Stomach not in a knot

THE ZONE: The biggest performance obstacle that I faced throughout my hockey career and in my personal life was having to deal with an extreme form of nervousness that I experienced prior to performing either on or off the field. I describe it as extreme because 1. It was always there no matter how small or big the performance needed to be - 2. It sometimes overwhelmed me in such a way as to give my body a heaviness that almost felt paralyzing - 3. It distracted me from my mental focus and original preparation.

So while experiencing the calm of an empty stadium before a game, or an empty room before a workshop, inside of me it felt like all my nerves were firing uncontrollably and all at once, and my stomach became a knot of all sorts of unwanted feelings. Visualization helped me to calm the chaos going on inside. I used visualization to find the balance between a healthy form of adrenaline and concentration in order to find my ideal zone of performance.

This type of visualization involved making a mental image of the physical sensations that I preferred to experience and imagining actions that could help me stay concentrated. For example: converting nervousness into trust and excitedness; practicing deep breathing to allow for the flow of oxygen to my muscles and releasing tension with my exhale; finding a good body posture to activate confidence instead of doubt.

Visualization is a proven method of enhancing any kind of performance. I would love to help you discover the ways visualization can give you a performance boost. Contact me if you are interested.

visualizaton makes ready!