The yoga practice of mindful breathing and meditation can greatly help with the areas that the athlete struggles mentally.
Like if being in the water really scares you. Or you let yourself mentally quit before you are physically done. Or you doubt yourself, not reaching higher.
Here’s the skinny on breathing/meditation and I even want to talk about “mantra”.
They are meant to help you get back to your most awesome self. Because you know what…
YOU ARE FLIPPING AWESOME!!!
Breathing practices help the athlete to manipulate/use the nervous system; to calm yourself or get yourself going.
Meditation helps us to learn to turn the volume down on life and live in our Awesomeness.
Manta, which literally means “mind protector” is a crazy easy way to put positive thoughts into our being. Helps us to live in our awesomeness, not the silliness that we sometimes believe to be true. It’s not weird stuff, it’s the same as positive affirmations, praying, etc. Just a different language/word for a universal truth.
Here are things easy ways to practice.
- Breathing practice:
- Sit, stand, lay, walk, bike, run, skip (whatever). Just count the breath. Inhale “1”, exhale “1”, inhale “2”, exhale “2”…”10″, “9”…”1″, “2”… Over and over. When the thoughts pop in say “oh hi” then back to “1”, “2”… It’s a powerful mental muscle to be able to sit with the breath. The heart rate goes down. Blood pressure down. Cortisol down. Good stuff.
- Easy meditation practice
- Walk around where you can relax. Focus on your feet. Barefoot is best. Everything else is fine. Concentrate on your feet. How they feel as you walk. The heel strike, how the ground feels, the temp, texture, etc. When the thoughts come on, move back to the feet.
- Simple mantra
- Find a saying that you want to embody/color your whole being with. For example, for those athletes who struggle in the water; with each stroke repeat to yourself “I am long, I am strong.” Other possibilities, “I am enough” “I do not quit” “I will make it”. The key to this one, SAY IT LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT.
With each of these three simple activities to help the athlete rock it out, you MUST PRACTICE when it’s easy. Then it becomes a skill. Rote. Habit. Something that you can call on when you need to dig deep.
“The bravest thing to do when you are not brave is to profess courage and act accordingly.” ~Corra Harris
Eat Clean, Live Well, Be Awesome
