Mind Control is Real: Learn how with Mindfulness

Are you feeling held hostage by your own thoughts?  Are you fighting with the little voice in your head that says you CAN’T do it when you know you CAN?  Are your own thoughts making you feel frustrated, demotivated or stressed?

If you answered yes to any of these questions don’t worry, because you are in good company.  Many people struggle with this exact problem, but the good news is that you don’t have struggle anymore!  Give yourself the GIFT of Mindfulness just in time for the Holidays! Ho Ho Ho your way to a healthier and happier you!

Mindfulness is a mental (cognitive) relaxation technique that separates you from your own thoughts, allows you to view them in a nonjudgmental way and simply choose not to listen to them.  Mindfulness allows you to focus on the mind instead of the body. It is shown to reduce emotional distress by modulating and control thoughts of negativity, pain, and emotions.  A relaxed mind will lead to a relaxed body and ultimately improved attention on the task at hand and away from the stress of the injury or the exercise. 

Mindfulness, as defined by Cottraux (2007), is a mental state resulting from voluntarily focusing one’s attention on the present experience in its sensorial, mental, cognitive and emotional aspects, in a non-judgmental way.  This is to say that you can detach yourself from your own thoughts and accept or not accept that thought as truth.  Mindfulness can be used at any time, but is most effective if practiced.

Instructions for the Successful use of Mindfulness

• Give yourself time to complete the exercise. (Take a slow breath in between prompts).
• Remind yourself that your thoughts are your own and you can choose to ignore them, believe them, or discard them as you wish.
• Look at your thoughts without judgement.  They are just thoughts, nothing more and nothing else.
• Maintain a passive attitude, permit relaxation to occur. When distracting thoughts occur, remember to return your concentration to your mindfulness and exercise at hand.  
• Practice mindfulness in any situation.

Purpose:

Mindfulness is useful in drawing one’s focus to the sport or rehabilitation exercise to ensure correct execution of movements and to gain maximum benefits. Mindfulness can be used to allow emotions such as frustration, anger, and boredom to occur and pass on since they are viewed in a non-judgmental way. Mindfulness is allows you to remain focused on the present and achieve a relaxed state of mind and body while becoming more aware of the situation.

Exercise:  Use this exercise on yourself or an athlete that you might be working with.

Step 1: Isolate and confront the negative thought you are having.  Say the thought aloud.  A common thought during rehabilitation of an injury, for example is: “I am horrible at this exercise”.  You can distance yourself from that thought and choose not to believe it.

Step 2: Focus your attention on the present experience.  Take a deep breath.  On the inhale, pull in all the stress and negativity of the exercise and the day.  On the exhale release all of the tension and stress leaving only the task at hand.  – Repeat as necessary throughout the exercise to retain or regain focus.

Step 3: Say the original negative thought aloud. “I am horrible at this exercise,” say the thought slowly and focus only on this thought in this moment. Repeat three times.

Step 4: Add the phrase “I am having a thought” in front of the original thought so that it is said aloud with a pause in between the phrases.

“I am having a thought ….. that I am horrible at this exercise.”  Repeat three times.

Step 5: Distance yourself even further from the negative thought by adding the phrase. “I realize that in front of the first two phrases.

“I realize that .... I am having a thought ….. that I am horrible at this exercise”.  Repeat three times.  

Step 6: Now you can look at the thought in a nonjudgmental way, choose not to believe the thought, simply let it go, and refocus on the exercise.  You CAN do this!

How does it work?

By adding these two phrases, you have effectively detached yourself from the thought and have made it less personal.  You have effectively viewed the thought in a non-judgmental way and can simply choose not to believe the thought or to stop the thought and replace it with another aiding in your stress management and relaxation. 

Remember that we can control our own thoughts by acknowledging that they are just that, thoughts and NOT always truths.

For more information:

Arvinen-Barrow, M., & Walker, N. (2013). The psychology of sport injury and rehabilitation. In M. Arvinen-Barrow, & N. Walker (Eds.), The Psychology of Sport Injury and Rehabilitation (pp. 87-99). New York, New York: Routledge.

McCanny, C. (2015). The application of mindfulness practice in sport. Retrieved from http://www.thesportinmind.com/articles/the-application-of-mindfulness-practice-to-sport/

Captain Whitney Cissell

Bowling Green State University

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Have you ever noticed the feeling of your body being tense and tight after a hard practice, grueling game, or a long day of classes with homework ahead? What do you do?! Understanding relaxation can help to alleviate the tension and stress felt during situations such as those.

