Mental Skills - Applying Progressive Relaxation to Sport

by Ray Lauenstein, Athlete's Advisor

Famous psychologist Edmund Jacobson is credited with inventing a way for people who were overly anxious and full of tension and stress, to take action into their own hands and reduce tension. His system was based on creating excess muscle tension in each muscle of the body and then letting go of the tension. Each time noticing the difference between the tense state and the released or relaxed state. Deep breathing is incorporated within the cycle of tense/relax and a patient would start at the head and work his/her way down the body creating extreme tension, holding for about 3-5 seconds and then relaxing. Jacobson, depending on the severity of the problem would work in large areas or individual muscles. Usually the client was lying down on a comfortable coach or stretched out on the floor.

As competing athletes, you do not have the luxury of lying on a couch and taking 30 minutes to relax if you start to feel nervous. What can you do? Like most things you need a little practice and some trial and error, but before long you will have your own tense- relax routine ready at a moments call to squeeze you out of a tense situation.

Step 1) Condense Your Relaxation Routine Into a Single Thought - What word comes to mind when you are completely relaxed? What word fits the way you feel? "Jell-o", "Cool", "Loose"? Whatever word you pick, it will now be referred to as your trigger. When repeated in your mind or out loud, it triggers your feelings of relaxation.

Step 2) Condense Your Tense Relax Sequence into a Single Action- The entire body takes too long. Try shrugging your shoulders up tight with a deep inhale and dropping them, without bracing, on the exhale as you say your trigger. Perhaps you could clinch and relax your hands a few times. Find something that works.

Step 3) Be Thoughtful of Your Breathing- When ever you use your trigger and or a tense/relax sequence, take a deep breath in through the nose and exhale out of the mouth. Imagine all tension, fear and anxiety being forced out with the exhale. Aside from that, focusing on your breathing, or attending to your inhalations and exhalations, will take your mind off of thoughts that generate anxiety and symptoms of stress.

Most athletes find that when they are in the flow of the game, they are relaxed, especially continuously moving sports such as soccer, basketball, hockey and lacrosse. The times athletes feel nervous and tense is usually before an event, or during pauses just prior to an action such as a free throw, approach of a gymnastics routine, waiting for a serve and dozens of others. You’ve been there before. Self-doubt, shaky knees, sweaty palms, shallow breath, pounding heart beat. Stop. Focus on taking a deep breath. Inhale through the nose, exhale out the mouth. Trigger-say your word. Now you can incorporate a modified tense-relax sequence. Shrug your shoulders. Tighten your forearms and then shake them out. Figure out something that works for you.

Don’t expect to use a routine in a game without first practicing during ...yes, practice. A relaxation routine is just like any other tool or skill. Would you do a double back flip dive during a meet if you never practiced it? No. This is the same. Imagine being able to control your own nervousness, overcome anxiety and be in control at all time! You can and will be able to if you practice a relaxation routine. This tool will make you a better player.

Since reading reverse print text is stressful and even annoying, you should now be prepared to utilize a relaxation response. Give it a try and don’t give up. The best athletes can manage their stress.