Finally, after almost a year since I took the basic rock climbing class, I got a chance to be “back with the wall”. Yesterday was a day to start panicking about what did I learn during my basic rock climbing class. There I was, scratching my head over the terms used, the equipment used and how to tie the infamous double 8 knot and then of course, how to belay someone. It’s incredible how one can forget everything so fast when you don’t use it!
It was almost embarrassing to say I am level 1 climber. Bah! *I cower in shame… *
Rock climbing is almost like yoga… need much strength and flexibility. Plus you need to know the human body and the techniques.
Example in point, when you do your Warrior 2, if you are like a beginner who just started, the tendency is to rely totally on your front bent knee. After holding for just a few seconds, you’ll probably feel the pain and the strain on your front knee! Well, the fact is that when you do Warrior 2, you’ll need to put much of the weight on your back leg.
Of course, there are many other little adjustments that you need make to your body before you can achieve the pose with much less effort and yet with grace and power ( much like a real warrior! I always feel powerful when I do Warrior 2… I imagined myself to be a warrior, strong, brave and powerful, and nothing can stop me… 
This is one of those pose gives you a sense of power.) This trains one to really be in tune with your body in order for you to make such adjustments.
Same thing with rock climbing. You got to know how to reduce the effort for each movement you make on the wall. One example is to remember that most of the weight should be supported by your legs when you climb. However, for beginners ( me, guilty as charged! ) we tend to focus on using our hands to move, hence forgetting to use the legs.
Besides, rock climbing is definitely more challenging than yoga as it requires one to use more brain when climbing. You need to plan and strategize which stone to move your hand to and where to step your foot for the next move. You got to be observant and yet know how to move your body across or up the wall.
Easy? Definitely not for someone who has never exercise. But for a yogi? I think we are more than ready to conquer the wall! Til the next wall…
~Namaste!
Sounds like fun, and the comparison between the two is interesting! I haven’t been rock climbing since high school (and that was only once!) I think there is a climbing wall somewhere in our area- I need to find it and try it again.