Over the past few years the term mindfulness has gained traction upon traction and has been relatively well received in contrast to purely ‘meditation’ as an after-thought of its earlier connotations to misperceptions around the vague use of the phrase in of itself. Irrespective of these preconceived ideals, a new wave of after-thought has arrived and shed a more welcoming and encompassing nudge on mindfulness and meditation when the practices themselves are essentially transferrable and synonymous with one other — dependent on the ‘type’ an individual wishes to ‘practice’.
Moving away from this language has been incredible helpful to better associate mindfulness in a more inclusive light for all. Unfortunately, due to the misperceptions around mediation and that it is only ‘practiced’ by a certain stereotype, whilst inaccurate, that doesn’t remove the stigma of what is once was readily thought to encompass. Nevertheless, the good news is that mindfulness has been around for quite some time and in the sporting context has been actively practiced for at least the last two plus decades — back when I was playing it was implemented, however, it was more so or less termed ‘visualisation’ to mental conditioning and mental toughness. All of these phrases are essentially terms that bounce off the other and encompass a mindful practice and it incredibly important to illustrate how language can have such a power influence.
By flipping the language from mediation to mindful — or mental toughness for ‘better outcomes’ is that much more empowering opposed to using the term ‘mediation’ in and of itself without considering its common misconceptions. To reframe these misunderstandings we need to change the conversations of the varying ‘dialects’ in some way, shape or form, that encompass these practices.
This week’s episode looks at mindfulness and how it has been adopted in the sporting context and how it ‘should’ feature consistency in a player’s and/or athlete’s training/practice and be readily adopted in their games/events. This addition to a player’s and/or athlete’s training is not only incredibly beneficial for their performances, but so much more is the take away for life itself.
Listen to this week’s episode on your favourite Podcast platform and directly access these links from Beyond Top 10 Tennis.