I'll never forget the feeling that I had and went out for my first round with them,
Played horribly,
Was in a funk,
And on the very last hole I made a chip-in and they cheered.
And I didn't even know that a chip-in was getting the ball in the hole from outside of the green,
But it was beautiful.
And it left me with this amazing feeling.
And then I found out that I won six dollars of quarters because there's a chip-in pot.
Imagine how fantastic I was feeling from this experience.
And that is what kept me coming back for more.
Well,
Not just that.
Because it's truly beautiful and as long as there's no one running up behind you,
Peaceful.
I felt myself feeling just so serene when out there by myself.
It was really quite startling.
And so we're going to be having an experience feeling and tapping into what brings you back to golf.
What gives you the drive,
The urge,
That thing that makes you get in the car,
Get packed up,
Want to play your best game,
And get out there.
So let's begin by taking a couple nice deep breaths.
You see,
The nice thing about breathing is that it's very discreet.
We all do it.
And it can have,
Does have,
A very profound effect on our entire being.
It just gives us time to pause.
And a whole lot can happen in the moment of a pause.
But the trick is to just be in it.
So be here with me right now,
Letting all the things that you've already done or need to do go for now.
And to help give your mind something to focus upon,
You'll just start by listening.
Listening not just to the sounds in my environment,
But in your environment.
Just both near and far.
Allow these sounds to be the sounds of your observances,
Rather than having thoughts.
A small herd of deer.
We begin to feel our attention,
Especially the area around our eyes.
We use our eyes and our vision for so much,
Especially when we're golfing and we're focusing and we're being really mental about the whole thing.
Soften this area of the eye.
Make sure that your jaw is not clenched.
And just take a moment and allow your energy to move from your eyes to your jaw,
Filtering down through the rest of your body and just noticing if there's any glaringly obvious places that are holding tension.
And as you breathe in,
You're going to breathe into those places,
Creating an internal space around them.
And as you exhale,
Letting go of what's ready,
Willing,
And able in this moment.
As you release this tension,
The faintest of breezes has picked up,
Helping to clear and remove stagnant,
Doubtful,
Or obtrusive thoughts and feelings.
And so,
You're either going to remember an occasion that brought you the greatest surprise of joy on the golf course,
Or perhaps even just creating one of your own because you know what joy feels like.
So,
To continue preparing us,
You'll take another deep breath in and out.
And we're going to count backwards from 10 to 1,
Just to help us relax a little bit more.
A nice big inhale,
Releasing as you exhale.
10.
Softening.
7.
6.
3.
Exhale.
2.
1.
You have a felt sense of joy in your body,
In your mind's eye.
Perhaps it's a feeling,
A vision,
Something you hear,
Or even something you just know.
And with that joy comes a lightness,
A sense of cheer,
Delight.
Feel yourself feeling joyful and uplifted.
Breathe into these feelings,
Inviting them within you,
Connecting to them within you.
Every time that you inhale,
You are increasing the amount of joy.
And releasing the things that are hindering your joy.
Letting go,
Dissolving.
Big exhale.
Can you sense the openness?
Big exhale.
Can you sense the openness that comes from release?
The openness,
The lightness,
Allows things to become more fluid and free-flowing.
And because you're no longer just in your mind,
But completely embodied,
And you're also much more grounded,
Connect down into your feet.
The crown of the head,
The crown of the head,
Lifting,
Extending.
You feel a vast spaciousness within you.
There's hardly any difference between what's within you and the beauty that surrounds you.
And now,
We've imprinted this feeling,
Not just into ourselves,
But also connecting it to our breath.
And so you see this connecting with the feeling of what you wish to bring in.
Because we haven't even started playing yet,
And we already feel this good about it.
This is the gift of presence.
See it in your mind's eye.
Deeply know it.
And know that you can connect to this breath and this feeling anytime,
Anywhere.
Imagine that you've decided to pull it off.
It's the day before.
And as soon as you make the decision,
You're elated.
To ease the body.
We are more organized,
Moving with the flow,
Because we're creating this space of harmony.
And so we get our clubs and put them in the car,
Or maybe we go to the beach.
We make ourselves a little note,
Put it in our calendar.
And when you put your clubs in your car,
You just check and make sure that you have everything you need.
Balls,
Tees,
Maybe a towel.
Grateful for the game of golf.
For the experiences that you have had.
When I'm ready,
I notice this flash of myself becoming tense and worried.
I'm able to not just notice it,
But begin to let it go.
So as I'm standing at the back of my car,
I breathe in the excitement.
I feel the weight on my feet.
I stand up a little taller and let the energy flow through me.
Big exhale.
My tea time is around nine.
So I want to set myself up the best I can to help my body out.
To help out my focus,
My mental game,
My connecting.
When I wake up in the morning,
I drink some water.
Take another deep breath.
Just take a moment to assess how you feel in that moment.
And purposefully reconnecting golf and joy with the breath.
Let's do a couple stretches,
Warm-ups.
Get the old diesel engine on a cold day started.
It doesn't need to take long.
Or be in any certain pattern or form.
Just let your body move and breathe any which way it wants.
This sense of connecting and listening.
Brings you into the moment.
You find yourself pulling in at the course.
Before you get out of the car,
Take a deep breath.
While you're unloading,
Take a deep breath.
These moments of transition are opportunities for the breath.
For connection.
For joy.
You find yourself lining up to hit your first ball.
And to your surprise,
You still feel really good.
But let's go ahead and take another breath anyway.
And have a moment.
As you swing,
You breathe.
As you watch the path of your ball.
You breathe.
And you do this the whole time.
Or maybe just when you feel like you need a little boost.
Because the breath is always there.
A tool for you to have.
Anytime.
Anywhere.
Thank you for finding joy with me.
In this moment.
Namaste.
