Focused Attention Meditation for Athletes Hi,
And thank you for joining me in today's meditation practice for focus.
When we are stressed,
Overwhelmed or distracted,
We can regain momentum by resting our attention on a single focal point.
In this practice,
We will focus on our breath.
No matter what the situation is,
Whether you are calming your nerves for your upcoming event,
Or whether you are simply trying to take it down a few notches,
The ability to calm and focus a busy mind can be very beneficial for athletes.
When your mind is focused,
When everything else is just fading away in the background,
We are better able to achieve peak performance.
This specific mindfulness practice that enables us to experience calm and focus in a very direct way is called focused attention training.
Focused attention is the ability to respond discreetly to a specific visual,
Auditory or tactile stimuli.
Practicing this type of attention can be very helpful for athletes in,
For example,
Being better able to focus on hearing,
Seeing or feeling a specific move of a ball or an opponent.
So begin by finding a comfortable position,
Seated upright with a tall spine,
Letting your arms relax and inviting air into the belly.
Just allow the breath to flow freely,
Without any restrictions,
Or without wishing to change or control the breath.
Take a deep breath into the abdomen,
Then breathe out slowly,
Letting the air escape between your lips.
Continue to breathe deeply,
Slowing down the exhale.
And as you are getting settled and relaxed,
I want you to focus on where you feel the breath the strongest.
Take a moment here to explore where you feel the sensations of oxygen entering your body.
Perhaps you feel the breath as it enters the nose,
Or maybe you feel it in the back of the throat or in the belly,
And the rising and falling of each inhale and exhale.
Now see if you can let everything else fade away in the background.
Wandering thoughts,
Sensations,
Other things you might hear or feel,
Just let it all go.
Your exercise for today is to remain focused on your breath for the duration of this session.
In order to help slow your thoughts and focus attention on breathing,
You can count the breath as you inhale,
And as you exhale,
Repeat a word such as focus or calm.
Inhale,
One.
Exhale,
Calm.
Inhale,
Two.
Exhale,
Calm.
Continue counting your breaths until you get to ten,
And then start over at one.
It is perfectly natural for other thoughts to come into your mind.
Simply focus and bring yourself back.
Try not to get angry or frustrated.
Just allow the thoughts to pass through your mind and bring your attention back to counting as often as you need to.
Continue counting your breaths until you get to ten.
Continue counting your breaths until you get to ten.
Continue counting your breaths until you get to ten.
Continue counting your breaths until you get to ten.
Continue counting your breaths until you get to ten.
Now soften your awareness and allow yourself to breathe naturally.
As with anything,
Practice is essential to develop this focused attention skill so that it becomes something that you can use to decrease stress in difficult situations.
As you become more skilled at focused attention,
You may begin practicing using it in mildly distressing situations,
Such as when feeling impatient while waiting in line.
And as you progress using this skill,
You can use it in more challenging situations.
Slowly bring your awareness back to the room that you are in.
Feel the surface beneath you.
Then wiggle your fingers,
Wiggle your toes,
And open your eyes when you are ready.
Thank you for listening.
Have a wonderful day.
