What is Sports Hypnosis?
Quite simply, sports hypnosis is a normal state of focused attention directed at improving sports performance.
However; there is still a stigma surrounding hypnosis due to the popularity of stage hypnosis shows where participants volunteer to do some pretty crazy and often hilarious things.
So, when hypnosis is used in sports it is often presented in disguise and may be described as relaxation, guided imagery, visualisation, or mental rehearsal.
That being said, sports hypnosis is used and taken very seriously by all levels of sportspeople, from amateurs to top level elite professionals. In fact, hypnosis is considered an essential aspect of mental training to get better results in every type of sport.
How can Sports Hypnosis help performance?
Hypnosis can help increase strength and endurance, which means it is a powerful tool that can assist long distance runners who find they constantly hit a wall of pain and exhaustion to overcome it.
Utilising sports hypnosis allows you to access mental states and address the inner game or mental game, which is like a running commentary of thoughts (good and bad), feelings, beliefs, expectations. This alone has a profound effect on physical performance.
You see, your mind doesn’t know what’s imagined or real, so if your mental game or inner game sets you up for a poor performance then that’s exactly what will play out when you get out there to compete.
This is where mental rehearsal during hypnosis creates the perfect environment to smash through those walls of pain and exhaustion and access internal resources to keep going, instead of finding an excuse to give up.
Uses for Hypnosis in Sport
Reduce performance anxiety.
Increase strength and endurance.
Increase motivation.
Increase self-belief and confidence.
Facilitate better visualisation and mental rehearsal.
Positively reframe and release past negative experiences.
Recognise and shift negative thoughts before, during, and after competition and replace them with positive thoughts.
Improve specific skills by practicing mental rehearsal techniques.
Enhance healing from injury.
Release anxiety linked to returning after injury.
How effective is Sports Hypnosis?
The body of scientific evidence on the efficacy of sports hypnosis continues to grow; however, let’s focus on the informal evidence from those who have actually used hypnotic techniques to improve performance.
A few examples come to mind here, the first being Sally Gunnell. In 1993, the British athlete broke the world record for the 400m hurdles. In the months leading up to the event, Sally incorporated positive visualisation techniques into her preparation. She used the techniques so much so that when she won the race, she reportedly said that she wasn’t sure if she had actually won or if she had only imagined it.
Then there is the story of Col. George Hall. Col. Hall was a USAAF pilot who was shot down and captured during the Vietnam War. He spent the following seven years in a POW camp. During this time, he imagined playing perfect golf. He mentally rehearsed this every day for hours upon hours. When he was released, and he returned to the US, his golf game had improved.
It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t include some scientific data and this study by Australian psychologist, Alan Richardson, is a great example of how using sports hypnosis, visualisation, and mental rehearsing can improve performance.
Richardson conducted an experiment with three groups of basketball players. The first group were told to do nothing, the second group were instructed to spend 20-minutes a day practicing free throws, and the third group were told to spend 20-minutes a day imagining shooting perfect free throws.
It’s no surprise that the group who did nothing showed no improvement. However, the group who only use mental rehearsal and imagined the practice showed almost identical improvement to the group who practised physically (an improvement of 23% and 24% respectively).
Using Sports Hypnosis to get in ‘The Zone’ or in the ‘Flow State’.
It’s clear to see how effective hypnosis is in improving performance but it is equally effective to anchor in the Flow State or to easily get in The Zone.
You see, for most part, humans are really good at imagining the very worst-case scenario and getting psyched out. Just ask any golfer or cricketer about the ‘yips’.
The good news is that by using some quick and easy techniques you can anchor in the mental state and feelings of being dialled in.
And, as a runner, you’ll understand how important this is on race day.
So, how do you do that?
I’ll give the brief version to follow here. However, this can be enhanced during hypnosis.
1. Take a deep breath in for the count of 7 (or whatever feels comfortable for you).
2. Breathe out for the count of 11 (or whatever feels comfortable for you – just make sure the out breath is longer than the in breath).
3. Close your eyes and think about, imagine, what it was like the last time you were right on. When you knew that you were performing perfectly. See it, hear it, smell it, feel it, taste it….
4. Now, press your pointer finger and thumb together as if you’re making the OK sign.
5. Spend some time here allowing that feeling to permeate throughout your entire body.
6. Open your eyes.
7. Whenever you want to call up that feeling, press your finger and thumb together and take a deep breath.
Practice this and see how differently you feel.
As a runner, sustained focus and attention is important. Also, the ability to smash through those walls of pain and exhaustion can be the difference between finishing a race or dropping out.
A recent client reported that after using hypnosis he was able to blast the mental walls out of the way and morph into a black panther and finish time trials and races with more power than ever before.
By using Sports Hypnosis, you can equip yourself with the mental tools needed to perform and compete at your absolute best.
Book a call with me so you can find out how sports hypnosis can help you enhance your mental game.
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