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In today's world it doesn't matter what your competitive arena, the
levels of performance are increasing. Never before have so many
records been surpassed. New technologies and equipment design, along
with expert coaching invite the athlete to hit the ball further,
harder and with increased accuracy. In the Olympics we observed
world class runners & swimmers, mastering their sport, completing
moves which just a decade ago would have never been considered
possible.
This leaves us with the question of not only what makes a winner, but
how does one win consistently? More and more the difference between
winning and losing rests with psychological factors, or the mind
game. If you listen closely to sports commentators, you will hear
many comments in this regard as they review athletic
performance. "She has lost her focus." "That fall is going to cost
her concentration." "He lost the match in the first set, when he lost
his service game. He never came back."
Certain athletes manage stress and pressure better than others, and
many championships are lost in the mind, long before the final score
has been recorded. For the weekend athlete, the same holds true with
actual performance running behind skill and potential, sometimes as
much as 90%. In other words, you may be capable of playing 90% better
than you actually do, and the reason is all in the way you manage
your mindbody connection.
In reality one needs to develop two types of sports training
programs, one for technique development in the chosen sport, and the
other in psychological skill building. When these are employed
together on a consistent basis, the athlete is able to access a
focused mind state much more frequently. This is sometimes addressed
as playing in "the zone." Keep in mind that in the business world
there is also a "zone" !
For many athletes, getting to this physiological/psychological state
is a bit of a mystery. A consistent winner knows how to access this
state at will. The following tools are the training tools for high
level performance.
The First Order of Business:
Developing Focus and High Level Concentration Skills
The above set of tools are learned, and practiced daily in and out of
sports practice. While they don't take a lot of time, commitment to
the process is absolutely a necessity. Just like a football player
would not consider learning new plays in the middle of a game,
neither should the athlete consider learning to manage the mindbody
connection in a stressful situation. All skills are built away from
the playing field, be it a golf course, tennis court, skating
arena,or in the middle of the English Channel. However, they are
practiced along with technique development, and certainly when new
techniques are being presented by the coaching staff.
When the body is experiencing stress reaction, the muscle tension is
greatly increased. Most of us are completely oblivious to this
tension,unless we begin to experience "screamers." Some popular ones
are neck and back tension, headache, gastro-intestinal
symptoms,tightness in the chest, and shallow breathing. These
symptoms are often the triggers, causing an athlete to "choke." This
is occurrence is similar to a "panic attack" in someone who is not
playing sports. As the individual becomes keenly away of inner body
sensations,and continues to focus in their direction, the body
literallyincreases the amount of tension in all areas. For the
athlete, the building of excess body tension interferes with all
aspects of the game.
The chemicals and hormones that are actively produced under these
circumstances, not only affect the working of small and large muscle
groups of the body, but also impair the ability to concentrate,
retrieve necessary information from the subconscious mind needed to
assess the situation, and adapt needed skills to meet it.
BodyScanning, or mental biofeedback allows the brain to be retrained
to release stress build-up at low levels. The participant instructs
the mind to focus on small muscle groups, and observe them for
sensations. Sensations are messages from the muscle groups, alerting
one tothe amount of tension being held captive there. Once the
sensations are located, the mind is instructed through imagery to
open the area, thereby releasing the stored tension. As the mind is
directed to continue the scanning process, it re-learns the
difference between stress and no apparent stress.
When someone begins this practice of mental biofeedback, it is
interesting to note that many areas which store tension appear to be
tension-free. The reason for this is the inability of the person to
focus well on the small muscle group. As the practice continues,one
becomes a much better detective at spotting muscle tension. This is a
very important point, because one cannot release what is not
observed.
Bodyscanning is also a valuable tool for increasing focus and
flexibility. Training the mind to scan the body in a very relaxed
state,transfers to the skill of being able to focus, release, and
move onto another area of focus. As one begins to practice body
scanning, their is an acute awareness of the inability to focus, and
often times to be willing to leave an area of focus and move on to
the next. This lack of flexibility is noticed when a player cannot
release and move on to the next point, or play. It takes about thirty
days to retrain the mind in this way, and even after that time it is
good practice to continue body scanning several times a week, and if
theathlete is preparing for competition these exercises should be
practiced at least daily, with the same commitment as the practical
aspects of the sport.
