Mindful Ascent: Where Climbing Meets Meditation
‘Climbing is meditation for me’ — how the sport is helping people to overcome the challenges of mental health
Climbing is the new meditation, it seems. A climbing park in Gloucestershire recently reported an increasing number of people who are turning to the sport to help manage their mental wellbeing, cultivate a healthy mindset and deal with life’s stresses. It’s also a great way to get fit.
Climbers at 270 Climbing Park (270climbing.com) have described a huge positive impact on their mental wellbeing, helping them to combat a range of health challenges, including post-natal depression, menopause, and work-related stress.
Now the fourth most popular participation sport in the UK for over 16s, climbing releases ‘feel-good’ endorphins, reducing stress hormones like cortisol, and improving mood.
“I felt an improvement in my wellbeing from my very first visit. I feel stronger, both physically and mentally,” said Bee Barker from Gloucester. “I have something to look forward to. When I'm climbing, my brain feels ‘safe’. My thoughts are quiet and focused. I don't get that experience anywhere else, climbing is meditation for me.”
Set on the edge of the Cotswolds, in between Cheltenham and Gloucester, 270 Climbing Park offers a range of indoor and outdoor aerial adventure activities for all ages and abilities, including one of the most comprehensive bouldering gyms in the country.
“The improvement in my mental health has been mega,” said George Hughes, from Stourbridge. “I started climbing four years ago and since then I've grown in confidence tenfold. It’s given me a purpose. After a day’s climbing, I feel calm and collected, not to mention tired!”
Holly Peristiani, from London, agreed: “Climbing has had a huge positive impact on my mental and physical wellbeing. After giving birth to my kids left me with undiagnosed post-natal depression (which then turned into general depression), I had been unknowingly searching for something that could bring me peace, if not happiness. Climbing's given me so much more than I could possibly imagine at the time I did my first session!”
David Stevens, director of 270 Climbing Park, said feedback and testimonials from members shows that climbing not only helps with physical health but mental wellbeing too, describing it as ‘part gym, part meditation’. “It’s brilliant to see the change in people after they’ve been coming for a few weeks in terms of confidence and self-belief.”
Anny James, from Pershore, said the benefits had played a part in the journey through menopause. “Menopause has been hard both physically and mentally. I used to run ultras (albeit quite slow!), and found that running on the trails helped me destress and get away from it all. The physical changes to my body through menopause meant I had to stop running long distances. I have found that climbing fits in with what my body can do physically, and also gives me a similar sense of wellbeing that running did. I think feeling a bit ‘badass’ helps my mental health. Being on the wall with nothing else to think about but how to get to the top.”
Another 270 Climbing Park member, who preferred to remain anonymous, said: “Before my current role, I worked in a high-risk job, and I would always feel on edge and stressed; climbing has allowed me to channel that stress into something new. I use climbing in a mindful way, so I really focus on the movement, the textures of the holds — I imagine that a piece of stress from the day or a negative thought is left on the hold as I go up.”
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