ok, hers's more about climbing and yoga

Yoga can improve your climbing
Body Awareness

Practicing yoga regularly may increase your mental and physical awareness. Yoga practices extending your awareness into all parts of your body, while harmonizing the body with the breath. This serves to strengthen your concentration, and mental focus. Yoga also teaches the concept of being mindful, and present with each movement and position.

Being a mindful and focused climber means you have the ability to direct and redirect pin point focus on the specific finger or foot placement most critical with each movement. Yoga can help open your awareness to new elements that play a part in your climbing performance. For example, while holding a strenuous balancing yoga asana (position) you learn to use your breath to calm your mind and find your center strength and balance. This skill of breath control and mental concentration can be applied while climbing to help prevent shakiness (ex. That uncontrollable elvis leg) anxiety, tightness, and lack of focus, ultimately dooming your performance.

Breath Control

In both climbing and yoga, we often hold our breath during a crux move or when we are gripped which creates muscle tension. Muscles need oxygen to replenish their energy state. Practicing pranayama, (breath control) during yoga practice, teaches you to breath smoothly and evenly. This practice of breath control can be applied while on the rock. Being in control of your breath while climbing will prevent muscular fatigue, lactic acid accumulation in the muscles and symptoms of anxiety (ex. Rapid heart beat, hyperventilation, overheating ect.).

Mental Strength

Climbing exercises your mental strength just as much as your physical strength. Yoga does the same. It is critical in both climbing and yoga to understand the relationship between the breath, mind and body. By learning to control your breath, you can learn to calm the mind, sooth the body and remain in a relaxed, present and focused state of thought. What does this do for your climbing? It helps you conquer those mental challenges, face your fears, and expand your physical limits. Climb on!

Yoga can enhance your physical performance.

It is obvious that yoga improves balance and flexibility. Like climbing, yoga also requires core strength, static movements, and muscle tension control. Many movements in yoga are similar to those on the rock. For example, during “Half Moon” pose, you must shift your center of gravity over one leg and use one arm for balance. Keeping your weight over your feet, and moving in a slow, controlled fashion is essential for success in this pose. Similar movements are used often while climbing, such as keeping your weight over your feet and using your hands for balance, while shifting your weight from one leg to the other.

Many climbers experience overly tight hips, hamstrings and shoulders. Keeping these areas stretched and warm are essential for injury prevention, muscle balance, and optimal performance. A good yoga session will give you a complete body stretch, wringing out all tension and tightness. You will be left with free flowing joints, a mental cleanse an emotional uplift. What better way to prepare yourself for the rock!