Can Meditating help with Sport...? (I believe so)

Just recently I was at a conference in Fiji – one of the early morning options was a meditation class.  I have been meditating for nearly 20 years, but never in a class.  I went to check it out; and discovered - I’m satisfied with my meditation!

I heard some of the other participants asking each other “have you ever done meditation?”.  Some had, some hadn’t.  Here’s what I think –

we all know how to meditate, and we all do it, often.  It’s called WORRYING.

Worrying is simply rehearsing, replaying, imagining.  Chewing over and over on the same item and train of thought.  Someone said it’s like going back and forth on a rocking chair, a lot of (internal) movement that gets you nowhere. Worrying is meditation that has a bad effect on your outlook and even your health.  So there must be another type of meditation that has a GOOD effect.

I’m no neurologist but we all know our brains are so vastly intricate.  So much is buzzing away there, I personally find it impossible to think of nothing? Have you been successful?  And is it a wise use of time?

In Fiji, the meditation we did (which was almost identical to one we did in Intermediate-School with the purpose of calming the boys down after lunchtime) (it kind of worked, when they listened) involved replacing all thoughts with; and being aware of and focussed on your breathing, your muscles, and your body parts one by one, directed by the class instructor. 

It was the same as how I meditate, only I don’t replace thoughts with awareness of body parts, I replace them with other concepts and notions that challenge and peacefully-combat my worries.  “God’s plans for me are good” “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength”, and other self-image transforming truths - “I am wonderfully made”, “you knit me together in my mother’s womb” 

This year, for the first time, I applied meditation techniques to help me with netball.

Doesn’t sound very spiritual, does it…?!  but; God himself knows that I get a lot out of netball, and I believe He is ok with me ENJOYING it and not letting pointless thoughts steal even a moment of that enjoyment!

Netball for me is fun, fitness and competition.  I’m obviously too old (and was always too short!) to play at a high level these days, but we are always there to win!  And there is so much fun and personal development still to be had as an over-40 playing netball, woo!

I joined a new team, this year; still with Pakuranga United Netball; (awesome club).  Though I’ve been a Goal-Shoot for 31 years, I started to feel anxious within my new team environment - so dumb. Why? Maybe because they didn’t know me that well…so I couldn’t coast on my shooting history/reputation?   I felt unnecessarily self-conscious. My passing and catching felt stiff and unnatural.  Similar to when I was 15 and was put into the unfamiliar midcourt for one season which put me right off netball. 

Worse still it was affecting my accuracy percentages.  And I could sense that it could potentially spiral downwards.  Very annoying!!  I had to get my nerves under control… HOW??  Let me share what I learnt and am still working on. 

I knew my irritatingly average form was just a symptom of anxiety.  I had to address the core of it. After grading I was put out of Goal-Shoot and into Wing-Attack (for the first time ever, yes I panicked a bit!) and the voice in my head was starting to get the better of me: “I’m no good”,  “I’m going to hate this season” etc, etc. 

BUT; for the six months prior I had been listening to an amazing lady’s (Terri Savelle Foy) podcasts - on living your dreams and visualising yourself achieving them, and so much more besides that.  I became aware of unhelpful attitudes I had carried around for too long.  It was along these lines that I decided: “Oh well, if I’m going to play Wing-Attack, I’m going to be a GOOD one!”  I started working harder on my fitness, committing to five mornings a week of a simple 40-minute workout.  Until then it was an ‘if I feel like it’, 3-4 mornings a week. It was so beneficial to my mental wellness to put this routine in place that I could rely on.

As it turned out with injuries in the team, I was back in GS a couple of weeks after this. And now I was determined to have a great season there.  I’ve still got a way to go, but these are the things I did:

(I personally think sitting still with closed eyes is the most accelerated form of getting value out of meditation; but once that gets mastered we can meditate with open eyes, whilst exercising, or driving for example)

Firstly I recalled the training I had done.  When my Dad put a hoop up for me when I was ten years old – I heard at the time that Tracey Earl (NZ Silver Fern in the 80’s) shot 300 goals a day as practise.  So I did that!  For many years!!  So I calculated that I had literally shot hundreds of thousands of goals!  All of a sudden I clicked, “I’m qualified!!” I decided I had every right to back myself.   

I printed out a bunch of positive declarations   And whether I felt they were factually true or not, I started saying them out loud on the treadmill each morning.  And I included a couple of netball ones in there too “I’m qualified to be a goal shoot!”, “I have been getting goals in my whole life”, “I have shot hundreds of thousands of goals”, “I’ve been shooting for over 30 years”, “I am a composed player”  It helped SOOOO much.  I read these out whilst on the treadmill in the mornings. 

I added other physical declarations to boost and believe in my fitness: Things like “I am fit, firm and muscular”  “I am in the best shape of my life” -I got those two phrases word for word off Terri Savelle Foy – who emphasises ‘even if you don’t believe it, SAY it!’ (Look up ‘The Law of Attraction’!)

Visualisation:  I started visualising everything.  Me catching the ball, moving, passing.  Me holding my own space even with a solid and physical Goal Keep.  Visualising myself breathing, composed, taking the shot.  Visualising the ball going through the hoop.  I would even - during the games - occasionally pretend/mime-shoot imaginary goals whilst the ball was down the other end of the court (I know, super-geeky)

I reminded myself that every person present at the courts was just another fellow human.  Might sound odd, but as a fragile pre-teen and teen I often felt easily intimidated by other people who were just simply minding their own business! So I actively thought: “every girl/lady/spectator down at the courts is just another person, making their way through life”.  No one is better than me and I am better than no one”.  And this year for the first time ever – I often became completely unaware of who was nearby.  SO LIBERATING.

I would continue in these above processes on my drive to netball; occasionally sitting in the car a bit longer to focus on these thoughts.  And repeating them as I walked to the court, as I warmed up and also during the game. 

Playing music on the way to netball to help facilitate my mental prep.

I discovered a song with lyrics “We stand here in victory”.  I replaced it with ‘I stand here in victory’; and included this as my self-talk during the game.  Victory over anxiety.  Victory over feeling ‘less than’.  Victory over self-consciousness.  Victory over self-accusation.  Victory over being stuck or at the mercy of things that really don’t deserve any attention.  Victory!!

I also dropped coffee – for lots of other reasons, but it helped with this too.  Personally, with too much caffeine I can actually feel my blood pressure rise, I feel ‘wired’, and often my hands will have a slight tremble.  Obviously not ideal for shooting goals (maybe for playing Centre!?) 

I’m learning to get over it fast when I make a mistake

Now and then a ‘sorry’ slips out when I throw a bad pass or miss a goal – but I have decided that ‘sorry’ has no place in a game – it reinforces a sense of shame and blame. As if I intentionally slipped up. Same goes for if I have a great game, cool, celebrate. Then look forward. 

Onward and upward in all areas of life!

[Credit for getting back into netball I must give to Midweek Housewives Netball where I started playing after 4 years off, as a 19 year old new mum in the late 90’s.  It was AWESOME.  A crèche provided, all mums playing.  Lots of prams sideline, lots of new mums playing, some with babies as young as two weeks, even a week old!  (not endorsing that at all!) If a cry came from a pram, anyone nearby would push it back and forth.  Such community and that ‘village’ we all talk about.  Midweek netball used to take up at least 8 courts, two teams on each court, for four rounds, amazing!  Sadly this comp dwindled and finally ended several years ago, as more and more women went into full time work.  It was a great place to get back into the game where we can all find a level to belong. I’ll never forget mid-week-netball with all the Wahine Toa! xx]