As climbers, we are obsessed with getting stronger in an effort to improve our performance outdoors.  While this will always be the goal, it puts a lot of strain on our bodies and can quickly lead to injury if we aren’t careful.  Not matter how strong you are or how long you have been climbing, you cannot always push 100% and not end up completely broken and sidelined by injury.  This is exactly where yoga and other forms of injury prevention work come in.

To help you use yoga as an effective form of injury prevention for climbing, here’s an article by Cristina Lizarazo of Conquer the Crux in which she outlines five must do yoga poses that aren’t designed to directly make us stronger at climbing, but work at balancing out some of the damage hard climbing and training can inflict on our bodies.

“Yoga really provides the perfect balance to climbing. While climbing creates and requires a lot of tension and strength, yoga balances that out by dissolving tension, promoting length, and developing overall body strength, which helps to minimize any muscular imbalances that can commonly occur in a climbers body.” – Cristina Lizarazo

5 Yoga Poses Climbers Should be Doing:

When it comes to using yoga for climbing, there are a seemingly infinite number of poses to choose from.  The five poses Cristina outlines here aren’t meant to directly make you stronger.  Instead, they are meant to be used as a form of injury prevention by promoting length and dissolving tension.  Here are the 5 poses she recommends:

1. Garudanasa (Eagle Pose)
2. Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose)
3. Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose)
4. Toe Squat with Chest Opener
5. Plank Pose with Protractions and Retractions

With all of these poses, Cristina explains exactly why these particular poses are important for a climber and how they work as a form of injury prevention.  Additionally, she provides pictures and explains different pose variations to make these poses easy to add into your yoga practice or into your injury prevention routine.

Finally, remember that while injury prevention exercises like these poses may not directly help you reach the next grade, they may be the difference between you continuing to be able to train and ending up injured and unable to climb at all.  The number one rule in training is don’t get injured!

Full Article: 5 Must Do Yoga Poses for Climbers

(photo courtesy of conquerthecrux.com)

Other Articles You Might Like:

• TBP 069 :: Jess Simmons on the Benefits of Yoga for Climbers
• 4 Yoga Poses to Prevent Shoulder Injuries for Climbers
• Effective Rotator Cuff Exercises
• Sport-Specific Flexibility with Alli Rainey