Paul Rodgers
ARQ Mountain Centre has diversified their programming and as of January 16 now offer yoga classes. Certified yoga instructor Bailey Repp teaches classes every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
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Born and raised in the Kootenays, Repp is passionate about the mountains and is an avid climber and backcountry skier. She told the Townsman in an interview at ARQ before her Tuesday evening class that in 2012 her physical activity was severely hindered when she was injured in a car accident.
“I wasn’t able to do most of the things I wanted to do and yoga was just a way that I could move my body,” Repp said.
“And slowly I moved from the physical aspect to the more mental aspect of yoga and through that I was able to get back to climbing and back in the mountains. And yeah, the love just grew and grew for yoga, I just fell in love with it.”
She has been doing yoga with friends and family for several years now and last summer she became a certified instructor in Bali. She was recently surfing her Facebook feed when she saw that ARQ co-owner and local climbing pro Gordon McArthur posted an ad seeking yoga or pilates instructors. She thought it was a cool idea and decided to go for it.
Now with three classes under her belt, she said that it’s been an amazing experience. The classes have been pushing capacity limits with people from all walks of life; climbers, non-climbers and all age groups.
“It’s a really cool vibe in the room because there’s all these different people coming together for the same thing,” she said.
When ARQ posted the announcement that they were to be offering yoga classes they said that you can “Improve your climbing through specific mobility work; giving you the opportunity for a better experience in movement, all the while building confidence in a relaxed community.”
Repp explained that yoga and climbing go hand in hand and that while on the surface they appear quite distinct, at the core there are many the-
“It’s both a physical and a mental game and I found the connection there, with core work with ab work, with balance and stability,” Repp said. “The important thing is that yoga can bring to climbing body awareness, which is really important.”
She said another key similar element between the two is breathing. In her own experience with climbing, Repp said that she often holds her breath when she is at the crux, focusing on her power, and not her breath.
“Whereas yoga we focus on allowing the breath to lead the movement, and so you can take that off the mat and on to the wall.”
Classes are $10 for a drop in, or $5 as an add on to a day pass and for existing members, they are offered for free.
