Exhilarating climb, earth-shaking yoga

I invited a former yoga classmate from UP to practice at Yoga Manila, the second from that group to join me already. I have been proud to have Sasheen over at the Makati shala, this time around I had the amazing Allen Enrique: hardcore mountain climber and yoga overachiever. This small-framed but powerful 26 year-old can complete the primary series and is well on her way to learning the full second series. She can already do some intermediate poses and is now on the trail for a mentor. Lyn and I suggested that she learns the series under yoga trailblazer Hoze Arando and the next thing I knew she had signed up for 10 classes at Yoga Manila. She really doesn’t waste much time. Yey Allen, I’ll be seeing you around YM more often!

Allen says yoga is ideal cross-training for indoor/outdoor climbing. Yoga promotes flexibility, bandha control, awareness of the breath and stillness of the mind which are also required in climbing--especially in extreme outdoor situations. Pulse Yoga visiting instructor Amy Cheung has scaled the walls at Silver City where Allen is a climbing instructor and coach. Last weekend it was our turn for an intro climb. Allen was our belayer providing slack and tension as we made our ascent of... the beginner’s wall. Lyn made it through the second wall, which was gradually inclined, while I was really enjoying traversing all the walls without any ropes but of course at a very safe height. At this point, Allen demonstrated yoga applications in wall or mountain climbing.

Observe Allen in a modified warrior pose:

And here’s Lyn just getting a high at one of the steeper walls.

I must say that yoga does seem to prep the body for climbing. All the Chaturangas in the primary series really gave us the strength to pull our weight up the walls. The flexibility we’ve developed in yoga also helped us stretch and reach our limbs out for those tiny faraway rocks.

I expected the climb to drain me of all energy but doing a Led class with Allen the following morning turned out to be truly exhilarating! With Allen beside me, I paid greater attention to my breathing, form and alignment beginning with the Sun Salutations all the way to the seated poses and finishing sequence. But our practice was interrupted by a couple of mild earthquakes which struck first while we were balancing in Bhujapidasana and once again, of all times, during the headstands which sent me crashing down the floor after only 8 breaths. We didn’t let the tremors completely shake our practice though. YM instructor Maritoni Tordesillas even let out a wide smile as we watched Allen drop back to Urdhva Dhanurasana or the Wheel and stand up from it (a milestone for practitioners who are ready to progress to the intermediate series). Now that for me, was one earth-shaking practice!