EP 28: Blake Cason on Radical Honesty, the Mindfulness Muscle, and Cycling Priorities

The Nugget Climbing Podcast

Blake Cason is a mindfulness and work/life balance coach, and the founder of Pivot Wellness. We talked about bringing awareness to our relationship with climbing, practicing radical honesty, ways of strengthening the mindfulness muscle, cycling priorities, and ways that both Blake and I have struggled to find balance between work and climbing.

Support on Patreon:

patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing

Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/blake-cason

Nuggets:

2:01 – The first time Blake jugged a line, choss in the Canadian Rockies, and supporting Mike on ‘The Shining Uncut’

8:19 – Intentionally showing up to support another person in climbing

9:58 – The relationship sandbox, and play and responsibility

13:53 – Common issues/areas that Blake works on with her clients and climbers

16:34 – Beauty in doing things that don’t have a point, and being out of alignment with what motivates us vs. what we’re actually doing

20:24 – “Shoulds”, guideposts, and self-imposed suffering

23:33 – Radical honesty, “is that working”, and slowing down

28:12 – Finding mindfulness through climbing, and her climbing relationship as a barometer

32:11 – Tuning into your body and your breath to return to the present moment

34:14 – Focusing on the breath, and code-switching

35:52 – Training the mindfulness muscle

39:43 – The practical use of mindfulness, and how to bring mindfulness to reflecting on the past or envisioning the future

42:50 – Mindfulness applied to climbing performance, “paying attention”, and finding language that resonates

44:57 – Savoring, loosening the grip, tapping into a growth mindset, and getting the whole brain firing

53:04 – Self-limiting beliefs, “Is being attached to that belief working?”, and the research behind the importance of self-compassion

58:28 – The brain-body connection, “abort mission”, and punting

1:01:18 – ‘Joe Six Pack’, recognizing a need, and choosing to walk away (for now)

1:05:31 – How Blake would work with a client who struggles with fear

1:12:59 – My (Steven’s) struggle with balancing the podcast with my own climbing and expectations

1:16:49 – Cycling priorities, and how Blake cycles her focus between her own climbing and her business, and values vs. priorities

1:23:56 – Using inspiration as a guide for priorities

1:25:57 – Zooming out

1:32:13 – Gratitude

1:32:55 – The area of mindfulness that Blake is working on currently

1:37:31 – Where to connect with Blake and how you can work with her

1:40:28 – Take a breath

1:42:49 – My free life coaching session, and send us questions!