Nicole Tsong - Yoga for Climbers: Stretch, Strengthen, and Climb Higher

YOGA CLIMBERS

YOGA CLIMBERS

TO MY SISTER, INGRID

Mountaineers Books is the publishing division of The Mountaineers, an organization founded in 1906 and dedicated to the exploration, preservation, and enjoyment of outdoor and wilderness areas.

1001 SW Klickitat Way, Suite 201 Seattle, WA 98134 800.553.4453 www.mountaineersbooks.org

Copyright 2016 by Nicole Tsong

Photos copyright 2016 by Erika Schultz

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Printed in China

Distributed in the United Kingdom by Cordee, www.cordee.co.uk

First edition, 2016

Copy editor: Nancy Waddell Cortelyou, Saffron Writes

Design: Heidi Smets Graphic Design

Layout: Jennifer Shontz, www.redshoedesign.com

Illustrator: Anna-Lisa Notter, www.annalisanotter.com

Cover photograph: Bouldering

Frontispiece: Focused on the next move

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Tsong, Nicole, author. | Schultz, Erika, photographer.

Title: Yoga for climbers : how to stretch, strengthen, and climb higher / Nicole Tsong ; photography by Erika Schultz.

Description: Seattle, WA : Mountaineers Books, [2016] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015041155 | ISBN 9781594859953 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Hatha yoga. | Mountaineering. | Endurance sportsTraining. | Exercise.

Classification: LCC RC1220.Y64 T75 2016 | DDC 613.7/046dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015041155

Mountaineers Books titles may be purchased for corporate, educational, or other promotional sales, and our authors are available for a wide range of events. For information on special discounts or booking an author, contact our customer service at 800-553-4453 or .

ISBN (paperback): 978-1-59485-995-3

ISBN (ebook): 978-1-59485-996-0

WRITING A BOOK IS a tremendous adventure, and there are many people and communities whose generosity of spirit and big love helped me arrive here.

To my parents, Joanna and Peter, thank you for your unwavering love and support. To my sister Ingrid, thank you for your love, early edits, and patient listening.

To my teacher Baron Baptiste, thank you for a methodology that is my teaching source. To the bright light Susanne Conrad, thank you for teaching me to hear and embrace why I am on the planet, and for sharing igolu with the world.

To Michel Spruance, thank you for early rounds of feedback, for modeling, and for your faith in me. To Tina Templeman, thank you for your enthusiasm and support at all levels of the project, from photo shoots to anatomy.

To the models in these pagesNatalie Wieder, Sam Young, Mercedes Pollmeier, Taylor Moravec, G. Webster Ross IV, Tina Templeman, Brian Charlton, Austin Carrillo, Paul Javid, Genevieve Alvarez, and Peter and Michel Spruanceyour athleticism, can-do spirit, and playfulness are an inspiration. To Gaylinyet Roberts, thank you for illuminating our inner beauty.

To my Be Luminous Yoga, Shakti Vinyasa Yoga, igolu, Lululemon Pacific Place, and Baptiste communitiesthank you for being the best.

To the staff at Mountaineers Books, thank you for your partnership and vision. To the climbers and experts who embraced this book, thank you for contributing your wisdom. To the staff at Pacific Northwest magazine at the Seattle Timesthank you for Fit for Life.

To Erika Schultz, thank you for capturing our vision so beautifully.

To my favorite hiking and bouldering partner, Chris, thank you for being hilarious and direct, for holding me to my best self, and for your love.

I STARTED CLIMBING AFTER I started teaching yoga. Despite my best intentions, some days my yoga training flitted away while I was on a wall. The circumstances varied, but those lapses typically involved moments when I was facing a move just beyond my skill level, or my fingers and forearms were screaming. Suddenly, Id remember Im high up. My heart thudded louder and faster. I reached for chalk for newly sweating palms. I panted a bit and wondered if it was time to call take and wait for my belayer to lower me.

Fortunately, feeling panicky didnt last forever. At some point, I remembered to pause. I composed myself: I found a comfortable stance, I loosened my death grip on the holds, and I shook out my arms. I took a deep breath in, exhaled all the way outand looked again at the problem in front of me. Id usually notice a tiny hold Id missed earlier. Or realize if I turned my hips and changed the position of my feet, I could get to the next move. Or Id finally hear my belayer calling out a brilliant suggestion from below. Whichever way it went, Id make my move and climb on.

People often say climbing is like yoga, only higher up. Climbers understand on an intimate level the need to stay focused and present. If they dont, they make mistakes. As a climber, you know the extraordinary mental focus it takes to hang on to a tiny crimp, and with grace and concentration, move through the challenging crux of a tough route. You know the commitment and faith required to tackleand senda next-level climb. Youve witnessed your own transformation, climbing harder than you ever thought possible, and youve been inspired by others when they have done it too. Focus has taken root in your bones and tissue, with the lessons gained from route after route now embedded in your fingertips and feet.

In yoga, I have questioned my own physical strengthand experienced what it was like to break through. When I first started to practice, I had moved from Anchorage, Alaska, to Seattle. It was summer, and I chose yoga to cope with the new obstacles of traffic and living at a latitude where the sun faded away at 9 p.m. rather than at midnight. I hoped yoga would strengthen my shoulders. I figured I could work on my core, an eternally weak area.

I dove headfirst into a heated power flow practice; I had never sweated so much in my life. I loved feeling my legs burn while holding poses, even as I mentally begged the teacher to let us release out of the pose. I adored the little snooze I snuck in during the final rest at the end of each class. I was sore for days after. Each time, I felt rinsed out, and I had let go of stress from work. I was exhausted in the best way.

Back then, I would give myself a day or two to recover, and return to my mat. One teacher said if your heart rate was up, it was proof you were building cardiovascular strength. Her arms were ripped, and she only did yoga. I wanted to believe her claim. But as much as I loved yoga, I didnt believe it could turn an active twenty-something into an athlete.