When working to improve focus and concentration, one works closely
with the body sensations. Fractionation, or periodization is the
process of bringing these tools into the daily life, and practicing
in small increments during the day. As this is a new skill, it is
often necessary to set up little reminders. I suggest using something
simple like a small note tacked in strategic places, by the phone,
desk, refrigerator, car radio or other frequented area. Many times
during the day one observes the body sensations by doing a quick body
scan. This takes less than a minute. As the tension areas are
observed, and opened using the mind, the stress chemicals are
released, and the mindbody is left to function at a higher level. As
the mind gets used to this practice,it will literally take over. One
begins to notice that there is less stress build up during the day,
and this translates into many advantages, not the least being a more
focused mind state, and better sleep.
There are many other focus tools which work well. Unfortunately, as
space limited here we will move on to the very important issue of
thought and emotional management.
TheSecond Order of Business:
Managing the Thoughts and Emotions
Self-Awareness is key to optimum performance. Just as the sports
coach brings attention to the technical problems of the athlete,
the "inner coach" must bring the same quality of attention to the
thought processes and emotional states. Without these abilities one
often works from the position of "overload." This sets the mind up
for confusion, and difficulty in making quick, spontaneous, and right
decision. This is where a good portion of the previously discussed
90% is lost. When the focus is narrow and inward, the
subconsciousmind can not function. Stress chemicals are being
produced at high levels,muscle tension is mounting, metabolism
changes, and the brain is not well oxygenated.
As the athlete learns to become aware and observe the mind processes,
the ability to release is developed. Again, one cannot release what
one does not see or observe. The winning athlete knows himself
well,and is on the alert for emotional states which are not skillful
for him/her at that time. Emotional states can be high charged
chemical concoctions, interfering with all mindbody functioning.
Those athletes looking to get and stay at the top must be willing to
face and work with the truth. If they frequently house an emotional
state which is detrimental to their sport, awareness of this and
immediate releaseis a vital part of practice. The better one is
trained in managing thoughts and emotional states, the more
consistent one becomes in winning. Skill building in this arena is
known as "awareness meditation" and precedes "interactive self-
hypnosis",or the ability to program the mind for improved consistent
performance.
Often times these steps are excluded, and the individual becomes
critical of the use of hypnosis. The problem,in myexperience, is not
with the hypnosis, but with missing very important parts of the inner
work, that of releasing muscle tension, managing thoughts and
certainly emotional states.
TheThird Order of Business:
Programming the Mind for Success
Self-hypnosisis an extremely valuable tool for athletes at all
levels. If the mind is playing negative pictures, the results will
be the same. Whatever the mind perceives as true, becomes true. We
image all the time,whether we plan to or not. As we learn to respect
the workings of the mind, and become aware of the connection to the
body, we can utilize this powerful mechanism to improve any and all
areas of our life. There are often self-imposed roadblocks, old
beliefs, thought patterns,and automated emotional responses which
keep the athlete side-lined,and off the path leading towards the
goals. Once it is made clear that all is ready to move through the
blocks, not only will this occur, but the subconscious mind will
assist in making suggestions and plans.
In hypnosis, the hypnotist will work to help re-frame and re-program
the inner library for success. When the athlete is trained and
practices self-hypnosis, it is relatively easy to reassess a
situation in the moment, and program the change right then and there.
One also has the ability to request suggestions from the subconscious
mind,as to possibilities for management of a situation. It is
tantamount to having a powerful "inner coach" right there, in every
moment, moving the individual towards the planned goal, whether it be
hitting the ball straight, choosing the right shot or angle,or
maneuvering the entire self done a patch of icy slope. Whatever the
situation, the answer is at hand. Unfortunately many athletes program
for what they don't want, and this is xactly what they get.
As you develop awareness techniques,start listening to "casual
mindtalk" of others, pick out the negative programming, and observe
what happens. Many people lookfor magic. They dream of a quick
results without putting in the work required. Those who achieve
excellence know that the way to the top, and the way to stay there is
through consistent work and commitment. The Mind Game is not
different, and for those who do commit, the benefits are pure gold!
ElizabethBohorquez, RN, SRN, CPH is a Clinical Medical Hypnotist,
President& Program Designer for Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis
Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online at www.hypnosis-audio.com
and www.sugar-addiction.com. She specializes in the management of
stress& related disorders with her original programs of Interactive
Self-Hypnosis & high level nutrition as applied to mind function.
eMail: ebohorq207@aol.com
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