1. Mindfulness is about being present in the present moment. It may sound weird but how many times are you really in the present moment? And here I’m not only talking about your body but also about your mind. According to Matt Killingsworth, “47% percent of the time, people are thinking about something other than what they're currently doing.” Quite a lot, isn’t it? For an athlete, being in the moment – also called “being in the zone” – is crucial in terms of performance.

2. Mindfulness is about being aware of what is going on inside you and around you. Self-awareness is your ability to perceive, to feel, to notice your internal state of mind: your feelings, your thoughts, your body sensations, your mind traps, the stressors in your life and what triggers you, your energy levels during the day, your self-sabotaging patterns, your mood, your perceptions, your beliefs, your desires, your blind spots etc.

I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.

Billie Jean King

By helping you to be aware of and detach yourself from your defeating thoughts, your ruminations, your fears of losing, or in other words all your distractive and energy-killing thoughts, mindfulness will help you to interrupt and release their unconscious grip on you.

3. Your self-awareness depends on your ability to pay attention. That’s why attention training is a key component in a mindfulness program. Here, it is about knowing where your attention is - and how many times we are not aware of where our attention is! -, to choose where your attention needs to be and to maintain it there. In a mindfulness program, you will train different types of attention: open/focused, narrow/wide, outer/inner etc. This is not a big surprise that the benefits of mindfulness on our attention has been scientifically proven. In a sport competition and in life, many other cognitive skills rely on your level of attention, so are your presence and alertness.

Article from my blog: http://bit.ly/2nroKVZ

Releasing my new Mindfulness Coaching program for Athletes: "Optimize your Sport Performance with mindfulness". This program can be done from the comfort of your home (Skype). And you can book now a free 30 minute online complimentary coaching consultation at contact@nadegeesteban.com!