Meditation For Sport

Sports Meditation

Meditation For Sports and Athletes

Athletic competition is taxing, sometimes painful, physically demanding, and the mental portion is even more difficult. I still compete, so I can always relate to the athletes I am coaching.

A mind that is not focused, clear from distractions, in control, and sharp is a mind that makes mistakes, lets the errors create other mistakes, and loses confidence. This is why meditation for sport performance is critically important if you are serious about being the best player you can be.

The result is a lousy performance, which could cost you a scholarship or a big contract.

High levels of stress release cortisone, which causes physical issues like fatigue, decreases your ability to focus.

For years sports psychologists have stated that mindset is as big of a factor as peak physical fitness. Now we know this is true.

During my collegiate and professional athletic career, I used meditation without knowing what I was doing.

Reduce anxiety, stress and build confidence

It helped me reduce anxiety, stress, maintain confidence, and limit the other external obstacles that come with high-level athletics.

Souletics® meditation for athletes and sports programs is focused on positive visualization, building self-confidence, and meditation mindfulness, which is thinking about a specific topic.

This is very different than new meditation or other forms of meditation like transcendental meditation, which is about emptying the mind.

When you empty the mind, you are vulnerable to suggestions from external influences and other untrusted entities.

We focus on reflection for a sport, which is meditating on the specific outcome of a game, strategy, and other nuances.

Check out these mindsets books on meditation for sport and mental toughness.

Why should you consider meditation for athletic success?

1. Mediation can support stress reduction, which directly results in better physical body function. The science is less cortisol in the system, which negatively impacts performance on many levels.

2. Meditation can prepare you for the competition. You can walk your mind through the process of competition and possible obstacles and challenges you may face.

3. Meditation can increase focus and mental clarity. By taking time to meditate, you remove other external factors that can distract you from the task at hand.

MENTAL TRAINING FOR SPORTS AND IMPROVING PERFORMANCE

Play pro: Finding the right people to surround yourself with can be challenging when you are an elite athlete.

It takes the right combination of experience, understanding the nuances of competition, practical application, and how the brain responds to these stimuli.

I can say this is what I know. It is what I have used throughout my life and what separates me from the pack.

I am not someone that has just read about it; I am someone who has studied the psychology of sports and put it to use in all areas of my life. And I have helped others do the same. We have over forty years of high-level competition experience and twenty years of mindset coaching for athletes.

Some of our areas of focus include sports psychology, building confidence, improving concentration, developing unwavering commitment, how to find your confidence and positive self-dialogue.

We have experts in the area of visualization, handling pressure, strategy development, energy management, injury rehabilitation, dealing with depression in athletes, anger management, and choosing a complementary partner for such a career choice as elite athletics.

Don’t Stop The Swagger

I am the author of the sports peak performance book for athletes, “Don’t Stop The Swagger,” which I wrote 15 years ago. The mindset book is subtitled, “Preparing the Mind, Body, and Soul For Peak Performance.”

This was before “mind, body, soul” became a famous tag line, or “swagger” was a buzz word.

My next level of training is an online course that I walk users through, titled “The 7 Pillars Mental Dominion.”

I have outlined the top 4 pillars below in the next section. How to achieve mental strength and maintain elite high-level performance is what I know, what I live, and what I love to do. It is my gift, and I would like to share it with you.

If you are a beginning practitioner or have an advanced meditation practice, we can help. We provide customized meditation for athlete video programs unique to each athlete.

Athlete Meditation for Sport and stress

The positive power of meditation is a practice that can remove mountains in your life. Implementing mindfulness meditation will support improvements in overall quality of life. Several studies have shown a reduction in stress and anxiety.

You can do this by starting a 5-minute daily meditation practice in the morning or evening. Research continues to prove meditation with mindfulness, which includes meditating with focused attention to the environment, people, and things unseen by the natural eye can do wonders for your health.

If you are dealing with stress, feelings of sadness, depression, anxiety, pain, bitterness, or resentment, meditation can help you appreciate the moment and release yourself from the past. This can be done by focusing on the now, your body, breath, or anything to be grateful for.

Mindfulness meditation provides a foundation

Mindfulness meditation provides a framework for people to live whole lives. We cannot control the external circumstances, but we can be aware, discerning, and able to thrive in non-ideal situations.