Relaxation is the “temporary deliberate withdrawal from everyday activity that aims to moderate the functions of the sympathetic nervous system which is usually activated under stress” (Hill, 2001, p. #). Whenever an athlete experiences any amount of pain, their pain typically will inhibit their breathing, which then reduces blood flow, which can cause muscle tension and muscle spasms. Relaxation also can act as an internal distraction. When you do PMR, you focus on the task of PMR and not on your pain or injury.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is one the most commonly techniques for relaxation. This technique involves the tensing followed by relaxing of all major muscle groups to allow the athlete to physically feel and become aware of the different sensations between tension and relaxation. It teaches athletes how to relax their muscles through a two-step process. Step 1) Tense particular muscle groups in your body, working from the top down, starting at your head then moving down to your shoulders, through your whole body. Step 2) Relax the muscle and release the tension and notice how your muscles feel when they are being relaxed.  It is important for the individuals to know what the absence of tension feels like, which can be done through relaxation.

PMR is beneficial because it can help to reduce overall tension as well as well as reduce stress levels. It can also help reduce physical problems such as headaches and stomachaches that can result from tension. Often you don’t realize how tense and stressed you are and fail to recognize what being relaxed truly feels like. Through practice with PRM, you learn how to distinguish the feelings of a tense muscle and a completely relaxed muscle. Once it becomes learned, an athlete can begin to “cue” this relaxed state when they first notice the feeling of muscle tension.  By learning and practicing tensing and releasing, not only does the individual get to feel what relaxation is like, but they are also able to recognize the first onset of tension within their muscles.

• Try to set aside roughly 15-20 minutes to complete PRM exercises.
• Find a place where you can be undisturbed to perform the exercises.
• Make sure you are in a comfortable area where there is little noise to distract.
• You don’t necessarily need to be feeling tense or anxious to do these exercises. In   fact, it is better to learn when you are calm and relaxed that way it can be easier to do when feeling anxious.
• Do not try to push your body beyond its limit. If you are experiencing pain or discomfort at any time, back off or stop all together!

Here are some helpful videos that are guided PMR exercises that can be done anywhere at any time.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86HUcX8ZtAk
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqJ2OMwP2n4

 

PRM Script

Begin with finding a comfortable position either lying down or sitting, where there will be no interruptions.

Allow your attention to focus only on your body right now. If you notice your thoughts start to drift away, bring your thoughts back to the muscle you are working on.

Let’s focus on our breathing…take a deep breath through your abdomen, close your mouth and inhale through your nose, counting to 4, holding for a few seconds, and then exhale. Noticing your stomach rising and your lungs filling with air as you inhale, and as you exhale, imagine the tension in your body being released and flowing out of your body. Slowly feeling your body to relax.

As we go through each step, remember to keep breathing. Now lets begin.

Tighten the muscles in your forehead. First, raise your eyebrows, raising them as high as you can, and hold for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, not abruptly release, feeling your muscles in your forehead relax and feeling the tension release.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Now working down, smile as wide as you can, feeling your cheeks and your mouth tense. Hold for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, now release, feeling the tension leaving and feeling the softness in your face.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Now, shrug your shoulders, tensing them up close to your ears, holding for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, now release, feeling the tension in your shoulders melt away and you release.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Now, tightly, without straining, clench your fists and hold for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, now release, opening up your palms, feeling more relaxed than ever.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Now, flex your bicep. Feeling the tension building up in your arms, squeezing and tensing those biceps. Holding for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, now release, feeling the limpness of your arms and feeling the relaxation of your muscles as your release.

Now, tighten the muscles in your stomach by sucking in. Holding for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, and release.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Feeling the limpness in your upper body letting go of all of the stress that has been built up.

Now tighten your buttocks. Hold for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, release, and image your hips falling lose.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Next tighten your thighs by pressing and squeezing your knees together as if you are holding a dollar in between them and you want to flatten that dollar. Hold for 5 seconds…1…2…3…4…5, good and now release, feeling the tension in your thighs releasing.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Now flex your feet, pulling your toes all the way towards your head and feeling the tension in your calves, holding for 5 seconds…1….2….3….4….5, and relax, feeling the weight of your legs sinking down and the tension in your calves release as your relax.

Pause for 10 seconds.

Now imagine a big wave of relaxation spreading through your body, start up at your head and moving all the way down to your feet. Feel the weight of your body relaxed.

And now breathe in…inhaling slowly…and out exhaling slowly…

Feeling your body relax.

And breathe in again…and out….in….out…in…and out.

(script from: Bourne, E. (2010). Progressive Muscle Relaxation Script. Retrieved 2015, from https://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/Progressive_Muscle_Relaxation.pdf)

For additional information:

     Barrow, M., & Walker, N. (2013). The psychology of sport injury and rehabilitation. New York, New York: Routledge.

    Hill, K.L. (2001) Frameworks for Sport Psychologists. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Caroline Berger, ATC

Bowling Green State University