Mindfulness
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the ability to be aware of moment-by-moment experiences (e.g., thoughts, smells, perceptions, moods, and physical sensations) in a nonjudgmental and nonreactive manner.1 Its roots are found in contemplative Buddhist practices and philosophy. Mindfulness can be a state of mind, practiced in meditation or mindfulness training, or a psychological trait linked to a tendency to be mindful in daily life.1 Much of an athlete's life is spent rushing around from one task to another. Mindfulness helps you tune into what you are sensing and experiencing in the present moment. When practicing mindfulness, you are paying careful attention to your thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations, without judging them as good or bad. Research suggests that it can reduce stress and increase the experience of positive emotions.3Jon Kabat-Zinn: What is Mindfulness?
Athletes and Mindfulness
Research has shown that mindfulness-based interventions may be beneficial for reducing injury risk, alleviating stress and negative emotions, and improving well-being among student-athletes.2 Increasing mindfulness and positive thinking through mindfulness practice can help athletes to act within their personal values, accept observations, and demonstrate mental flexibility. These abilities are important for athletes so they can receive feedback from coaches and adapt to it, making changes necessary for improvements in sports performance. In addition, research shows that student-athletes who participate in mindfulness-based interventions demonstrate higher goal-directed energy, increased awareness and attention, and greater tolerance of negative experiences.2 Being attentive and aware during competitions, being able to follow-through with athletic goals, and psychologically recovering from perceived failures or suffering in sports are all important skills to reach one's full potential as an athlete. Fewer injuries have also been found in mindfulness intervention groups compared to the control groups. This finding is supported by the stress-injury response model, which states that student-athletes experiencing high stress are also at risk for physical injury.2 Mindfulness is a useful injury prevention tool, in addition to cultivating performance-enhancing psychological traits.The five components of mindfulness include observe, describe, act with awareness, nonjudge, and non-reactivity. Research has indicated that the nonjudge and act with awareness facets can be particularly helpful for athletes to cultivate with training in order to help them manage stress through effective coping and reducing ruminative thinking (getting "stuck" on a specific thought that just keeps coming back). Being in tune with experiences is simply not enough for athletes to manage stress. This is illustrated by the observe factor of mindfulness presenting itself as a predictor of increased life stress among student-athletes. However, interpreting information or experiences in a positive manner after they are observed, and training to be acceptive and nonreactive to experiences can help the athlete manage stress healthfully.1 Ultimately, mindfulness can be helpful for managing stress, preventing injuries, and enhancing performance.
Benefits of Meditation for Athletes
Mindfulness Exercises
Just like building strength or endurance, mindfulness takes practice. These exercises may feel silly at first, but they are very useful in familiarizing ourselves with the present moment. Doing only one meditation likely will not change your performance or wellness much; however, practicing mindfulness consistently can be very impactful. The more you practice, the better you will get at applying mindfulness practice to competition, academics, sports practice, and other areas of life. Here are some mindfulness exercises. More exercises can be found HERE- The Raisin Meditation: This is a core mindfulness exercise and may be a good place to start. In this exercise, you will savor a raisin using mindfulness techniques. If you don't like raisins, you can choose another small piece of food such as a mint, piece of candy, or other dried fruits.
- The Walking Meditation: In this exercise, you practice mindfulness during a short, 10-minute walk. If you leave a bit early for class and walk alone, you can easily incorporate this one into your daily routine.
- Mindful Breathing: Spend 15 minutes paying attention to the sensations of your natural breath, without changing or judging it.
- Self-Compassion Break: Take 5 minutes to think of a situation causing your stress (performance anxiety, body composition, schoolwork, etc.), practice three main components in this exercise: mindfulness, a feeling of common humanity, and self-kindness.
- How Would You Treat A Friend?: This mindful self-compassion exercise can be helpful to manage situations of stress, guilt, anxiety, or fear. People often find it more natural to be compassionate toward others than to be compassionate toward themselves. So, in a challenging situation, one way to increase self-compassion is to imagine what one would say to a friend in a similar position, then direct those same sentiments toward oneself.
Free Mindfulness-Based Meditation Apps
Having a mindfulness app can make mindfulness practice more accessible to you, and give you more options for mindfulness exercises. You can even set up a reminder alarm on your phone to do your mindfulness practice.More About Mindfulness
- MSU Office of Health Advancement: Koru Mindfulness Training for MSU Students
- Mindful: 5 simple mindfulness practices for daily life
- TED Talk: All it Takes is 10 Mindful Minutes
- Taking Charge of Health and Well Being: How Does Mindfulness Work?
- YouTube: Kobe Bryant Sleep and Meditation
- Mindfulness Self-Help Tools from MSU Counseling & Psychological Services
References
- Kaiseler, M., Poolton, J., Backhouse, S., & Stanger, N. (2017). The relationship between mindfulness and life stress in student-athletes: The mediating role of coping effectiveness and decision urmination. The Sport Psychologist, 31(3), 288-298. doi: 10.1123/tsp.2016-0083
- Petterson, H., & Olson, B. L. (2017). Effects of mindfulness-based interventions in high school and college athletes for reducing stress and injury, and improving quality of life. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, 26(6), 578-587. doi: 10.1123/jsr.2016-0047
- Greater Good in Action: Science-Based Practices for Everyday Life. (2021). The Walking Meditation. Retrieved from: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/walking_meditation
Developed 2021 by Quinn DeStefano, OTD Student
Reviewed 2021 by Aaron Grusonik, MA, Psy.D
