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If you're a climber or a human who overtrains, overworks, and gets stressed at the mere idea of resting - this episode with Bunny Love- Schock is for you. 

Our conversation draws attention to the following and more:
- Microdrills and techniques to get you more comfortable with resting |
- Exploring shame around resting despite its importance for performance
- A grounding exercise using the skin on our fingers (say what?!) to use during climbing sessions and other stimulating or stressful environments 
- How to use your attention to place yourself gently in states of rest 
- A wee pinch of vagus nerve-based stress management neuroscience 

Bunny's life purpose is to help people befriend their bodies, needs and nervous systems en-route to well-rooted, grounded greatness in their craft or discipline. She is a Neurosomatic performance coach for corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, athletes and creatives. This means she harnesses neuroscientific body-based tools and principles as the foundation of success in any field involving a combination of mental and physical expertise. 

Bunny's extensive experience includes - serving as an interfaith minister, years as a professional dancer and choreographer, previous Art Director for the city of Surrey, England, and working with a broad range of clients including Adidas and The North Face within the athletic corporate sector. 

To contact Bunny, visit her website! https://loveschock.com/work-with-me

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Climbing too much. Resting too little. Under-committing to moves. "Negative mindset" in social settings around other climbers. These sound like issues that we climbers can simply "behave differently" in response to. 

But for many of us, what if these and others problems negatively impacting climbing performance and enjoyment, are rooted in unprocessed childhood experiences of abandonment, isolation, and fear - where we felt unsupported, unseen and alone? 

In this special episode, I am back with with clinical EFT practitioner and inner work coach Evan Gregor in a 1:1 childhood trauma processing live session for climbing - which inevitably, ends up having nothing to do with climbing itself. You will hear me raise genuine issues I've struggled with, and we will be pausing for Evan's commentary on how you can integrate this process for yourself - or with a practitioner. 

To work with Evan or find out more about his work as a clinical Emotional Freedom Technique practitioner and inner work coach, visit https://innerworkcoach.com/  

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We are back with clinical EFT practitioner, inner work coach and professional jazz musician Evan Gregor to dive deeper into how to "allow" fear, negative thoughts and uncomfortable sensations into the climbing (and life) experience, how to avoid shame-plateaus while doing mindset work for climbing, and how to use the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) consisting of a combination of tapping accupressure points on the body, combined with self-monologue - to facilitate a healthier relationship with our emotions for climbing and life. 

To learn more about Evan's framework for changing emotional patterns through allowing, go to his YouTube playlist: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSvtX-iGW9A&list=PLmuEhHf2HdbzeeNVMpuJqJw4jtcDmgOG0

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As climbers, we may have internalized that our fear, negative thoughts, and unpleasant emotions are "bad" or "wrong", in either explicit or subtle ways. 

This fearful reaction to our own fears most often comes from the positive intention to focus on the climb, what is "objectively true" about ourselves and the climb, and the factors we can control. 

However, fear or shame of fear itself due to "what it might mean" about us as climbers or humans - can cause us to reflexively turn away from these "negative feelings or thoughts". When we cannot pay attention to negative inner experiences, our mindsets plateau. Our capacity for the self awareness required for improving and enjoying our climbing, as well as our ability to react to fear constructively and flexibly - are limited.  

In this episode, we explore a different relationship to fear and negativity with NYC-based jazz musician, clinical EFT practitioner and inner work coach Evan Gregor, and introduce the emotional perceptive skill of "allowing" in the context of high pressure environments such as climbing, professional music performance, and more. 

To learn and experience allowing on your own, see Evan's guided meditation on YouTube: 

https://youtu.be/PD2uSFLjiII?si=_cLcOUjAgBU1P0Fq

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A big thank you to all listeners of Season 1, and welcome back! If this is your first foray into the world of Attention Climbers, welcome! 

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Can music make your ankles stronger and more mobile in the full range needed for climbing? Join me as we sing to find out It's no wonder that British Olympian and World Series gold medalist Erin "McBeast" McNiece cites training ankle proprioception as a key ingredient of her success. Who knew a few notes could deliver a climbing-imactful foot workout. 

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*ANNOUNCEMENT A/O JULY 2026** Vision Training for Climbing Mentorship! 

