Five Ways to Have a Mindful State

A lot is written today about mindfulness and there are a lot of people who are and claim to be experts in mindfulness. I am not an expert in mindfulness, I just try to practice it everyday.  Mindfulness is not relaxation, though using meditation and relaxation techniques do make us more mindful. Mindfulness is not an event. Mindfulness is simply noticing. Anytime you take a conscious breath, you are noticing, Like I said earlier, meditation can make us more mindful because we are connected to the moment. Thus, every conscious breath we take is a meditation. As you read this, take notice of what you are already doing. Then  give yourself some praise for being mindful. 

One of the first ways to have a mindful state is a process focus and not outcome focus. Mihaly Czikszentmihaly (The Optimal State of Flow) noticed that artists could perform a simple movement task of painting or drawing and create something with different levels of difficulty for hours at a time. What really impressed him is how they devoted such purpose and meaning in the moment, but when the work was finished could completely forget about it.  They were not focused on the finished product, they were focused on the process, the act of creating, drawing, painting. They were not anxious about the outcome, they enjoyed what they were doing and lost themselves in the moment and yet were totally aware of what they were doing. They were able to control the process of what they were doing and how they were doing it. The key here for tennis players is to focus on what we can do and repeat. 

The second key is preparation builds confidence and confidence builds an internal vision of success. Remember, it is not the outcome, but how do you feel about the way you played or performed. What did you do well or like about the day? That is what builds an internal state  that allows us to regulate our emotions. 

The third key is that everything is a practice. From the time spent in lessons to playing a match. It is all practice. You are performing your practice. If everything is practice, that means we should be mindful of our rituals, self-talk, and effort. Since everything is practice, it means this activity is apart of us. The routines, the stroke patterns, the strategy, the passion, All of it connects. Regardless of where you are, in a lesson or at a tennis match, have the mindset that this is my practice. I am practicing getting better, I am practicing enjoying playing this game. Some parts of my practice might have higher stakes, but it's still just practice. When we remember this, we are releasing the outcome focus to an internal focus. 

The fourth key is that if something is baggage, unload it. This could be a breakdown in your strokes, trying a new shot that just isn't working, our reactions, or negative thoughts, or experiences. Lets unload them, release them and use them as teaching points to learn the skill or a new skill. (Conscious Discipline)

Lastly, the fifth key is visualize and notice. We said preparation is one of the building blocks for confidence. Seeing your preparation in writing or pictures is creating that visual plan what you think could happen. This helps us so we can not have to react from a survival state and stay in the flow state. It allows us to notice what we want and notice in the real world when they are happening. The key is noticing. That is mindfulness. Noticing.

In summary, five ways to be mindful are Process, Prepare, Practice, Unload  and Notice. These are just some of the simple keys I use to have a more present state of mind. The big one for me is noticing. When I notice, I am in the moment. Now that you have read this post, which of the five keys to mindfulness do you already practice? 

I Can Handle This

So we started back with official tennis this week and although it is a small turnout, it is great to be back with our tennis family. Some of our families are just not ready to come back yet or they are going on vacation. Either way, I understand. This has been a challenge on our mental states. Adding to the fact that we went from 90 degrees to 110+ in such a short period of time. Usually we are able to acclimate over time, but not this year. The key though is to be able to download calm to our brain. Something I have been learning over the course of these past weeks is about the Conscious Discipline Brain State Model. I think that it can really help in our lessons as we help kids become successful. That is my job, to help them become successful. Their job is to help everyone be successful. 

There are three internal brain states we enter into and only one of them allows us to learn new skills. The three brain states are Survival State, Emotional State, and Executive State. When we are in one of these states, we are operating from a different part of the brain. 

The first state is the Survival State and when we enter here, we are operating from the brain stem. We are asking the question,"Am I safe?"  If the answer is no, then cortisol kicks in and we either, fight, flight, or freeze. We are going to do whatever we need to do to get back to safety. Sometimes the behavior creates the opposite result of what we want. During this state children (adults too) may punch, vandalize, kick, or run away just to feel safe again. In this state, learning cannot happen. Ever try to talk to a child during a tantrum? Communication is not going to happen and when you model that behavior with the same intensity, there becomes a power struggle. 

