Yoga for climbing.

So my significant other and climbing partner is an advanced yoga practitioner and swears by it. I know that lots of people feel that yoga is awesome for climbing/climbers and as such I plan on trying some. However, I don't feel like going to yoga classes for two reasons. First is that I don't think I will really enjoy the yoga/hipster scene and also don't want to embarrass myself in a room full of (female) yoga experts. Secondly I don't want to spend the money on classes when Kristina is a perfectly good instructor and we can do it together in the privacy of our home. As such she is currently thinking about/designing a routine for us to do that is climbing specific but I thought I would ask here for some more input.

My question is this: What poses (like 5-10) do you feel are most beneficial for a climber?

There's a good Yoga for Climbers DVD available here, done by a climber, outside:
yoga-ventures.com/

Yoga is iso-metric (it uses your body weight against you). It has helped me with balance, body tension, flexibility, general strength and I will argue aerobic fitness to some extent. If you aren't sweating and breathing hard you aren't working hard enough.
However you need to have a good instructor that constantly changes the routine or you will get muscle memory issues.

johnL wrote:

I concede on technicality, however the intent was correct.

From the quick and easy reference [Wikipedia]:
Isometric exercise is a form of exercise involving the static contraction of a muscle without any visible movement in the angle of the joint. This is reflected in the name; the term "isometric" combines Greek the prefixes "iso" (same) with "metric" (distance), meaning that in these exercises the length of the muscle and the angle of the joint do not change, though contraction strength may be varied.

Resistance in isometric exercises typically involve contractions of the muscle using:

The body's own structure and ground

There are some awesome climbers who believe in yoga... Heidi Wirtz among them:

huggermugger.com/blog/2011/…

I think it depends on the type of yoga and where you take it. I did Bikrim Yoga (which is many places is now Hot Yoga or Core Power Yoga)for a while and on top of doing cardio and lifting it really helped my climbing. Bikrim is an hour and half long class in a room that is 105 to 110 degrees. It got my heart rate up as you are moving from pose to pose and some of the poses are downright hard.

Right now I am taking yoga at the Y. It's not like Bikrim but it does ok. there are different instructors who do different things. I do it 2 days a week. It keeps me open, flexible and is helping my balance after my achilles repair.

I agree I would not be able to do it at home, simply for the fact that I have 2 kids running around and it would bore me.

basically ditto what johnL said. also, if you go to a yoga class in the evening you will be less likely to sit around the house pouring budweiser on your mustache.

Hey everyone,

I know this forum is a little old, but here is my input.

I'm a yoga teacher based in Montana, and climbing is my passion. When I can't be on the rock, ice, or plastic, I teach climbers yoga. There are three main things yoga helps with in regards to climbing:

Flexibility - how often have you been training at the climbing wall and you hear "I'm not flexible enough to reach that foothold"?

Strength - Most climbers that come to my classes have extra strong back and shoulder muscles and not enough core strength. Think about it: during most climbs we are pulling. Yes, we are doing some presses, but for the majority we are either pulling ourselves into the wall or up to the next hold. This goes for ice as well.

Focus - I'm not the kind of teacher who meditates for two hours every morning. In some cases I which I could, but I'm not the type to sit still for that long. Yoga, whether it be a vinyassa or holding a pose, is a meditation. The purpose is to let go of all distractions and turn the gaze inward. Before I climb, I need to take a moment to be still and breathe. Especially if it's a hard grade or extra run-out, the last thing I want is my mind holding me back from reaching the top.

I hope this helps at least 1 person out there. If you have any questions at all, email me at mbrosious at gmail dot com (written out for spam purposes).

Ummm, there is a new group at meetup.com in chicago area that is only for nude yoga enthusiasts......I think they would accept climbers too.

If you can make it to a few classes in Boulder, Richard Rossiter, yeah remember him, has his own studio and is likely the most qualified climber/instructor out there

Peteoria wrote:If you can make it to a few classes in Boulder, Richard Rossiter, yeah remember him, has his own studio and is likely the most qualified climber/instructor out there

Is Richard teaching yoga now? I trained with him when he was doing pilates and really enjoyed it. Plus he's a good guy.