Meditation & Yoga

Meditation and endurance athletes

By hak ⋅ June 25, 2007 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

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Why talk about meditation in a blog about endurance multisports?

Because we train every aspect of our bodies in the pool, on the road, sometimes in the gym, and hopefully more common, in the yoga studio. Yet how many of us actually carve out time from our busy schedules to train our brain?

Think of our bodies as a system. In order for that system to operate at its peak efficiency and power, everything should be in balance. Do you think we’re in balance if we’re only training muscles, lungs and a heart?

In the weeks ahead, we’ll get more into the specifics of various meditation theories and practices. I’m far from any kind of expert in this subject and actually can only bring a limited amount of credible experience to the written page. I will share what personal experiences I can, as well as bring in some more experienced teachers.

OK, so again…why meditation for endurance athletes?

Well, a few years back, scientists, led by neuroscientist Richard Davidson from the University of Wisconsin, wanted to learn more about human distress and suffering. They paired up with the Dalai Lama and a group of his Tibetan monks.

“There is almost a scientific-like attitude that is exemplified by Buddhist practitioners in investigating their own mind,” said Davidson in a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation interview. “Their mind is the landscape of their own experimentation, if you will.” 

“The monks, we believe, are the Olympic athletes of certain kinds of mental training,” added Davidson. “These are individuals who have spent years in practice. To recruit individuals who have undergone more than 10,000 hours of training of their mind is not an easy task and there aren’t that many of these individuals on the planet.”

So what did Davidson learn that might relate to us as athletes?

• Our brains have emotional set points. You may be a glass is half empty kind of person who occasionally ventures to the glass is half full when things are going your way. In the long run, however, you will return to that depressed set point. Davidson believes through meditation we can change those set points.
• Canadian swimmer Erin Gammel, an Olympic contender who missed her chance in 2000 and was an emotional wreck for the following two years, used meditation to re-wire her brain to accept her defeat and put it in its proper perspective. She is now winning again.
• “Meditation has been around for 2,500 years so it’s not like a new practice,” said Hap Davis, Canada’s national swim team’s sports psychologist who was inspired by Davidson’s work with the Tibetan monks. “But science is catching up to an old tradition and the evidence seems to be emerging that meditation can change the pattern of brain chemistry or blood flow in the brain.”
• In another study, Davidson was able to show an improved immune system in those who meditated compared to those who did not.
• Many believe the insane pace and aggravations of our daily life can be dangerous to the health of our minds and our bodies.

My limited meditation practice has helped to ground my insane pace and mitigate many external aggravations that have crushed the egos of several of my colleagues. I don’t say this with pride; just as a statement of fact. Since I’ve started to be more consistent with my meditation practice, I’ve noticed a marked increase in my ability to handle, well, more shit, than my family, friends and co-workers.

My hope is that this little introductory foray in to meditation and athletics has perhaps opened your mind to the possibility of considering meditation as a key part of your athlete’s toolbox. Next week, we’ll meet a meditating athlete who will blow away your stereotype of meditation. Not all meditators are bearded flabby hippies sitting in an incense-filled room.

Find your edge and dance upon it.

hak

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