The Championship Week Reset: Five Minutes, Twice a Day

Five minutes, twice a day.

The practice

Set a timer for five minutes. Sit somewhere you won’t be interrupted.

Minute one. Place your feet on the floor. Notice the contact. Slightly push your weight through your heels, your toes, the outside of your feet.

Minutes two and three.

Move to your breath. Don’t deepen it or slow it down, just follow it. In, out.
When you notice you have drifted off and start to think about something else, give it a name. For example “Thinking.”
Then come back to the breath. You will do this many times. Noticing and coming back is the practice.

Minutes four and five.

Now widen your focus.
Notice the other sounds in the room, the temperature on your skin.
Keep some awareness on your breath underneath it all. Sit with everything at once.

Then get up and go about your day.

If you’re anything like me, your mind wants to play the game before it starts.

You’ll imagine the outcome, how the game will play out, the mistakes, what people will say.

You need to preserve that energy for match day.

Attention Control is usually what goes first when championship pressure arrives.

Twice: Morning & Evening

In the week leading up to a game, I would add a third at the point where your head is loudest. For most players this is the night before.

If you only manage one, make it the evening one. This protects your sleep.

Mindfulness isn’t emptying your head. You can’t empty your head, and trying to is why people decide they’re bad at it.

It’s noticing where your attention went and bringing it back.

Your mind might wander forty times and you bring it back forty times. This is a good session.

If your head has been bad for weeks, five minutes of breathing isn’t the answer. Have a look at Strong Minds, Stronger Players and talk to someone.

Bühlmayer, L., Birrer, D., Röthlin, P., Faude, O., & Donath, L. (2017). Effects of mindfulness practice on performance-relevant parameters and performance outcomes in sports: A meta-analytical review. Sports Medicine, 47(11), 2309-2321. Open-access copy from the University of Basel repository: https://edoc.unibas.ch/61837
Birrer, D., Röthlin, P., & Morgan, G. (2012). Mindfulness to enhance athletic performance: Theoretical considerations and possible impact mechanisms. Mindfulness, 3(3), 235-246. DOI link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-012-0109-2
Gardner, F. L., & Moore, Z. E. (2007). The Psychology of Enhancing Human Performance: The Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) Approach. Springer. Buy on Amazon
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. Delta. Buy on Amazon