Sports meditation is used to sharpen your mental capacity for concentration and clarity. The sports program at Reed College, includes a contemplative meditation course which teaches the basics of mindfulness meditation to their athletes. Sports meditation techniques are intended to relax the athletes' bodies and minds while increasing their ability to focus on performance. Richard Davidson, director of the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin noted, "Attention is the key to learning, and meditation helps you voluntarily regulate it." Davidson also worked with the Dalai Lama to study the brains of Tibetan monks, whom he refers to as "the Olympic athletes of meditation". The increased awareness and attention they derived from meditation practice also is key to sports performance.
Breath Meditation
Sit quietly in a comfortable position in a place where you will not be disturbed or distracted. Close your eyes. Begin to breathe easily and normally for a few minutes. Then, allow your breath to deepen and begin to pay attention only to your breath. Notice and observe the sound of the breath. Pay attention to the way it feels entering your nostrils, throat, lungs and the rest of your body. Keep your attention on this breathing and notice your body and mind relax and become still as time passes and your focus increases. Do this meditation for ten minutes if you are a beginner. Increase the time by five minute intervals as you develop more discipline.
Mantra Meditation
A mantra is simply a repeated sound, word or phrase. Be sure to choose a short and simple mantra that does not invite much thought. Some examples are "om", "ah", or "hum" or an affirmative statement like, "I am peaceful." Sit quietly in a comfortable position in a place where you will not be disturbed or distracted. Close your eyes. Begin to breathe easily and normally for a few minutes. Allow your breathing to deepen and begin to recite your chosen mantra slowly and deliberately. Repeat the mantra continually and focus upon the way the feeling sounds for ten minutes. Increase the time by five minute intervals as you develop more discipline. Mantra sound meditations are also known as transcendental meditation.
Visualization
If the disciplines of stillness and concentration are a bit too advanced for you, try visualizations to enhance your performance. An equally effective technique, you meditate by visualizing the performance enhancements you'd like to achieve. You will still be developing the disciplines of concentration and clarity because you are fully attentive and sitting still during the visualization process. Project Meditation's research confirms, "Visualization techniques help athletes in all sports."
Member Comments
cindisilva April 28
by cindisilva on April 28, 2011 at 6:00 PM
I invite you to watch my video on how to meditate on my you tube channel CindiSilva Teaches. You might also want to try the full body meditation. I hope this helps. A simple meditation exercise you can do any time, anywhere is breathe 3x, half smiling -- on the in breath pay attention to how it feels as the air goes into your nose as you inhale, and on the out breath pay attention to how it feels as the air leaves your nose as you exhale. I think of this as a happy up yourself meditation, because doing this simple meditation for about 1 minute brings you clarity, gives you a boost of energy and happiness by keeping you calm.
Cindi Silva Communication Coach|
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