Visualization and Climbing

[rhyang]

A week or two ago I was in one of those places between awakeness and sleep, and imagined myself ice climbing, the way I was climbing before I got hurt two years ago. It felt smooth and controlled, the way it used to be. It was a strange feeling to wake up and realize, "that was then and this is now."

I mentioned it to a friend who is a physical therapist and she described it as maybe some kind of subconscious attempt at visualization (sorry if I am butchering your words Laura ) I have heard this term before, but know basically nothing about it .. apparently it's a technique used often in other sports, and I guess climbing too. For example, she mentioned gymnastics.

Any good books on the subject as it related to climbing ? Any personal success stories ? (hi Kris )

(yes, I know retraining my body is going to require lots of mileage .. no shortcuts )

[The Chief]

Dale Goddard's book, "Performance Rock Climbing",


And

Arno Ilgner's " Rock Warrior's Way"



Are all about that stuff, Rob.

[bird]

http://www.thebodyhasamindofitsown.com/
Heard interesting discussion with the author on NPR. Might be worth a look.

[RayMondo]

rhyang. That's very interesting. I expect that most of us have experienced that mid-waking state. It can be a great zone to be in. Sometimes you can float in it for quite some time, you get a mergence of great subconscious power come out into the conscious. There's a whole lot that goes on in the subconscious when we are asleep, and some of the greatest artists, composers and innovators tap into it. Sleep, in relation to the mind, serves the purpose of filing and organising our thoughts and embeds the patterns that we create when awake. In as much we are what we eat, we are more - what we think. For that experience, you should believe in it, and realise that you were seeing yourself, not as you were, but how you want to be. It means that you have now overcome any old fears or are on the road to doing so.

In dream, if one is experiencing running yet being held back, or have a bungee cord pulling you - etc, this is a manifestation of trying to escape from something that troubles them. Eventually, one can break it - either the dream or the real-life situation which go hand-in-hand.

Outside of sleep, visualisation is a powerful tool used in numerous therapies, and as you say, sports (referred to as "motor imagery" in the link above). I've used it and still do. This visualisation enables me to create and reinforce physical actions that I use in sport for a particular shot that I'm trying to learn. Though it all boils down to one thing - keep thinking the same thoughts - bad or good, and you will go in that direction.

To create and embed the things you want to achieve, start with a daily 5 mins relax in a noise-free place. Call it meditation - where you do not try to suppress thoughts, just let all the junk come out, then the mind will settle. Then in that state do the visualising. What will happen is that in any situation of tranquillity, the association will emerge and it will become a regular thought pattern, so any negativity will be gone. It's really just programming. And the body's physical state will follow. I am in the process of retraining both my mind and body, though do not treat them as separate. I intend to re-engage in a competitive sport, where I twice entered the "Zone", I ran on autopilot. Such a tremendous experience.
http://fasthing.blogspot.com/2008/08/fastest-badminton-smash.html

The one phrase that I threw out of my life is - used to be. There is only "going to be" and "I am".

[rhyang]

[bird]

[F_Rhoderick]

Twight touches on it in Extreme Alpinism.

[ShortTimer]

When I was learning to snow ski, every fall I would be better than I was at the end of the previous spring. My mind and body had time to process what it had learned and I had time to visualize how I wanted to ski and kept coming closer to that as each summer passed.

[RayMondo]

[CClaude]

[The Chief]

Great point CC and Shorty.

Dale Goddard speaks of this "Rest Break" in depth in Chapt 6 of his great book.

He even shares in terms of "year/s" with absolutely no mental or physical activity with the discipline/activity in question. This allows for a complete filtering out of noise within the engram tool box. Then returning to find oneself stronger and more precise, engram specific wise.

Very interesting concept that I have found actually works.

[RayMondo]

[ksolem]

I hope you guys are right about this "rest break" thing. That means in another month or so I am going to be one hell of a climber.

For me visualization works in at least two different ways.

There is the sort of pre-programming, or planning ahead visualization like what Rob is describing. Mental preparation, in a sense. For climbing I might engage in this to rehearse a sequence of moves or just to get into the flow, to make myself aware of what I will need to do when I get there.

Visualization also can be powerful right in the moment when you are in action as well. In the moment, you see the movement in your minds eye and the body follows. This connection of mind and body while moving is essential for dancers and athletes who need to develop very high quality movement.

Exercise techniques such as advanced Pilates, Feldenkrais, martial arts, etc., which involve learning choreography and very specific moves while training are good for developing this aspect of visualization.

[Guyzo]

[JHH60]

I've found visualization to be useful in overcoming mental blocks, particularly nagging fear, when doing something that was stressful and dangerous and/or involved serious ego threat, but that also required mental focus and avoidance of fear or distraction to do successfully. Each time it has been very helpful in maintaining focus and reducing fear.

The first time I tried this was on the deepest and most dangerous wreck dive I had done up to that time (my first dive on the wreck of the Andrea Doria) but I also used it successfully when I was nervous about running my first marathon, in a difficult but important certification class where I wasn't sure I would pass, and on big committing climbs.