Mindfulness is a spiritual or psychological faculty that has its roots in the teaching of the Buddha 2,500 years ago. The Buddha advocated that one should establish mindfulness in one’s day-to-day life, detaching from negative thoughts and feelings and maintaining as much as possible a calm awareness of one’s body, mind and emotions.
Research over the last twenty years has centered around the effects of mindfulness in sports performance in general, and golf in particular.
Research
A European University Study shows that the characteristics of mindfulness and acceptance have been linked to optimal performance, in particular seeing elite golfers enhance their national ranking and recreational golfers significantly improving their performance during competition.
The long-established foundational practices of
chi-performance GOLF are shown to be parallel to the four main areas of research that have been tried, tested and proven effective. They include: (a) the focus on and awareness of breathing and bodily sensations; (b) the focus on and awareness of movements; (c) mindfulness and acceptance of thoughts and emotions in a non-judgmental way; and (d) mindfulness, awareness and commitment to one’s actions.
Results
Professional golfers who took part in ‘Mindfulness and Acceptance Training’ enhanced their national ranking, while recreational golfers reached their competition goals, as defined at the beginning of the season.
Everyday Mindfulness Training
In addition to various forms of mindfulness meditation (Zen, Vipassana), there are exercises that develop awareness throughout the day using designated environmental cues, to make mindfulness continuous. Examples include the hourly chimes of clocks, and crossing the threshold of doors. Mindfulness itself can take the form of simply remembering to watch three successive breaths using these environmental cues as triggers. Once you’ve established this as a regular habit in your everyday life, you can achieve success by adopting the same approach in your golf game, i.e. taking three successive breaths while you settle yourself into the address position, to maintain a quiet mind and deliver a fluid, powerful and effortless shot.
