Trying to Be Yogic While Rock Climbing

By Margaret Burns Vap, 11-07-07

This fall has offered up quite a few challenges to my yogic equilibrium. In addition to the usual juggling of 2 year old/family responsibilities/managing two businesses, I was constantly checking the often-unpredictable Montana weather ("where you can have 4 seasons in one day") in anticipation of the Athleta photo shoot. I was recently selected to be the yoga “athlete” for this amazing women’s athletic apparel company, and they came to Big Sky to do part of the spring 2008 catalog photo shoot. After a shaky start with cloudy cold weather, we woke up to 4 inches of snow on the second day! Beautiful, but definitely not springlike. I tried to quell my anxiety with pranayama exercises (yogic breathing). But one thing that is always guaranteed here is a quick change in the weather - the first snowfall of the year melted that afternoon, and the next few days showcased the clear mountain air and scenery I’d been boasting about.

My next challenge arrived on day three of the shoot. We were headed up to “the tower” with Montana Alpine Guides to take some rock climbing and yoga pictures. I confessed to a fear of heights, and was told it’s not the heights I’m afraid of, but rather the falling. I’d have to agree wholeheartedly with that. Regardless, I embraced the new challenge as best I could and made it up the tower without really looking down. We took some amazing yoga shots at the summit; during my dancer pose, the Athleta team fretted about my balance since I was close to a nasty drop-off or two. That however paled in comparison to the biggest challenge yet - getting DOWN. Who would have thought that would be the hardest part? My fear of falling kicked in full throttle, despite the security of experienced guides and good equipment. I just couldn’t do it. So, I ended up being the last one down, practically carried by one of the guides, just short of a panic attack and eyes closed most of the way.

On shaky legs and with tears streaming down my face, I arrived on solid ground to cheers and high-fives. Why was everyone cheering my failure? My relief had turned to anger at myself for being the only one who couldn’t do the descent, but I quickly rearranged my thought process. Despite all the drama, I realized I was actually proud of myself for not letting my fear prevent me from having this new experience. Sure, it didn’t go exactly how I would have liked, but in the end I made it. I had this unbelievable, transformative experience to add to my repertoire. I joked all evening that I wouldn’t be attempting rock-climbing again anytime soon - but as I had more time to reflect on this experience, I realized that maybe facing my fear could be a worthwhile area to explore. And there is a climbing gym right next to my husband’s office...which might be a bit easier place to face fear than “the tower”!

The last of my recent challenges involved posing for yoga pictures. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But out of the context of the flow of practice, and outside in some pretty cool (ok, downright cold) temperatures, it was a challenge for both body and mind. Again, I found pranayama to be very helpful; it works to calm the nerves and build some internal heat. I was reminded that yogic breathing is not just for yoga practice - it’s worth a try in almost any challenging situation.

Pranayama, or yogic breathing, includes many different techniques. We all know we should take a deep breath when we feel stressed, but typically it takes more than just one to have an effect. Increasing awareness of our breath can help condition the body to respond to stress with deeper breathing. The following simple pranayama exercise brings full attention to the length of your inhale and exhale, and allows you to focus on slow, rhythmic breathing.

HOW: sit comfortably for pranayama (but truly you can do this anytime, anywhere). Give yourself a slow count of 4 for each inhale and exhale; count up to 4 on the inhale, and count down from 4 on the exhale. Don’t worry if you’re not exactly on count, just use it as a general guide.

• On the inhale: focus on filling up and expanding both your chest and your belly. Don’t exaggerate or force this, but notice the feeling of fullness.
• On the exhale: focus on drawing your belly button in towards your spine, and pushing stale air and negative energy out of the body.

HEALTH TIP - from my new fave book, Secrets of Longevity: Hundreds of Ways to live to be 100:

Breathe Away Toxins
Breathing, our first independent activity when we are born, is soon taken for granted as an automatic function. However, due to habits developed in response to illness, emotional trauma, and other experiences, many people do not breathe properly. It has been estimated that we eliminate only about 30% of the toxins in our bodies through defecation and urination - the rest are purged through the respiratory system. In other words, if you don’t breathe correctly, you are accumulating toxins and wastes in your body. Practice deep, slow, rhythmic, diaphragmatic breathing daily, and you will reap the rewards of better energy, improved skin complexion, clearer mind, and elevated moods. Mind-body disciplines such as...yoga...and meditation all incorporate breath work into their routines.