I have 1 opening for vision and visualisation training mentorship for climbers - targeting performance and wellbeing on-and-off the wall in a systemic way, tailored to your lifestyle learning style, and goals. Contact me via podcast mail for an exploratory call. We will dive into whether this is a right fit for you, and shape a journey together that equips you with the knowledge, skills, habits, training sessions, and resources to upgrade your nervous system technology and trigger a "cognitive revolution" in your climbing. 

N.B.! 

1. This is NOT a paid product or a service with a delivery promise. It is a personalised passion-driven journey of learning, experiencing and reflection at no monetary cost, delivered old school style in the name of personal connection. I am seeking resonance and alignment with you if something drives you from deep within to learn the priceless art of perceptual training and if you are keen to take radical, creative ownership of your own perception and performance. 

2.  You are responsible and liable for for your own mind, body, experience, learning process and results at all times, and can (and should!) at any time - stop its momentum, speak up, or ignore information - should something not feel right for you. All information I provide is invitation, not instruction. My wish is to impart the basics of what you need to steer your own boat! :D 

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All guided meditations, meditation demos and experiences, including this one, are live, improvised sessions that I record in a single "flash" go and participate in myself. Each episode emerges in a unique moment where I need a relaxed but active meditation for immediate stress reduction, AND wanted to ingrain rock-solid climbing instincts. This is where climbing performance and mind-body health - intersect. 

Designed for any climber, at any point on your journey, to listen to and follow along with anytime and anywhere you feel safe to relax and be in your body. 

Rest day? Check. 
Injured but want to still be climbing"? Check. 
Pre-climb tune-in? Check. 
Mid-session rest-and mental reset? Check. 
Post-climb cool down? Check. 
Stressy, messy, pressy life moments where you'd rather be climbing? CHECK! 
 
Having a body, a mind, and an attentive state of presence - are all you need. 

As always, climb well, be well, and thanks for listening! 

Send a question or comment!

*ANNOUNCEMENT A/O JULY 2026** Vision Training for Climbing Mentorship! 

I have 1 opening for vision and multisensory embodied visualisation training mentorship for climbers - targeting performance and wellbeing on-and-off the wall in a systemic way, tailored to your lifestyle learning style, and goals. Contact me via podcast mail for an exploratory call. We will dive into whether this is a right fit for you, and shape a journey together that equips you with the knowledge, skills, habits, training sessions, and resources to upgrade your nervous system technology and trigger a "cognitive revolution" in your climbing. 

N.B.! 

1. This is NOT a paid product or a service with a delivery promise. It is a personalised passion-driven journey of learning, experiencing and reflection at no monetary cost, delivered old school style in the name of personal connection. I am seeking resonance and alignment with you if something drives you from deep within to learn the priceless art of perceptual training and if you are keen to take radical, creative ownership of your own perception and performance. 

2.  You are responsible and liable for for your own mind, body, experience, learning process and results at all times, and can (and should!) at any time - stop its momentum, speak up, or ignore information - should something not feel right for you. All information I provide is invitation, not instruction. My wish is to impart the basics of what you need to steer your own boat! :D 

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In these next few minutes, I reveal my negative thoughts to you whilst anchoring them to my peripheral visual field, creating a state of nervous system balance where fight or flight (sympathetic nervous system activation) both triggered and signaled by negative thinking - is balanced by soft gaze fixation and peripheral awareness - nervous system regulators that trigger a balancing parasympathetic nervous system response. This is a meditation you can replicate literally anywhere safe where you can open your eyes.

All guided meditations and meditation demos, including this one, are live, improvised sessions that I record in a single "flash" go and participate in myself. Each episode emerges in a unique moment where I need a relaxed but active meditation for immediate stress reduction, AND wanted to ingrain rock-solid climbing instincts. This is where climbing performance and mind-body health - intersect. 

Designed for any climber, at any point on your journey, to listen to and follow along with anytime and anywhere you feel safe to relax and be in your body. 

Rest day? Check. 
Injured but want to still be climbing"? Check. 
Pre-climb tune-in? Check. 
Mid-session rest-and mental reset? Check. 
Post-climb cool down? Check. 
Stressy, messy, pressy life moments where you'd rather be climbing? CHECK! 
 
Having a body, a mind, and an attentive state of presence - are all you need. 

As always, climb well, be well, and thanks for listening! 

Send a question or comment!

My name is Crystal, and welcome back to Attention Climbers. 

