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September 14, 2010

Sharma-yoga?

From Kundala to Kundalini!

Climbing's Guru Chris Sharma

Anyone remotely acquainted with the world of rock climbing knows of Chris Sharma.  With the utterance of his name, come to mind small holds, big grades, and the leonine growls from which he seems to derive his superhuman powers.  Since age 14, he’s been the sport’s most prolific figure, eclipsing all of his competitors with apparent ease.  Without any sort of training regimen, Sharma seems innately prodigious.  However, perhaps not everything comes naturally to climbing’s wunderkind…

Sharma putting up 'Iron Resolution' in Joshua Tree (Photo: Boone Speed)

Recently, Sharma was asked by his sponsor prAna to attend the Wanderlust Yoga Festival in Squaw Valley, Ca.  To those of us with a conventional understanding of Climbing and Yoga’s symbiotic nature, this seemed like an apt translation.  In a practice which necessitates balance, breathing, brawn, Chris seemed primed with requisite skills.  His comedic endeavors, instead, showed him to be anything but…

So, maybe, Sharma isn’t quite the yogi we had imagined him to be.  If anything, it’s all the more inspiring.  To struggle is to learn and to learn is to progress.  If climbing and yoga really are complementary, then this is paradigmatic that even at the highest levels of achievement, there remains the capacity for improvement.

Thanks to ClimbingNarc for the video.

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