Mind
Mastery
- Raja Yoga -Forging a Powerful Mind.
Think
about this…On the inside the best players are able to clear the mind,
concentrate for all 18 holes, overcome frustration, doubt and fear and
develop confidence and patience on every shot.
In a
fun, easy way, using yoga philosophy, I have created a system that
trains a golfer to gain tools and skills that transfer effortlessly
from Practice to Play.
Developing a program which emphasis
the mind game has been my passion. It is the reason I created a c.d.
for the mental training versus a DVD for the body training.
Everything
first begins in the mind, as I am found of saying Yes, your body makes
the shot but it is your mind that controls the body.
The
research I have done over the years supports this theory. Winners know
this and know how to keep the messages they send to the body, clear and
positive.
|
A
6 step Philosophy to become a well-rounded golfer
Happiness makes you sweet
Sorrow makes you human
Golf makes you humble
Play keeps you growing
Success keeps you glowing
God keeps you going
|
Many
studies keep bringing me back to having roots in Yoga Philosophy. Which
isn’t surprising seeing how Yoga has been around at least 5000 years.
For
a closer look at what I teach and what I have learned over the years I
want to educate you about Patanjali you who is termed “Father of Yoga”
in the yoga community.
Before Patanjali took it upon himself to be a
scribe for the teachings of Yoga. The teachings were passed down
verbally from Guru to disciple. He was the first person to write the
teachings down some 1500 years ago. He wrote in a way that the
teachings were threads linking one to the other and put them down in
four different books. Gurus would still expand on the one or two
sentence format.
In
the very first Book, known as a Pada, the title is named Yoga and its Aims
The
first sutra or thread is what most of the Western world thinks of yoga
but it is the very next sutra that is important to the game of golf.
This
is the beginning of instruction in yoga – yoga means
union- of the
Mind/Body/Spirit a yoking, bringing the aspirant to wholeness by
joining all parts back together.
Yoga is a control of
thought-waves
in the mind. –Releasing the monkey mind chatter
so you can hear
the inner voice of guidance from your Higher Self.
What
does this say to us? That over the years people have asked the question
“what does yoga mean?” The answer they received was the translation of
the word Yoga itself. The word yoga is from the Sanskrit language.
Sanskrit is a very ancient Hindu language; it can be compared to the
western world using Latin at one time.
So
the translation from Sanskrit to English
means union-or yoking together. For more in-depth of why you would
want a union read How It Works.
From
this understanding we can now ask the
proper question “What is Yoga?”
We
are told – ‘Yoga
is a control of the thought-waves in the mind.’ With
this information it is my hope to reeducate people to realize that
yoga is not just another form of fitness. Mental fitness yes, but the
emphasis in the west has been about the body. In many yoga classes
there has been no union of the three, only the focus on the physical.
“Golf
is more than a game,
it’s a state of mind.
Yoga
is more than stretching,
it’s
mastering a state of mind.” - Margarit Brigham
From
the Guru- “When Patanjali speaks of ‘control of the
thought-waves’, he
does not refer to a momentary or superficial control. Many people
believe that the practice of yoga is concerned with ‘making your mind a
blank’- this can be a goal, but at the beginning we have to do
something much more difficult-to unlearn the false identification of
the thought waves with the ego-sense. This process involves a complete
transformation of character. Releasing our conditioning.
What
does
yoga philosophy mean by character? To explain this, one may develop the
analogy of the lake. Waves do not merely disturb the surface of the
water, they also, by their continued action, build up banks of sand or
pebbles on the lake bottom. Such sandbanks are, of course, much more
permanent and solid than the waves themselves. They may be compared to
the tendencies, potentialities and latent states which exist in the
subconscious and unconscious areas of the mind. In Sanskrit, they are
called samskaras. The samskaras are built up by continued action of the
thought-waves. Expose the mind to constant thoughts of anger and
resentment, which will predispose you to find occasions for anger
throughout your daily life. A person with well-developed
anger-samskaras, is said to have ‘a bad temper.’ The sum total of our
samskaras is, in fact, our character –at any given
moment.”
Or for a more simple version:
"WATCH YOUR
THOUGHTS
THEY
BECOME WORDS,
WATCH YOUR WORDS
THEY BECOME
HABIT,
WATCH YOUR HABIT
FOR IT BECOMES
YOUR CHARACTER,
WATCH YOUR
CHARACTER
FOR IT BECOMES
YOUR ….DESTINY."
-Buddha
Watching your thoughts is anything but simple, although
the Mind Mastery part of Yoga for Golf explains the easiest and best
way to leads us to excellence.
“We
are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a
habit.” - Aristotle
I know that it is our thoughts that can make or
break our game. Thoughts have power.
The
concepts of Belief, Positive Affirmations, and becoming your Own
Coach, (best friend) and steps to be an excellent golfer have
been in my teachings from day one. Just like the game of golf
,
the game of life is very similar it is full of obstacles,
sweet
moments of success, frustration, patience, perseverance, beauty,
sadness, winning and losing.
“You
don’t
play golf to relax, you have to be relaxed to play golf”
– George Knudson
Practicing
relaxation techniques can improve how you physically respond to
stress on and off the golf course by:
-
Slowing your heart rate
-
Lowering blood pressure
-
Slowing your breathing rate
-
Reducing the need for oxygen
-
Increasing blood flow to major muscles
Types of
relaxation techniques
Reducing muscle tension
Although
health professionals such as complementary and alternative medicine
practitioners, doctors and psychotherapists can teach relaxation
techniques, you can also learn some on your own. Relaxation techniques
usually involve refocusing your attention to something calming and
increasing awareness of your body. It doesn't matter which technique
you choose. What matters is that you try to practice relaxation
regularly.
There are several main types of relaxation techniques, including:
-
Autogenic
relaxation. Autogenic means something that comes from
within you. In this technique, you use both visual imagery and body
awareness to reduce stress. You repeat words or suggestions in your
mind to help you relax and reduce muscle tension. You may imagine a
peaceful place and then focus on controlled, relaxing breathing,
slowing your heart rate, or different physical sensations, such as
relaxing each arm or leg one by one.
-
Progressive
muscle relaxation. In this technique, you focus on
slowly tensing and then relaxing each muscle group. This helps you
focus on the difference between muscle tension and relaxation, and you
become more aware of physical sensations. You may choose to start by
tensing and relaxing the muscles in your toes and progressively working
your way up to your neck and head. Tense your muscles for at least five
seconds and then relax for 30 seconds, and repeat.
-
Visualization.
In this technique, you form mental images to take a visual journey to a
peaceful, calming place or situation. Try to use as many senses as you
can, including smells, sights, sounds and textures. If you imagine
relaxing at the ocean, for instance, think about the warmth of the sun,
the sound of crashing waves, the feel of the grains of sand and the
smell of salt water. You may want to close your eyes, sit in a quiet
spot and loosen any tight clothing.
