Yoga and Climbing a perfect combination?

While most people, who never tried climbing might think, that climbing is only about arm strength, there is so much more to it and a good climber needs to be fit in all different ways. So, climbing is a great sport to train all different kinds of muscles.

However, and even though it is not only about the power one has in her/his arms, climbers often tend to work on a very specific musculature, that helps to get stronger while being in the wall. This mainly concerns the upper-body muscles, where the posture of a person that climbs a lot can suffer from this unilateral training….

….meaning that after climbing a lot, one can remain with a feeling of tension where the muscles tend to pull your shoulders and upper body inwards and towards your chest. This can then cause not only bad posture and injuries but also other symptoms like for example headache.

To prevent this, it is very helpful to train also the other muscles, which we don’t use while training for or during climbing (for example the lower trapezius - which is something that helps to prevent shoulder injuries and headaches that can be caused by a lack of strength in this muscle).

Additionally, a good stretch and opening up our chest and upper body help to further keep a feeling of ‚openness‘ in our chest and upper body. Also, without stretching, worked muscles can tighten up over time leading to a higher risk of injury.

…so for a climber to stay healthy and avoid injuries, one needs to balance their training with some stretching and exercises working on ‚the other‘ musculature. This is where Yoga comes in. It is a perfect way to stretch and open up. Additionally, it is not only relaxation, some types of Yoga allow you to train the part of your musculature, that gets left behind during your climbing training.

Well, and then there is the biggest and more traditional part of Yoga, which aims to unite mind and body. Practices are used in which both tension and relaxation are important with the goal to reduce stress and find peace within. So, Yoga is way more than just exercising and stretching. You could even say, it is a lifestyle that searches to harmonize body, mind and soul and enable peaceful coexistence.

Harmony of body and soul. Staying calm. Reducing stress and fear. All qualities that can be quite helpful for a climber, don’t you think?

We believe in the combination of Yoga and Climbing, and while one would obviously need some experience and training to become a better climber, your yoga practice can help you to built mental strength and increase your stress resistance. If you encounter issues such as fear of falling when climbing, this can be very helpful.

In addition, if you practise yoga regularly, you learn to focus all your attention on the present moment. This mental strength can help you when climbing, for example when you want to master a hard move and route.

And to go more into detail and look at Yoga from a more philosophical perspective, we can refer to the Yoga Sutra (written by Patanjali) where he describes the so called ‚Kleshas’, - obstacles on the path to a fulfilled life. If we transfer this knowledge to our climbing, we can describe them as obstacles on the path to happy climbing. Let’s look at some of them in more detail:

Abhinivesha = fear. In the yogic sense, fear refers to the fear of death. In a broader sense and applied to our modern life, however, it refers to all kinds of fear. Most certainly, fear is the most difficult obstacle for us to overcome. In the end, most of us feel fear when climbing from time to time. And those who encounter it know how much it can hinder us from climbing in a relaxed, efficient and ‚happy’ way. The less aware we are of our fears, the greater they are. A conscious confrontation can therefore help and be a first step towards overcoming them.

Avidya = ignorance, or subjective perception. For human minds, it is often hard to look at things neutrally. We immediately make assessments. With climbing routes: „Oh, this route must be difficult” or “I am sure, I can’t do that move”, and while these seem like very objective assessments of a situation, we have to take care about these kind of utterances, because our perception follows our attention. So if we focus our attention on a certain evaluation such as “the route is too difficult”, we will also perceive it as such. So here we can try to consciously detach yourself from these judgmental statements and simply get on the route. A move or a grade is much more doable when facing it with the right mindset.

Asmita = identification, or the wrong understanding of oneself. From when we are born, we are put into a certain role, into a family, into a gender. We identify with this role, with this “I”. Even when climbing. “I'm bad on slabs” or ”Crack climbing is not my thing.” All too quickly, we get caught up in our roles. As a result, we forget to check from time to time whether we still are. This can lead to overconfidence on the one hand and feelings of inferiority on the other. We should ask ourselves much more often: “Who am I?” or specifically “Who am I when climbing?” Because perhaps we were once bad on slabs due to bad footwork, but we worked on that and could handle these situations much better now. So, perhaps certain things no longer cause us any difficulties.

While we have referred to climbing with these examples, you can of course also look at these in relation to everyday life. Fear, identification, self-perception, ... Things that we are also confronted with in day-to-day life. Both climbing and yoga can have positive long-term effects on these obstacles and help us to live a more balanced life.

You can relate to this or you want to try and live this philosophy? Then you might want to try our Retreats.

With this in mind, we wish you a peaceful and relaxing Christmas season,

Your Piemount Team