There are many people in the world of sport that can swear that the use of guided meditation is an integral part of their success. There are a huge number of different mental techniques employed by those involved, it is a case of each to their own with different people putting their time and faith into different things, for example an athletics coach may encourage all of the athletes he trains to carry out one method where as each of these athletes’ countries athletics committees may encourage another.
However guided meditation is becoming a popular choice for it’s simple and enjoyable routine and positive results, and as we all know sport is all about the results.
A mental strategy and being able to remain calm and composed under pressure is a pivotal factor in sport and can determine the outcome of so many aspects of matches or events. It is being able to make that putt to win a hole in golf, serving out that game for the match in tennis or scoring that spot kick in football. Without the mental strength, or technique, to be able to routinely deal with these situations there is little chance of success and reaching or exceeding your full potential.
The natural question is how does guided imagery, something that is more commonly known to reduce stress or combat pain, work in helping the mentality of somebody in sport? Our minds think through images, sounds, feelings and other senses that have been previously experienced. guided meditation allows us to use those images, feelings and senses to visualise certain scenarios and act in a certain way, for example calm and confident under pressure. The techniques that you use will enable you to draw the desired feeling or mindset from these images any time that you choose, you hour of need if you like in sport.
Being able to successfully implement guided meditation into your game can be the difference between being a winner to an also ran, it is getting the best out of yourself without letting nerves get the better for you. In essence being able to carry out a set of actions that you successfully do in practice under no pressure in a live match situation with all eyes on you. It is all to common in sport that somebody loses a match or loses a game rather than an opponent winning it and this is more often than not due to a mental instability that really needn’t be an issue.
