What is meditation for athletes? Are we cross legged in the locker room summoning the power of the sports gods? While some of us might, generally athletes that practice mediation incorporate it into their daily routine, and it becomes as common for them as stretching in the morning.
I have one of those minds that can never settle down. Thoughts fly through my head, without control, and often consume me in a negative, stressful way. Something as calm and even keeled as mediation always seemed laughable, unachievable. The benefits of meditation sounded like a cure for my constant stress and racing mind, but every time I tried, frustration would settle in as I’d be fighting my own thoughts in a last-ditch effort to “empty my mind”.
In a not so timely manner, I learned that meditation’s focus is not about completely clearing the mind, but rather, accepting the thoughts you have and learning how to “be in the moment”. Eckhart Tolle says it best in “The Power of Now”. Tolle proclaims that the worst thing you can do is to fight the natural thoughts that dance in your head. When you fight them, you are fighting a piece of yourself. Don’t. Instead, accept them, and observe your thoughts from afar, almost as if you’re a spectator watching the thought move through your mind and disappear from view. Remember, we are not our thoughts, we are what we do. Accepting negative thoughts you have is not acting upon them or believing them, it’s acknowledging what they are, and then moving on from them.
Accepting these thoughts, even the negative ones, helps you come to terms with your own stressful, sometimes negative mindset. By observing them, and letting them disappear, you not only learn more about yourself, but it helps you acknowledge that at that very moment, thoughts are nothing more than minor passing annoyances, and can’t control the calm mindset you are trying to achieve.
As an athlete, practicing mediation every day or every week will help mentally stabilize you. Athletes are on the ice, field, court, or track 5-6 times a week with no break in the pace of their training. It can be overwhelming and by mid-season you risk burn out. Emptying your mind, or as I like to call it, calming your mind, each day will help relax you, process your thoughts, and reenergize you for the next day, practice, or game.
How Do I Start?
This biggest problem for many is figuring out how to start. Luckily, meditation can be achieved in as little as 5 minutes a day. Take this time for yourself to block out the outside world. School, work, sports; right now, none of it matters, this time is for you. Turn on some music or your favorite guided mediation from YouTube, or enjoy complete silence. Sit back and close your eyes. Let your thoughts develop as they would, and don’t fight them, watch them as though observing. Once you do this a few times, it becomes easy! Imagine detaching yourself from your thoughts for just a few moments a day, what a freeing feeling! As you practice mediating more, the calm state you are trying to achieve comes even easier, and you’ll find one day, your mind empties itself and becomes clearer without forcing it that way.
Give it a shot and be patient! The skill takes a while to develop but starting out is the first step to a clearer mind and healthier mindset.
