| Doreen Greenberg is a Certified
Sports Psychology Consultant, she obtained her Doctorate from Temple
University in Psycho-Social Interaction in Sport and her Master's
degree from Villanova University in Counseling and Human Relations.
She is an Assistant Professor at Stockton. She has experience with
collegiate, olympic and professional athletes. Doreen is also a
member of the USOC Sport Psychology Registry. |
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Mind Power- Part 2
By Doreen Greenberg, Ph.D
You can get MIND POWER for your sport performance. It is
all about training your mind - just like you train your body. You
definitely need to practice these mental exercises. They should
become second nature to you, just in case you need to use them.
CONCENTRATION AND FOCUS
 Losing
focus lately? Feeling lost? Do you sometimes feel that you are unable
to concentrate? It probably seems like you are also losing control.
Enhancing your concentration and focus skills is a way of getting
your control back.
Two key elements are:
•
Getting rid of distractions
• Learning
to focus on the moment
There is a lot to think about when you are training and competing.
When you are anxious or distracted by irrelevant thoughts, you are
not operating at your highest level of attention.
Mind power - Concentration Goals
•
Learning a "relaxed focus"
•
The ability to screen out immaterial thoughts
• A
quick return to full focus, when distracted
It's a four step process to better concentration levels:
 1.
Awareness- This is the first step on the road to success.
Pay attention to what typically disrupts your attention. Is it something
external -a noise or a distracting vision; is it the weather? Or
is it something inside of you - negative thoughts or physical sensations?
Keep a journal of what bothers you.
2. Distraction control- Once you have figured out your personal
pattern of distraction you need to try out some of the exercises
below to help you get rid of them.
3. Mental readiness- Relaxation and concentration go hand
in hand. You can try a mental rehearsal of your athletic performance,
in a relaxed and focused state.
4. Full focus- Concentrating only on the moment. Letting
go of what happened last week or thoughts of what might happen after
the game.
MIND POWER- Concentration strategies
1. Deep, Rhythmic Breathing
In the last column, breathing was discussed as a great relaxation
method. Breathing can help you with a much higher level of concentration,
too. It is an easy way to gently bring your mind back from wandering
- without much effort. The center for breathing is located in the
part of the brain where all the centers for life are located. The
heart, the blood flow, the muscles, your emotions and concentration
are in the same brain area. So, changes in breathing can affect
all of these things.
Concentration breathing may include picturing your breath as a color
(wisps of purple) going in and out; or repeating the words "out"
and "in" with each deep, slow, full breath.
2. Sitting Still Exercise
This is an exercise to quiet the mind and body. It will only take
a few minutes. You might want to have someone read the instructions
to you the first couple of times.
•
Assume
a comfortable sitting position
•
Keep
your neck, spine, and head aligned with each other.
•
Rest
your hands on your knees, with the thumb lightly touching the tip
of the forefinger.
•
Close
your eyes, but not squeezed shut.
•
Release
the tension . . . tension is an obstacle to concentration
•
Sit
still steadily. Do not move. Your mind and body are one. When your
body moves. Your mind moves. Become aware of your thoughts-let them
come in and out. Notice how your thoughts are connected. Then let
them slip away.
•
Be
aware of your natural and calm breathing that lets your thoughts
slip away.
Now you are ready to focus on the job at hand.
3. Cue Words
 These
are special words or phrases that you discover, and repeat to yourself
to bring back your full attention. They might represent a special
event or place where you were very successful (Wimbledon!). The
words might be symbolic of the way you want to feel ("faster than
a speeding bullet"). They might be instructional (smooth, calm and
swift!)
4. Yoga Stretches
These stretches are deliberately slow and gentle. They are done
with careful, deep rhythmic breathing. As you stretch each body
part (hamstring, for example), you repeat the message in your mind,
"I am stretching the (hamstring)". In this way, it is a focused
stretch- where you let the stretch happen. Then you are ready to
concentrate on your performance.
Concentration is often the deciding factor in athletic competition.
It takes most athletes a long time to develop good concentration
skills to be able to consistently perform under pressure. So think
patience and persistence.
Next time- MIND POWER NUMBER 3- Imagery power |
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