7 Yogic Principles For Rock Climbing

I’m a “yes” girl, it’s how I ended up backpacking around the world for nearly a decade.

It’s also how I ended up on a week-long desert trip in the Red Rocks—rock climbing capital of the south—despite not having much experience rock climbing.

And it’s exactly how I ended up on the side of a very tall rock with only a two inch gap to cling onto. I was safely hanging in a harness, but my brain did not know that. And so my body hung on for dear life while my feet uselessly padded the crack, looking for a foothold.

A few minutes of this and the thought of doing this up the entire length of the wall did my head in. Finally, tears betrayed me and started flowing out of my eyes.

I demanded to be lowered and declared, “I hate this!” before stomping over to a perch where I could cry and pout.

I can’t say I’m proud of the moment and, in retrospect, my boyfriend thinks it was cute. The gorgeous views of the canyon and a loving partner’s grace for sure made this a very safe and pleasant external experience during this moment.

Internally, I was on fire. And a certain menstrual phase was making it harder to cut through the smoke.

My boyfriend sat next to me and tentatively patted my knee.

”Frustration is a part of it,” he quietly offered. “You have to learn to be comfortable with being frustrated.” Then he stood up and walked away, giving me space to wrap my head around that reality.

He was right. And thank god I heard him.

Flashbacks from my recent Somatic Yoga workshop surfaced—where we explored how the body holds stress and ways to release it for clarity and stability. Exactly what I needed in that moment.

I was already crying, so that was a good start.

Here are some yogic exercises and principles that helped me crawl out of that little tantrum and back onto the crack.

1. Pranayama

Pranayama, or breathing exercises, was my very first step. I noticed that my breathing was shallow and caught in my chest, as if the air itself was pushing the tears out of my eyes. I took a deep breath, as deep as I could, and slowly exhaled. I did this over and over until the tightness in my chest subsided. 

Finally, I could hear my own thoughts from my higher Self, the Self that sees the bigger picture. Not the little self that is caught in the weeds of this magical and chaotic little life.

2. Pratyahara

Pratyahara, or sense withdrawal, was the next step. I felt scattered, like every part of me might float away in opposite directions and I didn’t know which part to hold onto. So I closed my eyes, continued my deep breathing, and let the quiet sounds of the gentle breeze blowing through the canyon lull me into a calm state.

3. Asteya 

Asteya means to abstain from taking what is not yours. In that moment, I was taking my boyfriend’s time and energy away from him. Just like me, he had taken time off from work to play in Red Rocks for a week. And here I was, sucking up the day with my emotional outburst. I couldn’t help but rub off on him, which seemed colossally unfair.  

While I can give myself grace for having an emotional experience in that moment, I didn’t want it to interfere with our fun. Slowly, slowly, with each deep breath, I reigned in my outburst, collecting the little fragments I had scattered everywhere, and gently put them back together.

4. Aparigraha 

Aparigraha, non-possessiveness or non-attachment, was the next principle I grabbed onto. Most of my frustration in life comes down to wanting something that simply cannot exist, to being attached to an outcome. In that moment, I wanted rock climbing to be effortless. I wanted to be good at it. But that simply could not be because, well, I am decidedly not good at it and it requires a tremendous amount of effort. And as my boyfriend pointed out, that’s a part of it.

In fact, it kinda seems like most rock climbers even like that aspect of it. They love the challenge and love overcoming something that seems out of reach. 

Surprisingly, this was an easy one for me to let go of. I am a beginner climber. I am not good. That is expected and okay. That is also what made it absolutely thrilling to finally complete my first route days later in Pipestone, just outside of Butte.

5. Santosha 

The yogic principle of being content, or Santosha, was the next reality check for me. The way I understand Yoga philosophy, we are all just in one big cosmic play. We are randomly assigned characters and then sent onto the stage to see what it’s like to be that character. As if in a video game, life events, trauma, and emotions will come at you and you will need to learn how to dodge them or work with them. If you treat life like a game, then this can actually be a lot of fun.

Spilled your coffee this morning? Haha no worries you silly little goose, let’s clean that up.

Someone was rude to you? Uh oh, looks like others are having big feelings today so let’s side step that little obstacle.

You lost your job? Well shoot, I guess we have another side quest to do real quick before I get back to my forward momentum.

Can’t get up that wall? Well that’s interesting, I guess I have some techniques to learn.

Santosha is more easily achieved when you also practice Aparigraha, or non-attachment. Perched on my rock, I became content to try again.

6. Tapas 

Tapas means discipline. Yoga is not all love and peace, it also teaches us to put in the work. The hard work that we don’t want to do. Why? Because it is necessary.

I say I want to be good at rock climbing, so I need to necessarily do what is required to become good at it. That means swallowing my ego, being comfortable with frustration, and trying again even if it means I fail (again, non-attachment to the outcome). Just try. Do the work. That is all.

7. Ishvarapranidhana

Ishvarapranidhana means to surrender to the Divine. This can be applied to a moment as well as to an entire lifetime. Bringing back the concept of life being one big cosmic play, I am simply a character in this world and while I do not understand why this is the character I have been assigned, I can accept it with an open heart. I can do the work (tapas), be content with the outcome (Santosha), and not interfere with anyone else’s contentment in the process (asteya).

I indeed made it back onto the wall and climbed further than I thought I could, though not to the top that day. We finished the day with sun-kissed faces and a cold beer. In another lifetime, an emotional outburst like that might have shamed me into silence for the rest of the day. On that day, Yoga helped me jump back into the cosmic game of life with a heart full of joy.