When we play tennis or learn tennis, there are some students who have a low frustration tolerance. When things start to unravel in a match they begin to throw their racket, water bottles, hit the ball at their opponent, or some other act that is careless. They are thinking unconsciously, trying to get back to a state of safety or control. They just lack the skills to get there. Matches often unravel.  So what we do as coaches or teachers, is teach them the skills in practice. Some tournaments allow for coaching, but most do not so the player is on their own. 

We teach a simple strategy of STAR Breathing. STAR is an acronym for STOP, TAKE a breath, AND RELAX.  The key word is the STOP, PAUSE. During the STOP, we actually hold our breath for one to two seconds. This actually helps reset the brain and chemical systems of our body. then we breath out one to three times from our stomach. When that is done we use a mantra,"I can handle this." or "I got this."  

My challenge to you is to try the STAR breath next time you feel like you are not safe and your internal world is falling apart. Your children will learn this skill every lesson to help them learn to have an internal control over themselves. They will fail from time to time, they won't be perfect, They will recognize their state though and begin making the adjustments. Then one day they will truly believe,"I can handle this."

Source (2018) Dr. Becky Bailey  www.consciousdiscipline.com 

Learn Like the Pro's

This past January I bought a book called Everyday Millionaires. For me it is not about having a million dollars. What I was interested in is what are the habits that your everyday people did to manage their money so they were prepared for the future and to be able to give. I tell you this because in our lessons  we teach the students the skills, habits, and technique that the professional tennis players use.  I do not go into this with the idea I am training professional tennis players. I just want to teach them the habits and skills so they can be successful. I should define successful also. Successful is looking good, loving the feel of the ball on the strings, being able to participate in different levels of play, and being able to teach their skills to some one else. 

The reason I always tell our students to love the feel of the ball on the strings, is because that has to be a WHY. It may not be your big WHY, but if you don't love the feel of the experience at some point you will quit. On that note, we release that tennis is not about the competition, it is a practice. It is not just going to practice, but a practice. When you think about the professional tennis players, we only see the tournaments on television. That is only 10% of the professional's practice. What is the other 90%? I like the way EXOS breaks down the habits into four pillars, Nutrition, Movement, Mindset, and Recovery. The first habit is nutrition. We have to eat well to perform well, regardless of what we are doing. We not only need to practice our technique and skills on court, but we need to work on our movements off court. The professionals do a lot of specific conditioning, but we can go for bike rides, hike, play frisbee at the park, take your pet for walks, or go swimming. Professionals also take time to recover. They get massage, foam roll, and stretch through yoga or specific programs. We can do the same thing, even some days are active rest. Last, professionals work on their mindset. This can also be a part of our recovery as well. Meditation, visualization, mindfulness, and positive affirmations are all apart of the setting a mindset for success.  In our classes we teach our students STAR breathing and the art of noticing. As they notice, they are always in the present. As they learn to STAR breath (Stop, Take a breath, and Relax with the mantra,"I got this." ) 

In closing, I find that it is important to model after the professionals, not because we want to be at that level, but that it gives us a framework to be successful at our practice. 

