Winning the  Sports Mind Game


According to John Milton, "The Mind is it's own  place, & in
itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven." I  don't
know if John Milton ever played competitive sports or worked
in  today's competitive workplace, but it sounds like he
might have done  so!

In today's world it doesn't matter what your competitive
arena, the levels of performance are increasing. Never be-
fore have so  many records been surpassed. New technologies
& equipment design, along  with expert coaching invite the
athlete to hit the ball further, harder  & 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 & more the difference between winning &  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 & pressure better than others & many  champion-
ships 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 & potential, sometimes as
much as  90%. In other words, you may be capable of playing
90% better than you  actually do & 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 & 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."  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 & High  Level Concentration Skills

The above set of tools are learned &  practiced daily in &
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 & certainly when new tech-
niques 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  ob-
livious to this tension, unless we begin to experience
"screamers."  Some popular ones are neck & back tension,
headache, gastro-intestinal  symptoms, tightness in the
chest, & 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, & continues to  focus in their
direction, the body literally increases the amount of  ten-
sion in all areas.

For the athlete, the building of excess body  tension inter-
feres with all aspects of the game. The chemicals &  hormones
which are actively produced under these circumstances, not
only  affect the working of small & large muscle groups of
the body, but also  impair the ability to concentrate, re-
trieve necessary information from the  subconscious mind
needed to assess the situation, & adapt needed skills  to
meet it.

Body Scanning, or mental biofeedback allows the brain to  be
Retrained to release stress build-up at low levels. The par-
ticipant  instructs the mind to focus on small muscle groups
& observe them for  sensations. Sensations are messages from
the muscle groups, alerting one to  the 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 & 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 in-
ability 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 im-
portant point, because one cannot release what is
not  observed.

Body scanning is also a valuable tool for increasing focus  &
flexibility. Training the mind to scan the body in a very
relaxed  state, transfers to the skill of being able to
focus, release, & move on  to another area of focus. As one
begins to practice body scanning, their is  an acute aware-
ness of the inability to focus & often times to be  willing
to leave an area of focus & move on to the next.

This  lack of flexibility is noticed when a player cannot
Release & move on to  the next point, or play. It takes about
thirty days to retrain the mind in  this way & even after
that time it is good practice to continue body  scanning
several times a week, & if the athlete 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 & concentration, one works
Closely with the body  sensations. Fractionation, or period-
ization is the process of bringing  these tools into the
daily life & 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, & opened using the mind,
the stress  chemicals are released, & 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 &  this
translates into many advantages, not the least being a more
focused  mind state, & better sleep.

There are many other focus tools which  work well. Unfor-
tunately, as space limited here we will move on to the  very
important issue of thought & emotional management.

The Second  Order of Business:
Managing the Thoughts & 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  & emotional states.
Without these abilities one often works from the  position of
"overload." This sets the mind up for confusion, &  dif-
ficulty in making quick, spontaneous, & right decision. This
is  where a good portion of the previously discussed
90% is lost. When the focus  is narrow & inward, the sub-
conscious mind can not function. Stress  chemicals are being
produced at high levels, muscle tension is mounting,
metabolism changes, & the brain is not well oxygenated.

As the  athlete learns to become aware & 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,& 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 & stay at  the top must be willing to face
& work with the truth. If they frequently  house an emotional
state which is detrimental to their sport, awareness of  this
& immediate release is a vital part of practice.

The better  one is trained in managing thoughts & emotional
states, the more  consistent one becomes in winning. Skill
building in this arena is known as  "awareness meditation" &
precedes "interactive self-hypnosis", or the  ability to
program the mind for improved consistent performance.  Often
times these steps are excluded, & the individual becomes
critical of the use of hypnosis. The problem, in my ex-
perience, is not  with the hypnosis, but with missing very
important parts of the inner work,  that of releasing muscle
tension, managing thoughts & certainly emotional  states.

The Third Order of Business:
Programming the Mind for Success

Self-hypnosis is an extremely valuable tool for athletes at
all  levels. If the mind is playing negative pictures, the
results will be the  same. What ever 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,
& become aware of the connection to the body, we can  utilize
this powerful mechanism to improve any & all areas of our
life. There are often self-imposed roadblocks, old beliefs,
thought  patterns, & automated emotional responses which keep
the athlete  side-lined, & 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 sub-
conscious mind will assist in making suggestions &  plans.

In hypnosis, the hypnotist will work to help re-frame &  re-
Program the inner library for success. When the athlete is
trained  & practices self-hypnosis, it is relatively easy to
reassess a situation  in the moment, & program the change
right then & 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 hit-
ting 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
& this is exactly what they get. As you develop awareness
techniques, start listening to "casual mindtalk" of others,
pick out the  negative programming, & observe what happens.

Many people looking for  magic. They dream of a quick results
Without putting in the work required.  Those who achieve ex-
cellence know that the way to the top& the way to  stay there
is through consistent work & commitment. The Mind Game is
not different & for those who do commit, the benefits are
pure  gold!


Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is a Clinical Medical  Hypnotist,
President & Program Designer, Sarasota Medical & Sports
Hypnosis Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online at
_http://www.hypnosis-audio.com_ (http://www.hypnosis-audio.com)  &
_http://www.sugar-addiction.com_ ( http://www.sugar-addiction.com) .
She specializes in teaching self-hypnosis for addictions, disorderly eating,
disease management, self-improvement & sports enhancement.
Her sites are  interactive & educational, offering +350 CD & mp3
programs for  adults, kids, executives & athletes. Free mp3 programs every
month!