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There are only two ways to get stronger as a climber: training and resting.
With ready access to gyms, crags, and boulders, it’s easy to train but it’s also easy to overtrain. You get psyched, don’t rest enough, and get hurt. No matter how much you climb, you just can’t seem to get better. Or you have a nagging injury. Or you can’t concentrate and flub beta. Or you’re just plain scared. If this is you, then it may be you don’t need to change what you’re doing. It could be you need stop doing and learn how to rest and recover.
The yoga pose I’ve outlined below is called Savasana, or Corpse Pose. If you practice the posture for five minutes every day for a few weeks, you will see changes in your climbing. You’ll boost your recovery between training sessions and get it back more efficiently on the fly, be able to turn off your busy mind and focus, and perhaps even receive a fortune from a lost aunt in Nigeria.
Don’t believe that this resting exercise will improve your climbing and change your life in only five minutes a day? Try it for one month and get back to me. But it’s gonna work.
And here’s why. Scientific studies on the effects of Savasana and other similar meditations have shown that regular practice calms the mind, relieves stress, cures mild depression, relaxes the body, reduces the occurrence of headaches, relieves fatigue and insomnia, lowers blood pressure, supports your immune system, regulates your adrenal glands, lowers breathing and heart rates, and improves coordination, reaction time, memory, and even IQ scores.
Millions of people worldwide have been doing Savasana for thousands of years just because it feels so damn good. The anecdotal evidence of its efficacy is overwhelming. For climbers, the physical and mental benefits of focused resting and meditation should be obvious.
Debilitating stress is rampant in today’s fast-paced world. Savasana is not a miracle cure but it can help revitalize the nervous system and improve your capacity for dealing with life’s many challenges and stressors. It will also improve your climbing.
How to Practice Savasana
For many people, it’s freaky to lie down and be still like this, even for five minutes. Our minds are so overstimulated and busy and stressed that they rebel at shutting off. You might feel anxious at first in Savasana. But after a few sessions, you’ll get used to it. Your mind will inevitably wander away from the practice of deep resting and you’ll find yourself thinking about work, sex, food, climbing—not necessarily in that order.
The principal challenge of Savasana is noticing that you’re thinking. It’s actually a very good thing if you notice when your mind has wandered because most people will lie there for five minutes and just daydream. Daydreaming is not Savasana and it won’t help your climbing. So when you notice that you’re thinking, simply return to letting go, dropping, relaxing, over and over again. Don’t judge yourself for thinking. Noticing and returning to Savasana is actually the tofu and potatoes of the practice.
When you believe you’ve completely surrendered and are resting as deeply as you can, go deeper. Don’t stop letting go until you become like a dry leaf resting on the surface of a trail.
Record Some Cues
Get out your smart phone and make a recording of yourself reading the below:
Relax your feet and hands. Drop and let go of any tension in your arms and legs. Let your arms and legs be heavy. Relax your hips. Let go of any holding and tension in the muscles that parallel the spine. Relax your belly. Let your internal organs become liquid and pool in the abdomen. Let your chest broaden and relax your heart. Relax your throat and all the organs of speech—your jaw, your lips, your tongue, even your teeth and gums. Relax the back of your neck. Melt the scalp across the crown of your head, down the sides of the skull. Let the skin of your forehead drop toward the chin and allow your brain to relax. With your body settled, heavy and completely relaxed, also rest your mind. Take a break from remembering, planning, dreaming—and rest in the present moment.
Find Your Savasana
Begin by sitting on the floor with your legs bent. Lean back on your elbows and roll down. Extend your legs one at a time. Let your feet fall out to the sides farther apart than hip-width. Let your arms rest on the floor angled slightly out from the body. Hands rest palm up.
If at times you want to deepen your experience of Savasana, try using props:
- Bind the eyes: Take an ACE bandage and drape it over your eyes. The next best thing is to use an eye pillow.
- Stay warm: Your body temperature will drop in Savasana. If you’re not dressed warmly, you won’t be able to fully let go and relax. Prepare by putting on a jacket or even draping a blanket or sleeping bag across your legs and torso.
- Practice for longer: Do Savasana for 10 minutes and double the efficacy. Longer is better but remember, you’re not doing Savasana if you’re snoring. You might be taking a nice nap, however, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Listen to Your Recording
Don’t just listen to your voice reading the words. Try to do what you’re telling yourself to do and don’t get hung up on the fact that some of the things you’re asking of yourself are impossible. Can you really melt your scalp down the sides of your skull or rest your heart muscle? I don’t think so. But trying to follow these instructions will facilitate changes in your autonomic systems that result in deep relaxation.
Slowly Come Out
Roll to your right side. Rest with your head on the floor for a couple of breaths. Open your eyes. Come to a seated position. Let your head hang forward.
Bring It to the Crag
Regular practice of Savasana will help you develop the ability to notice and instantly drop tension. Any rest—even a shake or out breath—can be Savasana.
