was all the more impressive considering the Dodgers, the other pro club hes invested in, were playing baseball in Los Angeles at the same time in Game 5 of their National League championship series.They had to believe they could do it on a tough home court. This team Minnesota is tremendous, Johnson said. We just beat the champions so I give them a lot of credit to.WOLF TRACKSThe Lynx had celebrity backing, too, with Timberwolves players including Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, Cole Aldrich and Nemanja Belica in the seats to support the women they share an arena with. Youth NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Cheap Stitched Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Camo China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2019 ' ' '