Mental Health Matters
May is Mental Health Awareness month and Mental Health has become a more prominent topic in society, it also has begun to take precedence in sport. We now know and understand just how powerful the mind is and how we can increase our performance on the court by learning how to use and train our minds. Below is a collection of Podcasts, Videos, Websites and Apps all about mental health and sports performance.
One of the first resources we want to share is a podcast we recorded with Sports Psychology & Performance Coach, Stu Singer.
Stu is a good friend of PSB and an expert in his field of helping athletes learn how to train their mind like they do their bodies. Stu is the founder of WellPerformance, check out more about Stu and his coaching!
Learning how to use the mind can help you calm your body down and increase your focus even in the most hectic of situations. Former pro basketball player, Daniel Cavic has created the Restoic App to help athletes understand this better.
In the podcast below Daniel talks about his former experiences as a player dealing with pre-game anxiety. Even as he was playing at the highest level he got nervous.
Now he understands that athletes can learn how to work through these anxiety or other psychological things that happen in the heat of sport.
Check out our podcast below!
Our PSB Staff had a professional development Zoom workshop where we sat down with mindfulness and performance expert, George Mumford. George has worked with legends like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaq, and Phil Jackson.
Check out this audio recording of George speaking on mindfulness and how it can increase performance.
MENTAL HEALTH PRACTICES
In order to use your mind to your advantage you have to put the time in to practice and train. It is no different than wanting to improve your jumpshot, it take reps and focus.
There are many different beneficial mental health practices like Gratitude and Breathe Work. These are quick ways to channel your focus into being thankful or focused. Other practices take more time and are similar to workouts you would do for your body, these practices are for your mind.
Two of the most common practices used by athletes across the world today are Meditation and Yoga.
MEDITATION
Mediation and Mindfulness involve you focusing on being completely present in the current moment without judging anything that is happening in that moment. Just simply being, free from any anxiety on what will be or what has happened.
This can be very challenging and requires practice.
Check out our 10-Minute Meditation Practice Below!
I am sure you have heard of LeBron James, but did you know he has partnered with a mental fitness app? The Calm App is a great place to learn more about meditation and how it can affect performance.
Performance can be more than just sport, everything you do in your day is performance. Whether it is in the classroom or at your job. Practicing meditation and working on your mind can do wonders for your ability to be your best!
YOGA
Another one of the most common practices used by athletes like LeBron James today, is Yoga. Yoga is a practice that has been used for thousands of years. It challenges both the physical body and the mind. In yoga you practices holding different physical postures combined with an intense focus on your breathe and being present in the moment.
This practice not only increases Flexibility and Mobility, it also increases your ability to use your mind to your advantage in both sport and life.
One of the best free Yoga resources is Yoga with Adrien. Check out here channel below and I promise you will not regret getting into Yoga!
Your mind can truly be the tool that can take your game and life to the next level. It is not something that is easy or that you will ever perfect. That is why so many of these Mental Health & Mindfulness activities are called “practices”. They are not meant to be perfected, they are about the work that you put in and what you learn along the way.
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