Meditation for sport gives your mind time to relax, recover, and renew. It is your mind’s time to heal.

I firmly believe intentional meditation on specific personal goals can take a distracted mind and make it that of a guided missile.

Just five minutes a day can improve one’s life dramatically. It is better to meditate for a short time each day and stick with it, than meditating for an extended period inconsistently. Do what you can do?

How Athletes Can Start Meditating

Create a comfortable place
Identify an area in your home that’s just for your meditation:

End of your bed
Your favorite chair
Your backyard near your garden
A prayer and meditation closet
In your car before leaving for work
It is also beneficial to enhance your practice with meditation relaxation music.

Implement mindfulness into your daily life. Take a moment to take a deep breath. Walk during lunch. Enjoy the moment to look into the sky. Take intentional pauses throughout your day. If you do this, you should recognize slight changes in your stress levels.

“Minds eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.”

What is meditation? Mindfulness? And what is the difference in prayer?

What is the meditation for sport? Great question! Here’s our view…

While there are many different techniques, we focus on mindfulness meditation, which is merely focusing on where you want to go, who you want to be, and what actions you can take to get there. We provide meditation for beginners starting with allowing your mind to be still, rest, recover, and renew.

The second most asked question is, what is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is just being aware, having discernment, and an excellent understanding of yourself, the environment in which you live, the people surrounding you, and the things you do not see with the natural eye.

The third most asked question in regards to meditation is what the relationship to prayer is?

Meditation is focusing on a specific idea, goal, vision, purpose, etc…. Prayer is a petition, praise, or conversation! It is critically important when praying to have a clear understanding of who and what you are praying. Meditation is starting to catch popularity in the U.S., but this is nothing new and is talked about in the Bible extensively.

Here is one of my favorite scriptures in the Bible, Philippians 4:8-9 (NKJV) it reads:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. ⁹The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you

Meditate means to consciously or intentionally think about these things. The etymology of the word “meditate” based on the Online Etymology Dictionary states:

meditate (v.)

The 1580s, “to ponder, think abstractly, engage in mental contemplation” (intransitive), probably a back-formation from meditation, or else from Latin meditatus, past participle of meditari “to meditate, think over, reflect, consider,” frequentative form of PIE root *med- “take appropriate measures.” From 1590s as “to plan in the mind,” also “to employ the mind in thought or contemplation,” especially in a religious way.

Related: Meditated; meditating.

Bible on Meditation

The King James Translation of the Bible has a very similar translation of Philippians 4:8-9 , it uses the word think on these things; and reads:

⁸Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. ⁹Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Meditation is thinking about a specific thing, whereas prayer is a petition. I personally pray to the Most High God.

I am a believer in Jesus The Anointed, or Jesus Christ, or Yeshua Messiah, whichever name you prefer to call Him (people like to get very specific these days!). But in direct terms, I serve the God of my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.

He is the God that brought us them through Egypt, West Africa, slavery, reconstruction, Jim Crow, Civil Rights, and to this current day.

I determined that there must be something about this God that sustained people through such difficult times. The reason that is important is that it will set a solid foundation for your meditation practice.

Meditation for sport and mindfulness

For example, if I were to meditate on “love,” I have an example of what love is. It seems simple, right?

But based on a person’s beliefs, one could derive entirely different meanings for love.

Love for a person that bases their belief system on their own thoughts and experience could define love as a feeling or emotion that can change at any moment. But based on my belief system, I have a standard to strive toward. Here is an example of love defined based on my belief system.

It reads:

⁴Love is patient; love is kind. It does not envy; it does not boast; it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others; it is not self-seeking; it is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hope, always perseveres. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)

Meditating on subjects like focus and improved performance is beneficial, but as you dive deeper into your meditation practice, you will, at some point, find it necessary to determine your personal belief system.

Find Your Rock To Build Upon

My message is not telling you what to believe but to have a belief system that you can build a life upon. That is up for you to chose what aligns with who you are and how you see yourself in the world we live in. I hope this helps! Gratitude, Souletics “The Mindset Coach”

Does meditation help with sports?

Athletes that meditate daily can recover from injuries faster, have better focus and also get more out of training.

Do athletes meditate?

Yes, meditation is simply focusing or thinking on something constantly. Meditation is deciding to give you mind time to relax and focus on what is important.

What are the benefits of meditation?

Better focus Lower stress Improved sleep