Mindfulness tools have undergone several thousand scientific studies to test their effectiveness. As a result of such verification, we know that exercises based on concentration and focus substantially contribute to supporting the mental well-being, but also biological functioning of people who perform them regularly. It may be of particular interest to those who do sports. Why?
Mindfulness tools affect spheres and structures such as:
- supporting brain functioning and performance,
- regulating blood pressure in the body,
- natural deepening of the breath,
- increasing self-awareness, that is the feeling that we have a good understanding of the sensations, thoughts and emotions we are currently experiencing, but also that we are aware of the needs of our body and psychological needs,
- facilitating control of one’s impulses,
- limiting negative thoughts.
With such a rich influence of regular mindfulness practice, could it have an impact on athletic performance? It turns out that such impact does exist – and it’s huge.
The athlete’s head, or something about the attitude
If you want to keep your sporting activity at a high level and improve your performance, such as regularity, speed, precision or body capacity, you are probably perfectly aware that in addition to your body working in motion, mental attitude is also of great importance for achieving your goals.
Everything starts in your head: it’s where you make decisions: “I want to run a half marathon”, and it’s where ideas like “It would be great to develop my musculature” or “I want to do sports regularly” spring up.
You could say that the head, or our command centre, is responsible for these ideas and is also very important for the continued success of such undertakings. This is because we often find it difficult to stay motivated or overcome our reluctance before going to a planned workout.
Obstacles stemming from our attitude towards a chosen activity can be a huge hindrance on the way to achieving sporting goals, which is why professional athletes use the support of mental trainers, coaches or psychologists. It is safe to say, and it’s not an overstatement, that in doing sports, body training is just as important as head training.
There’s a reason why one of the most famous coaches, and also a tennis coach, Timothy Gallwey, wrote the world-famous book “The Inner Game of Tennis”, in which he takes a closer look at the validity of mental training. The goal is to achieve such a state that the body and mind reach harmony, and such symbiosis is the starting point and precondition for excellent sports results. It is also possible to achieve a lot without worrying about this synergy, but as stories of the most successful athletes prove, such a path may go hand in hand with overexploiting the capabilities of one’s body or with the inability to use the dormant potential in it.
Mindfulness training, based on regular practice of focusing on the breath and observing one’s cognitive processes and emerging emotions, allows one, as has been scientifically proven, to better deal with their impulses, such as thoughts: “I'm not going to a workout today” and stick to a set rhythm of physical activity.
This is because as a result of regular mindfulness exercises, as shown by neuroimaging of the brain, a person’s prefrontal cortex is expanded and limbic system structures become less aroused. An enlarged prefrontal cortex helps us make decisions that are important to us and stick to them, and at the same time the calmed emotions that result from a soothed limbic system don’t affect those decisions as much. Thus we are less susceptible to our moods and the influence of the moment and hence less reactive. Such state helps us tremendously in maintaining regularity of workouts and self-imposed discipline, without which it is difficult to talk about practicing sports seriously.
Why do I need this result?
Mindfulness training, by increasing self-awareness, also enables us to better understand the bigger goals behind our sports dreams. It helps to ask questions about meaning: “Why do I want to run this marathon?”, “What non-sporting goal do I want to achieve?”.
Often our need to perform in some area, and it doesn’t apply to sports only, stems from the desire to satisfy other needs, such as a need for recognition, or a deep need to get our lives in order, where regularity of training will provide a sense of influence and security (“Whatever happens, I know I start each day with 15 minutes of gymnastics”).
If you know your primary needs, it’s easier to connect them with some meaningful value you’re pursuing through your athletic performance. Shy people may feel more confident thanks to athletic performance, while lonely people may seek to connect with others by training together.
Your sporting goal, too, surely serves some of your psychological needs. Maybe you want to feel empowered because it helps you believe in yourself and feel that if you can handle a half marathon, you can handle difficult situations in life?
Maybe you’re working on your muscles so you can use your workout to deal with the thoughts that sometimes bother you about your old addiction, and your daily discipline helps you push them away?
Or perhaps by riding your bike you feel the stress go away and thus protect your mental health?
Mindfulness helps us understand ourselves better, to see our own needs, to understand the reasons why we choose to act in a certain way.
Motivation is the mother of success
Mindfulness helps us see and understand ourselves, and in turn enables us to cleverly use such knowledge about ourselves. For example, by developing the ability to motivate ourselves. Scientists and researchers say that the ability to motivate oneself is a component of so-called emotional intelligence, which facilitates our social functioning, but also better coping with internal obstacles.
When, through daily mindfulness exercises that largely involve self-observation, we notice which factors discourage us and which have an energizing effect on us, we can use this knowledge about ourselves in very practical ways.
For example: I’ve noticed that after a chat with a complaining neighbour, my energy drops, I start worrying about the future, and the last thing I feel like doing is working out. So I can draw a conclusion from this: before the scheduled time of my exercise, I had better flee when I hear her footsteps in the staircase.
Am I motivated by beauty, or aesthetics? Maybe getting myself an attractive exercise outfit will make my desire to work out surge. I know that others will admire me when I reach my sporting goal, and the need for recognition motivates me the most, doesn’t it? I can picture my friends congratulating me after a sporting event in which I stand on the podium and take advantage of the energy that is born in me at that time while I am exercising.
Self-care
There is another wonderful thing that is slowly building up with every minute spent on mindfulness techniques. It is a gently and gradually growing respect for our body and health, and increased gratitude for what we have, even if we thought we didn’t have much.
We are beginning to appreciate more and more our bodies that have the ability to move and try so hard to support us in achieving our goals. It’s a great way to build inner wisdom, one that allows us to not lose ourselves in setting the next bar for ourselves that might be too much of a health challenge. The harmony that comes from practicing mindfulness will allow us to use the movement possibilities our bodies are given in the best and healthiest way.