Yoga Product Review: WAGS (Wrist Assured Gloves)

A lot of yogis, including me, experience wrist pain both during and after their yoga practice. The cause of this pain can be sloppy form in, say, Chaturanga Dandasana, repetition of vinyasas, or just plain old wear and tear. Fortunately, there are a number of products on the market that can help to relieve or totally eliminate wrist pain.

One new(ish) product on the market is called WAGS (Wrist Assured Gloves). These gloves are cleverly designed, well manufactured, and really stylish, to boot. Built into the palm of each gloves is a silicone pad, which is thicker at the heel. In effect, you have a built-in wedge in the glove, and this reduces the flex of the wrist when your hand is placed on the mat. When you come into a pose that requires you to hold weight in your hands (such as Plank Pose), your wrist will no longer have to extend to a 90-degree angle. The reduction in angle greatly relieves pressure in the wrist and hand (and probably also the elbow). For a full and better description of how the gloves work, and to see pictures, check out their website.

I’ve been using these gloves on and off for the past month or so. Vinyasas and arm balances feel much better with the gloves on, as I noticed significant relief in my wrists and elbows. In fact, the relief is so considerable, I would wear these gloves throughout my entire practice, and for every practice, were it not for one problem: the fabric between the fingers cuts into the webbing of my hand and causes tremendous discomfort when I’m in Down-Dog. I tried several modifications to my Down-Dog to deal with this problem, but nothing helped. I don’t know if everyone who uses these gloves will have the same problem, but, unfortunately for me, the pressure in between my fingers is significant enough that I don’t think I can make the gloves a permanent part of my practice. This is really too bad, since the gloves do an amazing job of relieving pressure on the wrists and elbows in many of the poses that I love to do, like Bakasana, Eka Pada Koundinyasana II, etc.

The company that produces WAGS is supposed to be launching a new “wrist-wrap” version of the gloves that will provide more support. I hope to try these out and will review them when I have a chance to give them a thorough test run. In the meantime, I would suggest to any yogis who have wrist problems that they at least try out WAGS. Some people seem to be able to use the gloves without experiencing the discomfort that I did, and the only way to find out is to actually put a pair on and try them. I do believe that the company offers a 30-day money back guarantee, so if you have the problem I did, you can always return them.

Overall: A+ or C-

This product is a godsend for yogis with wrist pain, but only if you can manage to use it without having your hands ripped apart in Down-Dog. I’m not sure how and if the manufacturer can resolve this issue, but I hope they do, because I, for one, would love to make WAGS a permanent part of my practice.

Related articles

• Product Review: The Tiger Paw (yogaisforlovers.wordpress.com)
• Asana in Focus: Hand Position in Downward Facing Dog (yogaisforlovers.wordpress.com)
• Chaturanga Dandasana: Wrist and Elbow Killer (yogaisforlovers.wordpress.com)