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How to Use Meditation in Sports
By Christina | August 12, 2008
Ask anyone who has mastered a sport if they use some type of meditation or self talk to get through the stress of competition or mastering their skill and odds are they will say they use some form of mind body technique.
Think about a golfer who plays excellent when alone but as soon as he is in a foursome he freezes up. Now, imagine he is a golfer and a meditator. He knows how to bring himself to a calm, stress-free “place”. He knows how to consciously get in the “zone”, where with quiet inner joy, he placidly and smilingly “watches” himself play golf. He has learned how to be a witness to events, and to be emotionally non-attached to the outcome. His mind stays quiet. His muscles stay relaxed, and his swing is almost always fluid and precise.
Yogi Berra said, “You can’t hit the ball and think at the same time.” That may seem to not make sense but the more you think about it, the more it makes perfect sense. Thinking is linear and mechanical. When we think, we have a physical response. Muscles tighten in response to the real or imagined event that is about to present itself. Whether that is a stationary golf ball or a baseball bearing down on us at 90+ miles an hour.
We don’t think when we do things which are routine, we just do them. Tasks such as lacing our shoes, walking, driving a car, or perform various other tasks that we have so thoroughly learned that they have been turned over to our “automatic” pilot.
Meditation helps us apply the flow of routine to tasks that are not yet routine, or bring peace to events that may be stressful. Learn to meditate by finding a meditation teacher and you may find that not only does your golf score or other sport improve, but your entire life may begin to improve.
