Hey everyone,

We want to start sharing more resources and tools to everyone in our community to stay healthy and strong, as well as engaged and motivated. We’d like to introduce you to Kristen Penhall, who offers seated restorative yoga as well as chair yoga, via Zoom.

We have partnered with her, as yoga in any form is a perfect cross training activity for climbing, and vice-versa. We hope that you’ll check out her social media and her website to learn more about her classes, and that you’ll sign up. We hope to continue this relationship, and that our community will benefit from it socially, cognitivitely, spiritually, and physically, and as better climbers.

Please check out a little intro below, to learn a bit more about Kristen, and please share with anyone who you think would be keen to get involved. This is open to everyone across Canada, not just our crew in BC.

http://www.naturallygoodvibes.com/yoga.html

Hi everyone!

My name is Kristen Penhall, and I’m a climber, farmer and yoga teacher. I’m sure I’m not alone in missing the community and freedom of climbing in a gym, or outside. Covid has been a time of isolation on a new level, and it can be difficult to really connect with others and our bodies when there’s an undertone of uncertainty.

I have found my yoga practice to be essential for my mental health, as well as physical, in particular since Covid started. Every week I have been teaching adapted yoga for people living with MS over Zoom, and it has been a real joy to ‘see’ them every week.

It’s not your typical Zoom meeting as you’re finding movement and community. Yoga has helped my climbing and athletic abilities by allowing me to feel places that are restrictive and finding releases there. It also isolates smaller muscles in a similar way to climbing as the movements aren’t ones we typically make throughout our day.

I hope that you’ll join either my adaptive floor restorative, or my adapted chair yoga class. These classes will be slower paced, with lots of modifications so you can choose what works best for your body. During these times of palpable stress, slow movement assures the nervous system that it’s okay to relax, which can be beneficial for our overall health. Hope to ‘see you’ there!

The seated restorative is Wednesdays 1-2 PM PST May 5-June 9, and the chair yoga is Thursdays 5-6 PM PST May 6-June 10.