'Mindfulness' for Enhancing Sport Performance

This piece is an off-shot from the one I was writing on Yoga. As I was writing it, I began giving sports examples and then thought it was better I write one separately for Sport.

We’ve all heard that ancient Indian techniques of Yoga and meditation help in a variety of situations and illnesses. I’ve always tried to find the common ground between ‘Western and Eastern Psychology’ for my sessions, especially since the key is to stay ‘in the zone’ in sport. Only at the workshop did I realise that I was actually employing Indian methods to help in silencing the ‘monkey-mind’. What I am trying to showcase in the article is the importance of ‘going within’ in Sport. In today’s era, meditation probably seems too slow or for those who have too much time, yet it’s the opposite- if one wants to stay on the top, focused and in the zone – it helps to meditate.

In fact, at the Athletes Conclave organised by GoSports, I was amazed at the calmness with which both Bhindra and Gopichand addressed the questions and concerns in Sport. To me, Gopichand almost appeared to be in ‘Zen-like’ state- calm and smiling like a Buddha himself and his mantra was ‘positivity’. At first I thought he was being diplomatic but all his examples about his trials during his playing days also showed the same attitude, and the calmness stayed put in him! In fact, a question posed to him was what do Indians have that Chinese don’t, considering their dominance in many sport disciplines especially ‘badminton’.To which Gopi answered, ‘we are smarter’. I think what makes them so good apart from discipline is the ‘focus’ they develop from young. Look at all the martial art techniques, the key component is focus without straining or tiring oneself- they follow their age old traditions and are dominating the Sport World along with other Sports Developed Countries.

The key is therefore ‘centeredness’ and how does one attain that? Indian School brings out a beautiful concept of ‘Sakshi’ – Witness. Also, being a ‘witness’- ‘Sakshi’ is important as it helps in rising above ‘I, me, mine’. It is essential to ‘detach’ from the Ego and Results to look beyond. The minute we are viewing things as an ‘observer’, it helps us go beyond the ego-games and think at least a little higher. In fact,  we were advised on being a ‘Sakshi’ in whatever we were doing. We've all seen and heard how everyone has an opinion on how a ball ought to have been tackled be it in cricket, hockey, tennis or football. Of course, it’s easier for an outsider to state but actually if the same person would be playing- they might commit the same mistakes and not realise it. Why? Because the ‘I’ is attached to it- we tend to justify, and make ourselves look much better. So the trick is to remove the ‘I’. I’ve actually tried analysing with my players as a ‘third person’ and they end up giving a lot of valuable insights to themselves. No harm in trying right?

                The other important recipe is to be ‘in the present’ – not past or future. For this we have to quieten our monkey-mind, and meditation is one of the tested technique for ages! Meditation has varied meanings depending on the School of Thought. For eg., Indian Tradition views it as ‘going within’ whereas ‘Zen’ looks at it as focused attention in every activity. The common factor for both schools is ‘being in the present’. Great to use both to go inward and stay aware the entire day or as long as the game lasts- I know it’s not easy but this is exactly what is required in Sport. The calmness one sees in Dhoni in immense pressure situations is astounding. That’s what is required at the highest level of the game. His success talks of  how important it is to be calm and focused, thereby rightly earning the title ‘Mr. Cool’. This calmness would not only help him but it would also frazzle the opponent- so the advantage is dual. The minute the opposition knows your shaking or jittery- you’ve given them an unrequited advantage, and their self-confidence will tremendously improve. In fact, Matthew Hayden- one of Australia’s cricketing greats has attributed his cricketing success to his disciplined effort of meditating everyday which sharpens his focus while batting. In fact, he is the Coach of the West Australian Cricket Team (WACA) and is imbibing the culture into the young WA team.

One of the most celebrated martial artists- Bruce Lee’s views on detachment is apt to be brought in here:

"About four years of hard training in the art of gung fu, I began to understand and felt the principle of gentleness - the art of neutralizing the effect of the opponent's effort and minimizing expenditure of one's energy. All these must be done in calmness and without striving. It sounded simple, but in actual application it was difficult. The moment I engaged in combat with an opponent, my mind was completely perturbed and unstable. Especially after a series of exchanging blows and kicks, all my theory of gentleness was gone. My only one thought left was somehow or another I must beat him and win.

My instructor Professor Yip Man, head of the Wing Chun School, would come up to me and say, "Loong (Bruce's Chinese name), relax and calm your mind. Forget about yourself and follow the opponent's movement. Let your mind, the basic reality, do the counter-movement without any interfering deliberation. Above all, learn the art of detachment."