There's one thing I enjoy infinitely more than solving problems - asking questions. This episode asks the question: what if giving up too soon on a boulder is NOT a psychological limitation, but rather - a perceptual-cognitive one? 

Here are 50 questions you can ask yourself when you are repeatedly falling on a hard climb - targeting your capacity to perceive yourself, the climb, and your surroundings clearly - so that you can produce clear thinking from those perceptions to guide your next action. 

Designed for any climber, at any point on your journey, to listen to and follow along with anytime and anywhere.

Rest day? Check. 
Injured but want to still be climbing"? Check. 
Pre-climb tune-in? Check. 
Mid-session rest-and mental reset? Check. 
Post-climb cool down? Check. 
Stressy, messy, pressy life moments where you'd rather be climbing? CHECK! 
 
Having a body, a mind, and an attentive state of presence - are all you need. 

As always, climb well, be well, and thanks for listening! 

Send a question or comment!

Today, I am back broadcasting to you guys with 🐈 Oskar. This time, we are lounging together facing one another on our balcony couch. Oskar serves as my muse throughout this meditation, and I welcome you to involve a furry friend too. If you don't have one - simply replacing the pet-invitation, with any meaningful object, will do. 

Let's sharpen our awareness of five systems in our bodies and brains that work tirelessly to help you perform at your limit on the wall: central vision, peripheral vision, the vestibular system, proprioception, and kinaesthesia. As you rest your body and intensify your attention in a relaxed state, you finally give these unsung heroes the opportunity to work at THEIR limit too! 

All meditations, including this one, are live, improvised sessions that I record in a single "flash" go and participate in myself. Each episode emerges in a unique moment where I need a relaxed but active meditation for immediate stress reduction, AND wanted to ingrain rock-solid climbing instincts. This is where climbing performance and mind-body health - intersect. 

Designed for any climber, at any point on your journey, to listen to and follow along with anytime and anywhere you feel safe to relax and be in your body. 

Rest day? Check. 
Injured but want to still be climbing"? Check. 
Pre-climb tune-in? Check. 
Mid-session rest-and mental reset? Check. 
Post-climb cool down? Check. 
Stressy, messy, pressy life moments where you'd rather be climbing? CHECK! 
 
Having a body, a mind, and an attentive state of presence - are all you need. 

As always, climb well, be well, and thanks for listening! 

Send a question or comment!

My name is Crystal, and welcome back to Attention Climbers. This episode may pique some heated discussion, and I'd love to hear from you if you either resonate or disagree! 

Nearly every climber wanting to improve - struggles with "mindset issues" - some form of negativity or inner resistance arising from their experience or perception of their climbing experience, ability or learning curve. 

That said, mindset issues are unlikely to be a personal failure or shortcoming. 

I assert that the following 10 aspects of climbing culture may systemically lead to our collective experience of mindset challenges, and suggest interventions - most are painfully simple - but not necessarily easy. I love climbing and don't want to "change" or "fix" these aspects - instead, I wish to shed light on them so we as climbers can individually respond. 

1. Climbing is primarily seen as a "sport". 
2. Climbing primarily values "ascension".
3. There is no concept of "dismounting" in climbing, so "falling" is constructed as separate from the "climb". 
4. Modern sport climbing and gym culture overexposes us to "concentric" upward movement and underexposes us to "eccentric" downward movement. 
5. The ratio of deliberate practice to level of skill is low in climbing compared to other disciplines. 
6. A graded system of routes and boulders outside our control makes it challenging to establish and train from our own internal sense of what needs improvement 
7. Language used in climbing contexts describe external rather than internal phenomena, whereas climbing is experienced from within. 
8. Popular conceptions of "climbing" exclude those with injuries, illnesses, or those otherwise unable to perform at their best, from "real climbing". 
9. Social performativity of bravery and risk taking (see (2)) triggers overvaluing of others' opinions compared to one's own climbing experience. 
10. The obsession with regular observable improvement works against our ability to work on our deepest cruxes. 

Designed for any climber, at any point on your journey, to listen to and follow along with anytime and anywhere.

Rest day? Check. 
Injured but want to still be climbing"? Check. 
Pre-climb tune-in? Check. 
Mid-session rest-and mental reset? Check. 
Post-climb cool down? Check. 
Stressy, messy, pressy life moments where you'd rather be climbing? CHECK! 
 
Having a body, a mind, and an attentive state of presence - are all you need. 

As always, climb well, be well, and thanks for listening!