Sports Psychology
Relaxation
Exercises for Athletes
Anyone who has ever had "butterflies" knows how drastically our anxiety
level can effect our performance. Even great athletes experience
such feelings, but they learn how to suppress those feelings so they
can perform at their highest level. For many of us, the
"butterflies" quickly fade away once competition begins.
Unfortunately, that is not always the end of them.
Butterflies are famous for their metamorphosis, and
our internal "butterflies" can change also. Sometimes they seem
to flitter away, only to reappear when the game reaches a critical
moment. Maybe they lurk in the distance until we are personally
"on the spot", then come out to distract us from our task. They might metamorphosize into
giant monsters like Mothra,
and frighten us so badly that we actually "choke".
The athlete who gains control over their feelings of
anxiety and unease is much
more likely to succeed at tasks they've designated as important than
the athlete who simply hopes
those feelings will go away. If there's anything you've learned in
this course, I would imagine that it would be that hoping does not make things
happen. Having a plan with a strategy to improve our situation is
the only way to feel confident that we will overcome any negatives we
have to deal with.
When
developing a relaxation routine, it is important to keep the situation
and
the sport in mind. Certain types of relaxation obviously work
better for
golfers than for football players, at least in game situations.
Golfers are faced with quiet, very internally intense situations, while
football players have much more noisy, external events to focus
on. For a golfer, a smooth, relaxed technique when swinging is
essential to accuracy, but a football player who makes a smooth,
relaxed run through the line may get killed if he's too relaxed. As a
result, both athletes
might have the same relaxation routine when they are at home in a
comfortable chair, but their routines for use in competition will be
drastically different.
This is another strategy in which you may find anchoring to be beneficial.
Because all athletic competitions have a flow and pace all their own,
you may need a physical cue to help you quickly access a feeling of
relaxation. In football you might use it just before the huddle
begins, in golf you'd have a bit more time while lining up a shot, in
soccer it would literally have to come in one of those moments when the
flow of the game had gone completely away from you.
THE PROCESS:
In preparing our relaxation routines, we're going to
want a very quiet place with no distractions, where we feel very safe
and comfortable. It is essential to the process that we develop a
good technique (just as with any of our other physical or mental
skills) so the process will come naturally when we need it. As with any other strategy, if you
do not practice it, do not expect it to work! As I told
you at the beginning, there is no magic in sports psychology.
Just as you must give good effort and serious purpose to your physical
practice each day, you must also give good effort and serious purpose
to your mental practice. The benefits of doing so may seem like magic, but the
ability was within you all along. The key here is that not
everyone is capable of great physical
performance, but nearly everyone is capable of great mental performance.
Since
situations vary, I'm going to give you two scenarios to work with on
your relaxation exercises. This will give you a strategy for both
instant anxiety reduction, and also for full relaxation. The
first can easily be used in practice or game situations, while the
second is better for post-game work, or other times removed from actual
competition.
[1] Quick-focus Strategy
There you are, in the middle of an
intense competition, and you can feel the tension building in your
body, restricting your movement and making it difficult to breathe or
concentrate. You need to get back on task immediately, and
perform successfully. Here is what you do:
Close
your eyes.
Take one deep breath in, like the Complete Breath you learned on the Breathing page. As you inhale, tense
all your muscles somewhat.
Picture your special
place in your mind. (The one you developed on the Visualizations page.)
As you exhale, say the word "Relax" loudly within
your mind. During that exhalation, feel - in a very physical and dramatic
way - all the tension in your body draining away and running out like
water on the ground. See and feel this
occurrence fully.
Open your eyes and immediately focus on what you
intend to do next. (Hit the ball, tackle the runner, shoot the
shot, etc.)
Return to your normal breathing pattern.
The entire process takes
the length of only one breath, so time is not a factor at all.
The first few times you do this, you may not notice a great improvement
in your anxiety level, but as you "practice" this technique it will
become more and more effective. So, of course, you are going to
use it in with your physical practice whenever it might be relevant,
right? Basketball coaches love to end practices with a player
shooting foul shots to cut the amount of running. There stands
the team, imploring you to make a shot so they can go home. It's
the perfect opportunity to practice the Quick-focus Strategy. Now,
when you get to State, the "pressure" foul shot will feel just like
practice at home. (well, reasonably so.)
If you want to practice the Quick-focus Strategy at home,
simply begin the process by visualizing
a game or practice situation in which you feel uncomfortable, tense,
and anxious. Get yourself a bit "worked up", then use this
strategy to relax you quickly. Since you're actually in no real
danger, practicing this way helps establish to your body how it is
supposed to react, even though there are no consequences for
failure. (This is just like the kid shooting hoops in his back
yard, who says before each shot, "He's got the ball, time is running
out, the world championship is on the line, he shoots, the buzzer goes
off...")
[2] Extended-focus Strategy
When we find ourselves with a bit more time to
practice, the Extended-focus Strategy
gives us a technique that works to help us fully relax. This is
an excellent technique to use just before going to sleep, because it
will leave you feeling completely relaxed and at peace with
yourself. It is also good to use in the middle of a game day, to
prevent too much tension from building up inside you in
anticipation. A good session of this type could take as little as
15 minutes, or could stretch on for around 45. Your goals for
each session should determine how much time you'll need. (If your
goal is to go to sleep at the end, you'll need several hours!)
