Mindfulness - For Elite Athletes... & Everyone Else
The following excerpt is taking from an Associated Press posting on 6/7/08 from website of: http://www.espn.com/:
At last, Ana Ivanovic overcame her stage fright.
In two previous major finals, Ivanovic was so overwhelmed by the setting, so shaken by the stakes, that her focus fell apart and her shots went awry.
A year ago, Ana Ivanovic was rattled early in the French Open final. This year she took early leads in both sets to win her first Grand Slam title.
Not on this day.
Already assured of rising to No. 1 in the rankings for the first time, Ivanovic collected Grand Slam title No. 1 by beating Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3 in the French Open final Saturday.
Rather than erasing the memories of those lopsided losses in championship matches against Justine Henin at Roland Garros a year ago and against Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open in January, Ivanovic used the bitterness to help her.
"Many, many people ask me, 'Oh, you want to forget last year's final?' But I don't, because it was a great learning experience," said Ivanovic, a 20-year-old from Serbia.
She won only three games against Henin, then eight against Sharapova, and said of the latter defeat: "I had a few sleepless nights after that."
But in the months since, Ivanovic realized this: Part of her difficulty in those matches rested with either looking ahead -- "Hey, maybe I can actually win this thing," she was thinking against Henin -- or looking behind -- failing to put a few key points out of her mind against Sharapova.
Ivanovic lost two consecutive matches on clay before coming to Paris, and she knew she had to change something. She credits her strength and conditioning coach, Scott Byrnes, with helping find what she called a "tool" to make sure she stays focused on the court.
And it couldn't be simpler: Take the time to pause and breathe.
"My personality is I tend too much to think about what will be, and try to think too much in advance, which is definitely not too good," Ivanovic said. "So I found that breathing helps me to go back in a moment and just enjoy that very moment."
This is mindfulness in practice. Ivanovic won that day because she liberated herself from thoughts about winning and losing. Her full attention was on the very moment. In sports, even a 1% loss of attention can make a difference in highly competitive contests. We've all probably experienced "choking" in a sporting event at some point or another...or at least seen it in others. Choking is really just when a person gets lost in thoughts about winning or losing...beating themselves up for missed opportunities or getting too excited about the prospects of winning.
The lessons about mindfulness apply to all of life, not just sports. If you look around and reflect on your own experiences, you will know this to be true. As Carly Simon once sang, "These are the good old days."
Ivanovic defeats Safina for French Open Title
At last, Ana Ivanovic overcame her stage fright.
In two previous major finals, Ivanovic was so overwhelmed by the setting, so shaken by the stakes, that her focus fell apart and her shots went awry.
A year ago, Ana Ivanovic was rattled early in the French Open final. This year she took early leads in both sets to win her first Grand Slam title.
Not on this day.
Already assured of rising to No. 1 in the rankings for the first time, Ivanovic collected Grand Slam title No. 1 by beating Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3 in the French Open final Saturday.
Rather than erasing the memories of those lopsided losses in championship matches against Justine Henin at Roland Garros a year ago and against Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open in January, Ivanovic used the bitterness to help her.
"Many, many people ask me, 'Oh, you want to forget last year's final?' But I don't, because it was a great learning experience," said Ivanovic, a 20-year-old from Serbia.
She won only three games against Henin, then eight against Sharapova, and said of the latter defeat: "I had a few sleepless nights after that."
But in the months since, Ivanovic realized this: Part of her difficulty in those matches rested with either looking ahead -- "Hey, maybe I can actually win this thing," she was thinking against Henin -- or looking behind -- failing to put a few key points out of her mind against Sharapova.
Ivanovic lost two consecutive matches on clay before coming to Paris, and she knew she had to change something. She credits her strength and conditioning coach, Scott Byrnes, with helping find what she called a "tool" to make sure she stays focused on the court.
And it couldn't be simpler: Take the time to pause and breathe.
"My personality is I tend too much to think about what will be, and try to think too much in advance, which is definitely not too good," Ivanovic said. "So I found that breathing helps me to go back in a moment and just enjoy that very moment."
This is mindfulness in practice. Ivanovic won that day because she liberated herself from thoughts about winning and losing. Her full attention was on the very moment. In sports, even a 1% loss of attention can make a difference in highly competitive contests. We've all probably experienced "choking" in a sporting event at some point or another...or at least seen it in others. Choking is really just when a person gets lost in thoughts about winning or losing...beating themselves up for missed opportunities or getting too excited about the prospects of winning.
The lessons about mindfulness apply to all of life, not just sports. If you look around and reflect on your own experiences, you will know this to be true. As Carly Simon once sang, "These are the good old days."
posted by Dr. Mike Brooks at 8:12 PM
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