Climbing Your Way to Better Mental Health: Moving Meditation

Any movement or exercise is beneficial in maintaining good mental health. I thought I would look at something a little different - indoor climbing - an activity that can offer mental, physical and social benefits. To find out more I spoke with Dave Mac Leod, an instructor at Awesome Walls Dublin.

Dave explains that climbing has no barriers in terms of age, gender fitness level or physical ability. You can start at age 6 or 60 and you can keep climbing forever. People tend to peak in climbing a lot later than most sports as tendon and muscle strength peak in older age. Climbing works out your brain. Each climbing route is like a puzzle, requiring patience, planning and analysis to complete. Beginners will typically work out their ascent as they go up, but with experience, they learn to visualise their climb and spot tricky sections before reaching for their first hold. As the routes are designed to get your brain working it will flex your problem-solving skills for the level that you are on. This means that each time you climb, the brain will create new pathways, new ways of thinking and assessing- which could also initiate the potential of opening up your perspective and applying this to other areas of your life.

Climbing strengthens the mind-body connection.We are mostly ‘top-down processors’ – meaning that our brain communicates to our body and the body then acts out the feeling, behaviour and body language associated with that thought. For example, if you are regularly having anxious or depressed thoughts your body often takes on a more collapsed posture.

Climbing gives a wonderful opportunity to practice ‘bottom-up processing’ as, while climbing, your body is often in an open and wide position. This is a powerful body position. By continuously changing your posture and body movements you are re-engaging the brain and sending signals from the body back up to the brain that is confident and powerful.

Climbing offers a great social outlet. It is a very supportive and friendly environment with people helping and learning from each other. Awesome Walls, for example, has a parents group where parents can bring their children for a climb and also have tea together with other parents.

Climbing offers an opportunity to develop trust in yourself and others. Learning to trust is essential as you will often work in pairs- with one person climbing while the other person is working the belay. Belaying is the technique for holding the climbing rope for a climber so that they are safe if they fall. Learning something new can help boost your confidence and self-esteem. People often surprise themselves when they first start climbing and feel a wonderful sense of achievement and agency.

Climbing offers a great way to tap into your resourcefulness as you overcome challenges, trying different holds, routes or body positioning. It gives you the opportunity to see what works for you and to adjust your approach according to how you think and move. For example, one person might use a reach to overcome something, another might use a hold, and another might use momentum or sheer doggedness. It is a great way to tap into your creativity and unique problem-solving skills.

What if you are nervous or afraid of heights? You can still be nervous and learn to climb - having and managing that fear is what keeps you safe. You can work your way up slowly, building new skills takes time and each level has its own challenges and rewards. It’s good to let go of the fear and self-judgment of making mistakes is a part of any learning process and actually leads to improvement.

Dave advises that when you feel nervous to try to relax with your breath. Breathing helps to get you out of the anxiety loop in your mind and back into your body. In this sense, climbing is a great way to practice mindfulness. It requires you to be completely in the moment and focused on the task at hand. As it demands both body awareness and problem-solving, your mind is clear of all other thoughts.

Climbing offers a great way to push your mental comfort zones at your own pace. It requires you to break down the problem/route into small sections and to focus on what’s directly ahead of you.