For this technique, you will need to be in a quiet
place with no distractions, and seated or lying in a comfortable
position. Early on, you may also feel the need for a tape to go
along with this, to remind you what to do and in what order. This
process is sometimes called Progressive
Relaxation, because it moves logically (progresses) from one
step to another that is more relaxed. I know
that at some point you're going to say, "Wow, this looks like a lot to
do!" Realistically, it is just different than what you usually
do. It will take you less than the equivalent of two physical
practice sessions to get onto the idea, so PERSEVERE! (See me if
you need help with the process.)
(A) You are in a quiet, safe place, and your body
is positioned comfortably, and you are breathing normally.
(B) Close your eyes.
(C) Take a Complete
Breath, and as you exhale, feel all your tension, worries, and
cares draining out of your body with the air.
(D) Take a second, deeper Complete Breath, fillin your lungs
with good oxygen, and again draining your cares away as you exhale.
(E) Take a third and even deeper breath,
holding it just slightly, and again letting every concern drain out of
your body with it.
(F) Return to normal Abdominal Breath and remain relaxed
and comfortable.
(G) Now begins a sequence of tightening and
relaxing each muscle group. For each group, you will tense the
muscles as much as you can in your comfortable position. By
tensing them, you will force all tightness in your muscles to the
surface, where it can then be released from your body as you relax each
muscle group. The process is: tense the muscles, push the
tightness to the surface, relax the muscles, let the tension float away
from you. The groups, in order are:
(1) the toes, feet, ankles, calves,
thighs, and buttocks;
(2) the fingers, hands, wrists,
forearms, and upper arms;
(3) the abdomen, lower back, chest, and
upper back;
(4) the shoulders, neck, and facial
muscles.
(H) Repeat steps C, D, E, and then F, draining
away any residual tension or discomfort you might feel.
(I) Breathe normally for a little while,
letting your body feel relaxed and be at peace with yourself and the
world.
(J) In your mind, go to your "special
place". Here, you are totally in control, at peace, comfortable
and safe. Here you can focus totally on exactly what you wish to
do, and it will occur just the way you imagine it will. It is the
perfect opportunity to try new things, experience new sensations, and
risk anything, because you will
succeed here.
At this point, you have to make a choice about
where you want this routine to go, and the way you proceed is governed
by that choice.
~ If you wish to work on developing specific physical
skills, then (K) is to visualize yourself performing successfully,
seeing all the details and nuances of your performance, and changing
whatever needs to be changed in order to improve your current
functioning. You can see this in slow-motion, or even stop the
action and change what your next move will be. You may be using
images you created back on the visualization page.
~ If you wish to work at improving personal
relationships that are inhibiting your success in some way, then (K) is
to visualize a conversation with that person in which you tell them
honestly exactly how you are feeling and what is going on in your
mind. You can imagine them responding as they normally would, so
you can practice saying to them what you really need to say while remaining
positive and under emotional control. You can ask them about
their "side of the story" and work to refute their misconceptions
rationally and intelligently.
~ If you wanted to prepare for a difficult upcoming
test, then (K) might be to have a piece of paper in your special place,
and write on it only the very most significant things that you know you
will need to master for this test. Visualize the paper clearly
and write neatly on it the absolute essential information (especially
things you believe to be giving you "trouble" - lists, formulae,
etc.). Now you can be confident and peaceful, because you know
that during the test you will be able to access this piece of paper,
and remind yourself of the items that were important. It's like
having a "cheat sheet" in your mind - and there's nothing illegal about
that.
If you plan to follow all this by going to sleep,
the process is as follows:
(L) Working from your toes toward your
forehead, imagine that every part of your body is getting heavier and
heavier. You feel as though you are lying on a cloud, and you are
sinking down into it. You have no desire to move any part of your
body, and you are perfectly relaxed, peaceful, and at ease. Let
every part of your body become heavier and heavier, keep your breathing
relaxed and rhythmic, and feel totally relaxed and at peace.
Focus all your attention on the bridge of your nose, breathe gently and
easily, and let your body sink into the cloud, and you will be asleep
before you finish reading this.
If you plan to follow steps A-K by returning to a
normal day, you must proceed somewhat differently:
(L) Having completed your visualization, you
now want to re-energize your body so you can go on with your day.
Begin with another Complete Breath,
drawing in energy as you inhale. (If you have become adept at all the breathing patterns, you may rather use Victorious Breath here.)
(M) When you exhale, allow any tiredness or
fatigue to "blow" out of your body along with the air.
(N) Do at least 2 more breaths using the above
imagery. Breathe in energy and vitality, breathe out waste
particles and fatigue. Feel more energized, alert, and "ready to
go" with each succeeding breath.
(O) When you feel fully ready to go, open your
eyes, stand up, and stretch your body out fully (just like cats do when
they get up from one of their many naps).
(P) Reward yourself for a good session (candy
bar, pat on the back, personal pep-talk, etc.) - make it brief.
(Q) Proceed to a task that needs to get done,
and do it now, while you have all this new-found energy. (Doing
so will actually make you feel more energized!)
Finally,
Kay Porter, in her book The Mental Athlete calls
relaxation "a transferable behavioral skill applicable to a wide
variety of
situations". What she's saying, in technical jargon, is that just
like many of the other techniques you are learning in this course,
relaxation has applications that can make your everyday life better every day for the rest of your life. If
you look back on what we have done with positive thinking,
visualization, mental confidence, the elimination of obstacles,
self-affirmation, perseverance, problem analysis, record keeping, and
relaxation, you should be able to clearly see that you can take control
of your approach to life, and be successful in anything you do.
That's real power!