Here’s Why You Need Yoga as a Climber
Yoga is often associated with its spiritual dimension, but I truly think, that just like me, you don’t need to believe in it to make the most out of your practice.
The first aspect, and frankly the most obvious, is that Yoga helps you with mobility and flexibility.
Having looser hamstrings benefits you a lot in climbing, whenever you need to raise your knee up, you stretch your hamstrings.
Also, having some sort of hip abduction flexibility, which corresponds to the middle split, helps a lot when you need to straddle the legs.
I can’t count how many times my mobility helped me on boulders!
The second aspect is that Yoga, if done with low intensity, can be a great way to do some active recovery.
If you train a lot, this can definitely help you to recover faster between two workouts.
I have to say, the scientific literature clearly states that active recovery does not really have an advantage compared to “passive recovery”, which just means chilling out at home.
Personally, doing light physical activity is a way for me to keep practicing certain movements without imparing my workouts and it also makes my day better.
My brain and my mood are always better when I do some form of physical activity during the day!
The third and last benefit is about being more present.
Yoga is a powerful way to become more mindful through its focus on the breath.
This has helped me tremendously recently!
I can focus much better when I am in a specially difficult part of a boulder.
Bringing my attention to my breath helps me let go and fully send the move that I am planning to do.
Sometimes, before a dynamic move, you can start to think about what happens if you fall or how difficult it is.
Having this stronger sense of awareness helps me focus on what I have to do and nothing else.
Yoga is a great form of physical activity and you have a lot of different types of practice, choose the one that you prefer and stick to it.
Work hard and reap the reward!