That was it! I must relax. However, right there I had already done something contradictory, against my will. That was when I said I must relax, the demand for effort in "must" was already inconsistent with the effortless in "relax". When my acute self-consciousness grew to what the psychologists called "double-blind" type, my instructor would again approach me and say, "Loong, preserve yourself by following the natural bends of things and don't interfere. Remember never to assert yourself against nature: never be in frontal opposition to any problem, but control it by swinging with it. Don't practice this week. Go home and think about it."

                A number of techniques are available to quieten the mind- we need to pick that which resonates to us. Here, some of the following to go ‘inside’:

-         Focusing on breath
-          Letting go of thoughts (dealing with them later)
-          Watching in Sakshi-witness mode and just observing thoughts- no chasing, justifying
-          Sanctioning that ‘I will stay focused or meditate for 10 mins’
-          Bring down clouds of Silence
-          Climb into the Cloud of Peace, Silence (which ever word resonates)
-          Entering the Realm of Silence
-          Invoking one’s God, Master, Guru, Light (recall Milkha Singh praying before every event in the movie ‘Bhaag Milka Bhaag’)

One cannot afford to lose focus while competing- the key is stay ‘in the here and now’- not past or future. Only by being focused can one give 100% to the game, and this comes by practising. Our intention – ‘Sankalp’ is very important in this regard- we have to find ways to meditate, focus, stay in the zone etc. I personally find it easier after Intending or making the ‘Sankalp’ to meditate and then focus on breathing; it’s like telling the mind- ‘this is what I want’. What we focus, tends to grow. So, we if can develop the art of focusing and blocking of distractions during meditation- its bound to come helpful in pressure situations.

At the highest level of competition where most are near-equal in skills- the mind plays a crucial role and exactly why it needs to be trained. Players need to ‘watch themselves’- what affects you and at which stage..? Are you getting angry, irritated and what do you do? We need to learn to use the ‘energy’ effectively – like Gilchrist and few other fast bowlers says- ‘I play better when I get angry’. There is no point getting angry and losing your wicket or peace of mind.  A cricketer remarked how he got agitated when the opponents sledged, lost his focus and his century. In fact, he said: “they wanted to break my focus, and I treated them by losing focus and my wicket’. This is where visualization is essential – to mentally prepare oneself for the challenges one might encounter during the day or competition. I normally get Players visualize and see that they can handle any challenging situation. May it could be used along with chakras if they’re happy with it.

One way to go ‘within’ could be to slowly remove our sense perception first by closing eyes, feeling how one’s body rests, then listening to sounds, focusing on breath, thoughts and eventually going deeper. What I mean to say is let it be gradual and unforced- and importantly ‘intend for what we truly want’. Gradually, it becomes easier to stay focused, blocking out distractions. The aim is to find and stay in one’s centre as long as possible and then it becomes a habit no matter what the situation. Imagine having the calmness of a Monk when everything around is against you! Key to this is being a ‘Sakshi’- witness mode every minute, which  brings in 'detachment' to some degree. The movie Karate Kid also shows how one can see one’s reflection in water only after the water has settled, and later Jackie Chan goes on to explain how one can subconsciously dictate the opponent by being ‘still and calm’- that’s the level of centeredness one should obtain. Not surprisingly, Bruce Lee stressed the importance of ‘flow’ in one of his videos as, ‘be like the flowing water my friend’. This is what is called the ‘Zone’ in Sport where one feels its poetry- like the way Federer makes tennis look- so eloquent and easy but there is immense practice behind it!

To sum up, first one has to ‘go within’ and detach, get aware of what is happening to oneself, figure which stage of competition does one lose focus, and what would help. Then practising to bring back one’s attention to the ‘here and now’ by any chosen method, ensuring one stays calm and focused in pressure situations which in turn provides greater chances of success! It's not easy but practice on and off the field takes you closer to your 'zone'!

The following quote by Bruce Lee emphasizes 'Mindfulness' quite aptly!

" No matter what you want to do, don't be nervous

(you should not let your muscles nor your mind be effected by nerves).

Just keep calm.

No illusion and no imagination,

but to apprehend the actual situation you are in and find a way to deal with it.

No excessive action is needed. Just keep your body and mind relaxed

to deal with the outside emergency."

 Hope I have managed to implant the seed of mindfulness in you'll- much needed for success in not just sport

but every facet of Life!