Sports Mental Edge:
Take Your Game to the Next Level
Sports Mental Edge
You are probably aware that stress in your body is not a good thing. If you have never experienced the negative effects of stress, you are either incredibly unique or in denial. Did you know that stress, our emotional response to life's events, can keep you from getting anywhere near your sports peak performance? The good news is that imagery for stress management can give you that all important mental edge and actually improve your golf or other sports game. Stress in your body can be diminished by including a few simple techniques into your practice. Meditation, prayer, breathing, yoga, creative imagery and other practices can help you reduce the impact of stress on your body AND even improve your sports games.
If you practice and play hard, but leave the mental edge training for another day that never seems to get here, it is time to make that big change! Some of us don't realize just how important it is to have the mental edge or there is worry that it is too difficult learn. It is probably easier than you think.
Improve Sports Performance without spending more time in the gym, at the field, at the driving range or on the court? Yes!!!! Remember, optimal holistic lifestyle is about the body, mind and spirit. Never leave your mind behind!
Sports Mental Edge
Use your HEAD to
Lower Your Golf Scores
Win More Games
Ignore Pesky Distractions
Be Your Own Super-Coach
Have More Fun!!!
Sound too good to be true? NO way! You can achieve this with a few easy steps, and some practice. Good results take some work, and this is true. This work is not only fun, it has the potential to benefit you in many, many ways.
Sports Mental Edge
Your ability to regulate your emotions and manage stress will help you to reach the next level of athletic performance.
Looking for that competitive edge? Those who focus on their emotional well-being as well as their physical training are on their way to peak performance. If you leave out the emotional training, you will stop short and you will most certainly be passed up.
Sports Mental Edge
I spend a good bit of time at the driving range. I'm very good at focusing on my own 'game' but I can't help but observe some of the happenings around me.
I hear a lot of:
I can't believe I hit so bad
I'm so stupid
I'm so lame
I'm so _____ (go ahead and fill in the negative description of your choice)
Guess what happens when the negativity begins to spread like a fungus? The focus is gone and the outcome is farther and farther away from what the golfer wants to see. It's a vicious circle downward.
Sports Mental Edge
A few key concepts to consider:
You get more of what you focus on.
If you focus on negativity-especially with regard to yourself-you will get more negativity. Likewise, if you focus on the positive, you will experience more good things. Okay, so you swung and the ball cut directly in front of the poor guy next to you barely missing him. The ball went in the air didn't it? At one time in my life, that would have most certainly been an improvement!
The negative vs the positive?
You may have hit a 'bad' ball, but you are not a bad golfer and you are not stupid...
Maybe this is a good time to mention humor. Humor is one of our spiritual needs. It is an essential part of our lives. NO need to leave your sense of humor at home when you play sports. You'll have more fun when you smile and you will also play better. A smile helps your body to relax and when you are relaxed you will achieve far more than when you are stressed.
Sports Mental Edge and Stress?
Less Stress-Better Game? You Bet!
Stress not only throws your game off. It hurts your body in really big ways!
"The secret of human happiness is not in self-seeking but in self-forgetting." -- Theodor Reik
Sports Mental Edge
Happiness is a choice. Having joy in your life is your right, and there is one person who can guarantee this happiness for you: YOU! Decide to have a joyful day and accept no less. I sometimes like to imagine that I've hired myself a personal manager. If that personal manager designed my day and instructed me to have a day full of negative, sad thoughts, I certainly would fire that person. Yet, I do this to myself. Many of us do. Look for the joy and grab it. This is a choice. Got a problem? Rejoice in the fact that you have the power to make a difference for yourself.
"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive..." -- Eleonora Duse
GRATITUDE
Gratitude is contagious. The more you express gratitude the more you will experience it. Look for even the simplist pleasures and be grateful.
AWARENESS AND APPRECIATION
Sports Mental Edge
A heightenned awareness of your surroundings leads naturally to appreciation and gratitude.
