Attention Climbers

Crystal Ding
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Mental Health

Sharpen your senses. Peak your perception. Attend to your soft skills your off the wall, to climb hard on the wall.  My name is Crystal, and welcome to Attention Climbers! Season 2: Guest episodes beginning with healthy self-perception - the foundation of success for vision, attention, and visualization training for climbing.  Season 1: Stories, summaries and guided meditations for focus, stress reduction, and rock-solid climbing instincts. This is where climbing performance and mind-body health - intersect.  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, life moments where you'd rather be climbing? CHECK!  Whatever version of you as a climber and a human that is here now - is all you need.  Climb well, be well, and thanks for listening! 

  1. 4d ago

    Tears, Tantrums, Attention: How to Craft the Ideal Climbing Mindset | Louis Parkinson

    Send a question or comment! I interview my climbing coach, Louis Parkinson, former Team GB climber and head of Catalyst Climbing, on how he experiences his own mindset training - so that we can all learn from his insights. We had such a great time recording, and hope you enjoy listening!  Get ready for a gripping episode where Louis deep dives into his internal monologue and how he works with it, tells climbing stories where he experienced "crippling nerves" and "tantalizingly close" attempts, and reveals moments of extreme stress and how he coped with them. You'll also hear about Louis' new book on strengthening mindset, and how you can use it to catalyze changes in both climbing and life.  What You’ll Learn  1. Rewiring the Climbing Mindset The "Ideal Mindset" Defined: High performance isn't about forced positivity, but achieving a quieter mind focused strictly on movement. The Practice vs. Performance Split: Practice intentional mental awareness so you can trust your instincts under pressure. Treating Mindset Like Movement: Train your attention and intention on the wall with the same diligence you use for physical technique and precision. 2. Managing Nerves, Fear & Frustration Reframe Pre-Climb Nerves: Transform the feeling of "I'm nervous, so I'm not ready" into "This sensation is what being ready feels like" . Eustress vs. Distress: Recognize that pre-climb anxiety can automatically shift into useful, exciting energy once you start moving. Healthy Frustration: "Engaged frustration" ("I almost had it!") keeps climbing fun without threatening your ego. Navigating High-Stress Moments: How the brain operates at different fear levels—from manageable doubts (9/10) to total freeze responses. 3. Nervous System Regulation & Self-Worth Uncoupling Performance from Personal Worth: Tools to play a high-stakes movement game without letting the result define your value as a person. The "Inner Child" & "Animal Training" Metaphors: How responding to your inner monologue with compassion rather than harsh judgment speeds up learning. The Fish Pond Visualization: Learn to step back, observe intense emotions, and "be the pond, not the fish" when things go wrong on or off the wall. 4. Insights from Louis' book, co-authored with psychotherapist Joel Robertson: "Get a Grip" : A Climber's Route to Stronger Mindset and Better Mental Health" Curiosity Over Judgment: How Louis’s book uses real-world analogies (like spilling a cup of coffee) to reveal your underlying psychological patterns. "Get A Grip" is available on Amazon and other book sellers now :D https://www.amazon.com/dp/1839813040?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

  2. Sep 29

    Belinda "Coach Be" Fuller | Drilling Feelings for Fine-Tuned Climbing Technique

    Send a question or comment! We sit down with Belinda Fuller—known and loved in the climbing community as "Coach Be"—who coaches everyone from complete beginners to Team GB athletes. Coach Be unpacks the paradox of structure and freedom in movement. We discuss why a lack of "natural talent" forced her to break down 15 years of complex climbing movement into intuitive, feeling-based foundations that anyone can learn.  From micro-cues like tracking your knee over the little toe and "belly button over toes" to using the inside edge flag, Be shares how mastering technique isn't about rigid rules. It's about expanding your movement vocabulary so you can expand your self-expression, freedom and joy on the wall. Here's what you'll hear about!  1. How NOT being a gifted climber lends well to learning climbing and teaching it to self and others  2. Balancing strict curriculum discipline with total movement freedom 3. How to translate complex technique into intuitive bodily "feelings" 4. Unlocking plateaus by training your uncomfortable weaknesses 5. Micro-cues: The power of the inside edge flag and "lock and rock" 6. Supporting Climbing Out of Depression (COOD) Check out COOD (Climbing Out of Depression) at https://cood.org.uk/ to learn more about their free coaching sessions aimed at supporting mental health through climbing. For in-person or remote coaching with Be, see her YouTube collaboration series with Hannah Morris Bouldering, or book on her website at https://www.beclimbing.co.uk. I have personally taken her coachng coaches course and would highly recommend that also!

  3. Sep 22

    Body Awareness Fundamentals for Climbers, Dancers and Humans | Sigrid Vik

    Send a question or comment! Body awareness is crucial for learning and performing climbing movement in a state of enjoyment. Yet if we pay attention to our bodies only to make them perform, send or do we make them do, our progression in body awareness as a skill and a source of pleasure - is limited.  In this episode, Norwegian jazz and contemporary dancer and activist, Sigrid Vik, shares experiences and tips on how to connect with a sense of joy, "feel the body" and build a relationship with the body when you don't "need" anything from it, so that this baseline skill stays with you in clutch moments on hard climbs, and in hard life situations. We cover:  The Horse & Rider Metaphor. How to let the mind direct while allowing the body to naturally experience the movement. Attention as Rest. Why true rest isn't just sitting still, but actively redirecting your focus to internal somatic sensations. Beyond "Being Good". Unlocking playfulness, overcoming fear of unsending, and letting go of performance pressure. Practical Body-Awareness Drills. Simple tactics like fingertip tracing, gaze shifts, and 5-minute micro-rests to reset your nervous system. Move, dance and connect with your body with Sigrid and other lovely movers, if you're in or around Oslo!  https://www.klubbtaplass.no/ https://www.instagram.com/ktpvibrations/

  4. Sep 15

    This Attention Shift Unlocks Rest for Climbing and Life Performance | Bunny Love-Schock

    Send a question or comment! 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

  5. Sep 8

    Childhood Trauma and Climbing Issues | Live 1:1 Coaching Session with Evan Gregor

    Send a question or comment! 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/

  6. Sep 8

    Why Your Climbing Mindset Fails, and How to Fix it | Evan Gregor

    Send a question or comment! 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

  7. Sep 8

    Stop Fear of Fear from Ruining Your Climbing | Evan Gregor

    Send a question or comment! 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

  8. Season 2 Trailer

    Welcome to Attention Climbers Season 2!

    Send a question or comment! 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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About

Sharpen your senses. Peak your perception. Attend to your soft skills your off the wall, to climb hard on the wall.  My name is Crystal, and welcome to Attention Climbers! Season 2: Guest episodes beginning with healthy self-perception - the foundation of success for vision, attention, and visualization training for climbing.  Season 1: Stories, summaries and guided meditations for focus, stress reduction, and rock-solid climbing instincts. This is where climbing performance and mind-body health - intersect.  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, life moments where you'd rather be climbing? CHECK!  Whatever version of you as a climber and a human that is here now - is all you need.  Climb well, be well, and thanks for listening! 

Information

  • Creator
    Crystal Ding
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    36
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Attention Climbers
  • Show Website
    Attention Climbers