Meditating with the ocean while I stretch my hips out after a run. August 2014 vacation.
A few weeks ago, I started this series talking about carbohydrate loading before an endurance event and why it works. Hopefully, you were able to glean the proper way to anticipate your body’s needs through carb loading instead of using the term as a reason to engorge yourself on flour products the night before a sporting event (one of my major pet peeves)! The hubs and I have been filling the end of our summer with many family travels, which is fantastic, but it’s time for me to sit down and end the suspense. The next segment in this series is finally here!
Outside of analyzing my fuel needs as a part of pre-race prep, I also spend a good deal of time on mental preparation. Nothing beats proper physical training when it comes to making sure your body is ready for the task at hand, but self-doubt can paralyze even the most experienced person. No matter how many times you physically practice jumping onto a platform, if your mind is full of niggling doubt and all you can see happening is an epic failure, chances are your performance will suffer for it.
The amazing power of the human mind to help us prepare for challenges has been documented and utilized by sports psychologists, and more recent studies support the role of mindfulness in the Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment relationship (or MAC). You can read an easily-digestible scholarly article excerpt here about this approach. Although visualization and MAC can appear to be at odds with each other, I believe they both have a place in the preparation phase of a challenge. Let me explain…
MAC supports acknowledging the existence of negative thoughts or emotions about an event (Mindfulness). Once you acknowledge that you have an “Achilles heel,” or an area where you feel less confident, you can then move to Acceptance. Accepting the reality of your emotions, thoughts, and fears removes the power of those feelings over you. This step also allows you to approach your event without obsessing over any shortcomings or limitations you anticipate. The goal is to stay objective in this step, which can be hard, neither applauding nor condemning the thoughts. You acknowledge them for what they are, and then move on. In the third step of this process, Commitment, you have the opportunity to own your fears and insecurities, and commit to doing the best job that you can regardless of any anticipated setbacks.
Visualization is the practice of meditating on results that you want to see: you practice seeing yourself in your mind’s eye approaching the challenge at hand; you tackle the challenge, and succeed gloriously. Leading up to your event, it is suggested that you complete this practice regularly, maybe even getting to the point that you are dreaming about your upcoming success, not just the challenge. Using mental imagery in this way can enhance the nervous system’s reaction time and therefore improve physical performance, as well as increasing confidence and helping you to feel more prepared for the task at hand. The technical term for this is Visual Motor Behavior Rehearsal, or VMBR.
Sounds like a bunch of hooey, doesn’t it? And, truth be told, it can be hard to objectively compare such a subjective matter (ie, there are no markers to compare how successful I feel after VMBR or MAC versus how successful YOU feel after VMBR or MAC). However, more concrete findings of physical markers (breath rate, blood pressure, heart rate, reaction time) correlate reliably, and indicate that these sorts of practices do in fact improve performance.
The hubs and I , appreciating a beautiful day after church and a run while on vacation. We try to remember to be fully in the present moment, which is a meditation in its own right.
With the hectic pace we all tend to run at in our daily lives, it is beneficial and improves your overall wellness in many ways to take some time to readjust your focus. Whether you’re getting ready for an Olympic competition or facing the challenges of your day-to-day, using skills learned through MAC, VMBR, or similar meditation can positively influence your physical and mental health, your outlook, and help you be and feel more prepared. So the next time you find yourself preparing for an event, or just feeling stretched a little thin, I challenge you to take some time to refocus your attention on what’s important. What is your goal? Why are you doing this event? What are you anxious about? What are you not anxious about? When you take the time to self-realize, you may not only calm your nerves but also reach new heights that seemed unattainable!
What do you think about these concepts? Have you ever used them before? If you have some time to read a good scholarly article on the topic, check this out!
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