When I get ready to hit the ball or begin a game of tennis or start on my afternoon walk, I take a good look around and take it all in. This doesn't have to take very long at all, either. I take in all the senses: aromas, feel (breeze against my face, for instance), sounds, sights and even tastes such as water. I enjoy my entire surroundings and break a smile. Remember, the simple of act of smiling relaxes your muscles and brings about all kinds of positive effects on your body, mind and soul.
CREATIVE VISUALIZATION/IMAGERY FOR SUCCESS
One of my favorite places in the world is in Maui. Sometimes before I hit the ball, I imagine myself surrounded by rich, lush green; beautiful, flowery aromas; the tender brush of the tradewinds; the taste of salt on my lips and the sound of the ocean. This, of course, brings a big smile on my face. I realized that when I imagined this scene, and I mean really imagine it as if I am right there, I hit the ball with more distance and accuracy than ever. I take trips to Maui regularly.
Sports Mental Edge
Your Imagination Can Take You to the Next Level.
This is just one example of the wonderous benefits of creative imagery/visualization.
Sports Mental Edge
So, do humor, joy, happiness, gratitude and use of imagination might sound a bit 'soft' to you? How about some scientific research to help you reach that peak performance?
HeartMath's research has shown that when you experience a positive emotion, your heart rhythms immediately change to a more regular (coherant pattern). Negative thoughts and feelings make the rhythm irregular and jagged. Thoughts and emotions impact the heart's rhythms. This rhythm-whether it be steady and smooth or erratic-directly impacts performance. So, let's go back to the people at the driving range who beat themselves up for the way they play. Guess what kind of heart pattern they have? If you answered erratic, you are correct! This erratic (incoherent) pattern makes it more difficult for the brain to function, diminishes your visual field, slows down your reaction time and takes your usual decision making skills down a notch. Who needs that?
HeartMath publishes an ebook you can Download Today to learn more about the relationship of the heart and emotions.
To download The Coherent Heart
Click here
Sports Mental Edge
The ZONE
Laird Small, 2003 National PGA Teacher of the Year
The EmWave PC is a training system for those of us who want to master their emotions and reach that wonderous state of peak performance. I encourage you to learn more from the HeartMath website. There is some powerful research and specific tools to help you reach experience that sense of being in the zone.
Being in the zone, a positive mental and emotional state (dare I say joyful state!) creates a nice smooth, wave-like, regular (coherent) pattern. It is in this state that your brain functions most effectively, you have a clearer mental focus and physical coordination is much improved. Obviously, this is the state you want if you seek peak performance in sports, work or your home life.
"The (emWave PC) software gives us the ability to identify when their heart is racing and do something about about it. It gives them techniques to control themselves while under pressure and in tense situations so they can use those situations to their best advantage, both athletically and in life."
Who can benefit from the emWave PC System:
Casual athletes looking to improve their sports performance whether that be an individual sport or competitive sport
Coaches and trainers wanting to bring out the best in athletes
Serious athletes looking for that competive edge
Anyone hoping to achieve more consistant results.
The Quick Coherence Technique is easy to use, fits into any training schedule, and gives you immediate feedback and progress results. We all like that immediate feedback, so we don't waste our time. The benefits of this technique will be evident in many other aspects of your life.
HeartMath publishes a very helpful booklet called Managing Emotions: Golf's Next Frontier which is a guide to help you take your golf game to the next level. I think you'll find it very helpful.
To order Golf's Next Frontier--Managing Emotions
click here.
Sports Mental Edge
Are you ready to be your best personally and professionally?
Whether you are a week-end warrior or professional athlete, there is always room for improvement. If you haven't engaged your mental edge yet, today could be your day. If not today, then when?
I am available to speak on the subject of peak performance, creative imagery, stress resistance and any of the subjects on this website at group meetings, luncheons or longer presentations. If you live in the Austin area, and are interested in arranging a presenation for your group, please let me know. I'll be pleased to personalize the presentation to meet the needs of your group.
Disclaimer: Material provided on Naturally-Holistic.net website is provided for educational purposes only.
It is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease. Always take the advice of your doctor before undertaking any diet, exercise, or other health program. We will not be liable for any complications, or other medical accidents arising from the use of any information on this web site.
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