#THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DOES NOT OCCUR WHEN FULL#

And probably at least one time when you did something cool on defense. You can probably remember at least one time you did something awesome on offense.

#THE FLOW EXPERIENCE DOES NOT OCCUR WHEN FULL#

Anything that asks your muscles to fire at full intensity and full speed (assuming you’ve already done a physical warm up) will wake up your nervous system and your brain to enhance focus. To activate your nervous system and increase your level of excitement, do some tuck jumps, or 5-step accelerations. Can you release some tension with some gentle movement as you breathe? Bring attention to your belly and initiate your breath from there. To decrease your arousal state, use deep breaths. Take control over your own arousal state by using your body to communicate what you want. If your state of arousal is too high, you might be making decisions too frantically (conservation or greatness anyone?) or your vision narrows and you honestly did not see that poacher in the lane (oops!) In general, if your state of arousal is too low, you’ll be sluggish, not physically moving at your top speed, maybe lacking a bit of focus. And maybe it varies even in the same players from offense or defense. We all have an optimal state of excitement (state of arousal in sports science) where we perform our best. Use Your Body to Tune Your Nervous System How can we get better at inviting our flow state? Here are three quick tips to help you get into the mental state that is conducive to your best performance: 1. So instead of overthinking the act of getting to that state, I like to encourage folks to think about “setting the table” and inviting the flow state to show up. We need this part of the brain to be quiet in order for a real flow state or in the zone state to occur. But, in fact, being involved or the act of trying to get in the zone is an act of the ego – and an act of the conscious brain.

The ego (our sense of self) really really wants to be involved. I had a client once ask me, “Well, if all that happens, is it me really doing it?” This is a philosophical and relevant question which also explains why it’s difficult to get in the zone more often. This allows our sports brain (or nonverbal brain) to take over and simply do the job we’ve trained it to do. We feel a loss of ego, and a loss of self-judgment or self-consciousness.Activity in the cerebral cortex (the logical part of the brain) diminishes.Our ability to track time is distorted and things slow down.What is Being In The Zone?īeing in the zone is characterized by a few things: 1 We feel like we can do no wrong! Why can’t we play this way all the time?īut getting to that mental space is more in our control than you might think.

We’ve all had the experience of being in the zone. 3 tips to help get your brain and body primed to perform.Īugby Melissa Witmer in Opinion with 0 comments Jesse Shofner competing against Scandal as a member of the All-Star Ultimate Tour.

The flow experience does not occur when