References to the use of sports psychology and hypnosis to enhance sports performance have been made in literature for a long time.
In 1964, Narcuse found that of 125 Japanese Olympic athletes, only 20% had invested time found in developing a means of coping with performance anxiety, and few of them had done this systematically or reliably. In contrast, today cognitive training and hypnosis training are widely utilized with Olympic athletes and a wide variety of professional athletes and is a mainstay of sports psychology.
Hypnosis and Sport Performance Improvement
It is my practice to individually design hypnotic training for athletes based on their particular needs. A specific sports hypnosis plan may be formulated by determining which of ten overall strategies are needed with the individual athlete:
- Enhance sensory awareness and muscle control.
- Increased concentration, control internal dialogue, and decrease awareness of unimportant external stimuli.
- Control anxiety, anger and emotionality.
- Enhance motivation and enthusiasm.
- Increase energy, feelings of invigoration, and endurance.
- Enhance performance skill.
- Increase self-esteem, confidence, and self-efficancy.
- Control perception of time and focus on the present experience (time contraction or expansion).
- Resolution of subconscious blocks or conflicts.
- Management of discomfort.
Under these ten strategies we may identify and customize the specific sports psychology hypnotic techniques that will allow you to accomplish the goals desired.
Sports Psychology/Hypnotherapy is equally effective in all disciplines and for professionals or amateurs alike, whatever your personal level of expertise or technical ability, a positive mental approach will enable you to perform consistently to the very best of your ability.