Find your focus
Need to concentrate more when training or competing? Just breathe...
Connect to your breath to meet your fitness goals
You’re 5- 4 down in the fifth set and your opponent has a killer serve. Just a moment’s lack of focus and the game could be over. Or maybe you’re half way though a marathon and your mind starts to wander – forget your game plan and that PB is out of the window. It’s at moments like these you realise just how important is it to stay focused if you want to meet your fitness goals.
‘Athletic performance is as much mental as it is physical,’ says Dr Tim Bond, spokesperson for Dragonfly
CBD oil (dragonflycbd.com) ‘Meditation brings focus on both aspects, helping to avoid distractions and eliminating negative thoughts. For athletes, this can be especially beneficial, helping to improve performance as well as reduce injuries as all of your efforts are focused on the task and on correct form.’
TOP TECHNIQUES
While techniques such as self-talk, cue words and process- oriented goals can help mentally fuel your performance, meditation has been shown to be useful, too. Indeed, research by Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience in Dublin and the Global Brain Health Institute found a link between breathing patterns and concentration, showing that during breath-focused meditation, respiration slows down and the mind wanders less.
But not all breathing techniques are created equal, according to the researchers. The scientists noted differences between mindfulness practices, in which the breath is passively monitored with no effort to control it, and pranayama (yogic breathing) practices, where you actively regulate your breath. When it comes to boosting focus, it seems yogic breathing techniques have more physiological benefits, while observing your breath is linked to greater attentional function.
FINDING INSPIRATION
To start working with your breath, try the counting technique. As you inhale, say to yourself ‘in- one’, and as you exhale, say ‘out- one’. Then, ‘in-two, out-two’, and so on, until you reach ‘out-10’, then return to one again. Or you could return to ‘one’ each time you notice your mind wander. Initially, you may not get far at all, perhaps to two or three, but over time and with practice, you will improve. The important thing is not to control the length of your inhalations and exhalations, but simply to notice them. As this technique becomes easier, introduce mild distractions to build your mental resilience. Try the exercise with the television on or when other people are around, then move on to using it when you’re out on a run or doing a gym workout.
Becoming aware of your bodily sensations as you breathe is also beneficial. Lying on your back, spend 10 minutes noticing the passage of air through your nostrils and the rise and fall of your chest and belly. Mindfully observing your breath turns your attention inwards and allows you to stay attuned to your intentions. Once you become skilled at it you’ll be able to draw on the technique at will and use it to direct your focus to the task at hand, whether that’s improved form at the gym, a steady gait on your trail run or smashing that illusive PB.