Yoga and Rock Climbing

Yoga and Climbing

Paired together, yoga and rock climbing have the power to increase physical strength and shape mental perseverance. Many yoga poses help climbers focus on breathing patterns, difficult poses and the challenges of balance.

People unfamiliar with climbing believe it is a sport only for strong men with bulging muscles and ripped abs. This is far from the truth! Climbing is for everyone, young and old, as it tones and stretches those creaky, un-worked areas of the body. Climbing utilizes the basic elements of yoga: flexibility, agility and calculated motion.

Practicing yoga with climbing is advantageous for those climbers looking to excel in the sport. Certain yoga poses counterbalance the upward movement of climbing and help alleviate tight, hardened muscles and strained knees, wrists, and shoulders. Also, a warm-up routine involving yoga prior to climbing can help loosen and elongate back, leg and arm muscles. Be prepared for your best climbing yet!

Without a doubt, climbing is a mental game of confidence, analysis and problem solving. While yoga limbers and prepares muscles for climbing, it also helps climbers move past mental hurdles. A scary fall or an unbeatable route can shake the confidence of beginner and advanced climbers alike. Yoga focuses on concentration, breathing techniques and fine-tunes mental coordination with the body. Try yoga in between routes and feel how it relaxes and calms the mind, ensuring a more efficient and satisfying subsequent climb.

Check out a few yoga poses that will help to improve balance, increase strength and build climbing confidence.

FeelGoodNow Contributor: Chrissie Nims

This wild cookie gobbler enjoys roaming the online world, exploring new marketing strategies and meeting new people. Chrissie satisfies her sweet tooth with healthy, all natural recipes that make her sugary guilt melt away. She loves discovering secret, sunny spots during the winter, skiing and taming wild, rambunctious ponies. 


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