Join Billy to learn how to actually get your head in the game and gain the skills necessary to win in between the ears.
Competitors like LeBron James, Alex Morgan, Novak Djokovic, Sue Bird, Steph Curry, Carly Lloyd, and JJ McCarthy are all self-proclaimed meditation practitioners that celebrate the benefits of meditation in their craft.
Due to the outside perception of meditation as “soft,” “spiritual,” or “woo-woo,” the practice remains drastically underutilized among athletes.
Sports simulate the conditions necessary to trigger our “fight, flight, freeze” responses: athletes are physically taxed; at risk of injury; asked to perform in front of crowds; are open to criticism from peers, superiors, and strangers; and have to navigate high-pressure situations, where, often, they’re as much or more likely to fail than succeed. In short, they create an environment of stress just like we feel when we need to run away from a bear.
“Fight, flight, freeze” is natural: it’s the human stress response, which arises from the sympathetic wing of the central nervous system. Here, one of the oldest and earliest evolved parts of the human brain – the amygdala – is activated. The amygdala is where fear, anxiety, and aggression arises, which means that “keeping our cool” in the midst of competition is not an act of will. Instead, it’s an act of amygdala control.
The challenge humans face is that the amygdala operates separately from the linguistic region of the brain. Thus, a coach instructing their players to “get their head in the game” or an athlete attempting to talk themselves down from feelings of stress or pressure is not only ineffective, but nearly impossible. That is, without meditation.
In Mindful Athletes, coaches and athletes alike will learn the non-verbal, proactive techniques to gain control over the amygdala, thus increasing focus, composure, and present-moment awareness. With these skills, you will more readily meet challenges and “reset” yourself before, during, and after competitions.
Join Billy for a 6 week program on Tuesdays at 6pm made for athletes by an athlete. Gain access to the missing piece that will support you in becoming a next-level competitor. Start the mindfulness practice that will become the workout your brain didn’t know it needed.