Sports improvement performance with hypnosis is huge and there are many athletes that use hypnotherapy as the added edge that makes all the difference to their performance. Overcoming mental barriers and achieving new momentum and positive attitude changes that enable them to overcome any perceived limitation and excel at the sport they love.
Whether we participate in sports just for fun or aspire to be a top-class athlete, one of the main elements of most sporting activities is the competitive factor. We might be competing against other teams and individuals or simply against our own best times and performances. Whichever the case, there is no greater glory than feeling like a champion.
Sports Improvement Performance with Hypnosis
Hypnotherapy can be an amazing tool for athletes of all kinds as it can target a person's mindset in a way that creates the right amount of relaxed focus, determination, and equilibrium to inspire, motivate and succeed.
It's quite a common phrase now when a sports person states that they were "in the zone" during their event. It's a state of focused awareness that allows us to perform at our absolute peak, without distraction and totally zoned into the desired outcome. By using hypnosis, athletes have the edge over their competitors because no sport is just about the body. No matter how fit or strong a person is, when it comes down to it, it's the mindset that's the deciding factor in determining whether someone is a winner or just plain average.
Any sporting activity involves a strong mental attitude and the ability to keep going. There may be obstacles, pain, injuries and inner conflicts that can all influence final outcomes in sport. Hypnotherapy can help us to by-pass these difficulties so that on the day nothing matters except our own personal goals and the achievement that we are seeking.
Some of the greatest sporting names regularly use sports psychologists and hypnotherapists to help them stay dedicated and to enhance their performances.
Champions Who Use Hypnosis
The WBC World Boxing Champion, Englishman Glen "The Catman" Catley, won the Super Middleweight title in May 2000 after working regularly with his hypnotherapist. He states that in the ring he had the total single-minded drive to win and attributes his success undoubtedly to the hypnosis that he received. He was so impressed that after he retired from boxing he trained as a hypnotherapist himself!
It's reported that other great names in sports — such as Tiger Woods, Mohammed Ali, Steve Collins, and even the entire Chicago White Sox baseball team — have all used hypnosis to help them focus and remove distractions from their minds during their events.
The Science of Mental Rehearsal
Hypnotherapy can help in a variety of ways. One particular method is known as positive mental rehearsal. It has been scientifically established that the brain does not distinguish between what is real and what is imagined. Therefore, when mentally rehearsing our sport we can improve our results even whilst relaxing on the couch!
A landmark study by Dr. Blaslotto at the University of Chicago clearly demonstrated that mental visualization plays an important role in our abilities to learn and perfect our skills. He divided participants into three groups testing basketball free throws. After 30 days, the group that physically practiced improved by 24%. The group that only visualized — without touching a real basketball — improved by 23%. The group that did nothing showed no improvement.
More research over the years has shown how effective visualization can be. Working in this way with a hypnotherapist can help to boost performance, enabling us to ignore distractions more easily, increase our energy levels, motivation and skill.
The hypnotherapist can also pinpoint any particular areas the client wants to improve, targeting even very specific movements or actions, such as a golf swing or running gait. Another way the hypnotherapist can help is by using powerful positive suggestions communicated to the subconscious mind whilst in the trance state. Techniques can also be taught to enable self-hypnosis practice, meaning that what is learned in the therapy room can be accessed at any time.
For Every Athlete — Beginner to Elite
Sports hypnosis can be for anyone, not just top performing athletes. Even someone who is a novice at their particular sporting activity can find benefit from the tools that their hypnotherapist provides. A beginner runner, for example, often feels like quitting because of the physical challenges that are presented to them, but with a mindset optimized through the power of hypnotherapy, these old difficulties can be a thing of the past.
What do all these people have in common? Hypnosis.
Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby, Kevin Weekes, Dorothy Hamill, Kerri Strug, Greg Louganis, Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, Mohammed Ali, Jack Nicklaus, Nancy Kerrigan, Billie Jean King, Dale Earnhardt, Mike Brearly, Steve Collins, Nigel Benn, Frank Bruno, Iwan Thomas, Ian Woosnam, Billy Mills, Michael Jordan, Jimmy Connors, Mary Lou Retton, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Bulls, Nolan Ryan, Andre Agassi, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Andy Cole, Dorian Yates, Shannon Bahrke, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Blue Jays — and thousands of professional athletes belonging to the NBA, NHL, CFL, AFL, MLB, NASCAR, World Olympic Teams, MMA, UFC, WBC, WBA, ATP, PGA, and UCI.