climbing

[Guest guest]

I used to climb, and a couple of other people

here who have mentioned that they do too. <br><br>I

actually took up yoga after I had given up climbing - for

reasons which I'm sure were more to do with the nature of

me than the nature of climbing, and which I talked

about here a while ago (message #809). <br><br>Now that

I'm leaving near the Alps, I am feeling the old urge

again and I might well go out and tootle up the odd

thing this summer. Don't think I'd be interested if I

lived in London though, there's just no decent rock

anywhere within hours of the place. Plastic blobs bolted

to gym walls are useful training but they're nothing

like the experience of the real thing. (No yoga

analogy intended, except that ashtanga clearly = "the

real thing")

[Guest guest]

Hey Alan<br><br>Just perused 809. Damn! i was

relying on locating that control version of myself just

to see exactly how detrimental that ill advised

viewing of star wars: teh phantom menace was. . .

<br><br>climbing - what i think i see is a calmness and elegance

of effort that i associate with yoga. in fact

elegance is the key word. as i understand from my

scientist friend, elegance is used to describe a perfectly

balanced system working at optimum (then again 'aint no

job too dirty for a fukking scientist' to paraphrase

william burroughs. . .sorry folks, couldn't resit that

quote, and the world would be rubbish without scientists

and no mistake). its a perfect moment where ones

intellect becomes a servant of ones intuition, where there

is no thinking, just doing. watching a guy on the

wall the other day i swear he fell up the climb! now

this is the purpose of yoga surely, where are bodies

move without thought, our minds left free to

contemplate the ineffable (i should really make an effort to

pick up some sanskrit dont ya think). <br><br>im

having a bit of a thinking day today. heres another post

where im not really sure what it is im trying to say

but i suspect the kernel of what im saying will lead

me to a greater comprehension. climbing does seem a

bit silly next to ashtanga but its fun and it seems

to offers some interesting elliptical takes on what

chat we have here.<br><br>one thing: ashtanga does

bugger all for your forearms, mine hurt like jimminey. .

.. <br><br>boy there ought to be summat on telly of

a sunday nite. . .