High School Tennis

Last week I was a part of a professional development webinar that was discussing the attrition rate for junior tennis players. Actually, that was just a key point. The webinar was about single sport athletes versus the multi-activity approach. One of the things that came about was the high ranking junior player quit tennis after the juniors. If they did not get a college scholarship, they never or rarely picked up a racket again. They also discussed how many of them had overuse injuries, which I think is really a misunderstanding of how to periodize  a program than anything. You cannot always go one hundred percent and think you will not need a break.
One way to periodize a tournament player, especially if they are not going to participate in other activities is to play high school tennis. This is usually not as intense as the sanctioned tournaments and can really allow for the player to come back to a place where they can discover the true why they play the game. The true why could be to love the feel of the ball on the strings. If you don't love the feel of being out on the court, running around, and the ball hitting the strings, it can be very difficult to want to play. High school tennis and non-sanctioned tournaments are opportunities to work on the mindfulness part of our practice. They are the opportunities to develop the love that will carry you to play with your friends when you are in college and the weekly social gathering as you move on in life. It might also be an opportunity for you to pass something on to your children. A lot of the players who go out for high school tennis do so because they love the game and may not have access to tennis instruction for affordability or logistic reasons. They may have been looking for a sport to fill their time or they wanted to find something they could do to help them belong. Sometimes tennis players find tennis late after  burnout from another sport. 
My point for all of this is that we should periodize our tennis with our students whether they are playing at a ranked level or not. It is important that we find opportunities for them to go back to loving the feel of the ball on the strings and still being able to work on their skills. High School tennis can give a lot of players an opportunity to play everyday instead of just taking lessons. Lessons without application becomes monotonous. 

EXOS 5-min Mindset Practice - April 22, 2020

Tennis Skills to Help During COVID-19

How can tennis help us during the COVID-19 pandemic? I am not just referring to the active part such as playing through creative measures. I am talking about the mental skills we learn in tennis that allow us to be resilient and to adapt. Tennis is a game where you must have a plan, but be able to adapt that plan to the situation. Think of when we are returning serve. We don't know where the server is going to serve the ball, but we have to adjust if it comes to the right, left, or right at us. We also have to be able to adapt to the speed, the height, and the spin of the ball. As we go through this COVID-19 pandemic, think about what we already have to help us get through this. When returning serve, we have practiced our backhand, we have practiced our forehand, we have practiced moving to the ball, we have practiced the rally. The same thing applies to real life. This pandemic feels like an opponent on a comeback. We were ahead in the game and all of sudden, they caught some momentum. Now we are uncertain, the nerves start rattling, we start to think,"Oh No! I blew it."  We need to adapt. One of the things I have to tell myself everyday is,"Start over. Make it look good. It's okay, I got this. Stay the course." 

One of the things tennis teaches us is to use what we have and adjust to uncertainty. My challenge to you is to use what you have. Tennis teaches us routines, routines are mindfulness in action. The way we start a serve with checking our grip, bouncing the ball. The way we look at our strings in between points. The way we set up to return a serve. I was thinking about the Potato Race. These routines help prepare us to play a point. Use what you have a set a routine. Stay mindful and remember, tennis brings out the strengths to help us be resilient.

Do Simple Better

I am not really one for taking on too much, but I am one for trying to make a project more than it needs to be. I somehow have the gift of over complicating a task, just because I can. One of the practices I have been working on the last couple of years is to be simple. That means, do less. Less is more. Those have been some mantra's for me, but in 2018, I heard a new mantra. "Do Simple Better." 

Yes, do the simple things, the little things better. Something like our morning rituals, keep them simple and do them better. In other words, be present on the routine instead of just on autopilot. Easier said than done, especially if your mind is still waking up and you feel rushed by the clock. I think all of these mantras have helped me to do one think better, to stop and pause. When I start to get overwhelmed, I stop and pause and say,"Do Simple Better. Less is more. Just one."

I always believe in the power of one thing. I remember tennis guru Vic Braden once said, "If you just improve one part of your game, you are a better player." In other words, you don't have to try and fix everything all at once. I remember when I was first learning how to improve my serve. For years, my teaching pros in high school had told me to break my wrist at contact. When I made a trip to Arizona, a teaching pro, master professional, and co-founder of the Professional Tennis Registry, said,"You don't break the wrist, you turn the forearm." So, for a whole summer, I just worked on turning the forearm. You know, that simple thing did make me better. I still had flaws in my serve motion, but it was better. Anyway, during these days of quarantine, I encourage you to "Do Simple Better." Whether it is tennis or cleaning the sink. Find the simple things in your life and do those better. I have to tell that to myself everyday.