Mindfulness In Sports: How Does It Affect Practitioners?

Pelé, one of the most famous football players in history, is clear on one point. For him, “it’s all about training”. It would be logical to think that this can be applied to mindfulness in sports as well. But does it really work that way?

According to sports coach and psychologist Jonathan García-Allen  , a large number of professional athletes have chosen to practice mindfulness in sports. They have made this choice along with cognitive behavioral therapy, which is so popular today. What is this about?

Mindfulness is a technique based on focusing all your attention on what you are doing in the present. Without judging and with as few filters as possible. The goal is to teach your mind methods to deal with thoughts, feelings, reactions and attitudes in the different situations that may arise. In this way  , mindfulness seeks to improve your consciousness. This through positive attitudes, self-awareness and freedom.

It seems proven that this method is ideal when it comes to sports. After all, a workout, match or confrontation requires full concentration for optimal performance.

Mindfulness leads to what is known as a “state of flow”. Have you ever had the feeling that you are so focused on an activity that it seems like you are  floating  while doing it? That’s exactly what the athletes are looking for. Especially during the most important moments in their achievements. And that is exactly what can be achieved through this technology.

So far we have seen that mindfulness is effective for all kinds of profiles. It is logical to believe that athletes are not exempt. The benefits and benefits of this technology should apply to them as well. How do you think mindfulness influences them?

• Mindfulness is an effective technique for raising athletes’ levels of motivation. Of course, this is fundamental to achieving optimal performance.
• It is also important for each individual’s activity level. The more focused and active an athlete is, the more effective he will be in performing his task.
• This technique helps to activate optimal stress levels. In this type of situation, stress is not a negative thing. In a competitive situation, something is necessary. And here comes mindfulness. It forces stress to reach optimal levels, which increases the athlete’s performance.
• It should be noted that  this technique succeeds in increasing the individual’s level of self-esteem and confidence. Logically, an athlete who fully believes in his abilities is better competition material.

• In addition  , mindfulness is very effective in interpreting successes and failures. An athlete may end his career when success declines. When he or she experiences constant loss. But with a reasonable and balanced view of things, an alternative, more sensible assessment can be made.
• This also serves as an effective tool for uniting a team of athletes. Mindfulness can create an optimal collective environment. This benefits the interpersonal relationships within a group of people.

As you can see, well-focused mindfulness is a very effective technique in sports. It can strengthen the confidence of athletes so that they succeed in reaching optimal levels of performance. In this way, people accept their feelings and thoughts. They can handle them naturally without having to change or exclude them.

This technique seeks to achieve self-awareness and a state of emotional balance. This allows efficient handling instead of exclusion. This brings us to the “state of flow”, the moment when everything flows and seems to be in perfect harmony. A state where the activities you perform do not seem to involve any effort.

Therefore, the key to this is to reach a state of effective acceptance of the present. When people allow themselves to be dragged along and united with the present. Otherwise, they may be pondering too much or trying to control everything. This behavior increases concentration. It also repels negative thoughts and guarantees a better sporting performance.

In this way, we can see that mindfulness in sports can be a very effective technique to increase athletes’ performance. In a state of emotional balance, where everything flows unhindered, the challenge will highlight the best of you. It will not be perceived as a tough task but a condition that you can enjoy.