The Baseball Observer - Aug/ Sept 2018
Boxing instructors focus on breathing because holding one’s breath is another action that increases tension. Beginners tend to hold their breath through a round, which slows their movements and quickens fatigue. Instead, fighters are taught to exhale as they punch because it increases stiffness through the torso and decreases unnecessary tension that disrupts coordination and timing. In other sports, athletes hold their breath when they feel pressure, and this increases fatigue and decreases performance. Creating a breathing routine or keyword for athletes is a second way to decrease tension.
“Light and easy movements are good ones, as a rule”
When I worked as a personal trainer, the first lesson that I learned was to warn clients about white knuckles when lifting heavy weights. White knuckles occur when one’s hands squeeze too hard around a barbell or dumbbell. When people struggle with the resistance, they tense their grip and squeeze harder. This tightens their muscles, restricts blood flow and oxygen, and generally makes the lift harder, not easier (It generally is accompanied by holding one’s breath too). To push past the sticking point, exhale, like a boxer throwing a punch, and relax rather than squeezing harder. The same idea holds true with any racquet or stick sport, such as tennis, golf, or baseball. Squeezing a golf club harder and harder makes the swing more difficult, reduces accuracy, and creates unnecessary tension through the entire system. It does not add strength, power, or distance. As Feldenkrais wrote, “Light and easy movements are good ones, as a rule.”
Running with sleepy eyes, breathing/exhaling, and easing one’s grip are three physical keys to assist with relaxation. However, as Feldenkrais suggested, simply alleviating the physical symptoms of stress or tension, without affecting the mental or emotion stressors, will not relax the athlete entirely. This, I believe, is why meditation is so common among high performers. Meditation positively changes the structure of your brain in areas affecting emotional regulation.
If one learns to control his or her mind through meditation or other means, he or she can reduce tension and stress. Tan wrote, “The more we are able to create space between stimulus and reaction, the more control we will have over our emotional lives.” Controlling one’s emotional life means controlling one’s physiological life as well, and meditation has been shown to improve athletic performance, decrease pre-competition stress, and enhance recovery after training.
Playing a game or competing in a sport requires fast, coordinated movements. To maximize these movements, athletes must relax; when athletes move with tension, their movements slow down. The goal is to teach relaxation when moving to increase movement efficiency. Rather than yell at athletes to relax in the heat of the moment, teach athletes to breathe and incorporate meditation or another mindfulness technique to decrease physical and emotional stress and tension. The athletes will move more efficiently, which leads to quicker, more effective movement.
40