17/12/2024
🧘♂️ Imagine the meditating as part of their warm-up before kick-off…
This AI image shows just that – but it’s not just for show. Meditation and mindfulness are backed by science 🧠💥
It’s been a huge goal of mine to bring meditation & mindfulness into sport – helping athletes:
✅ Find calm before chaos
✅ Stay focused under pressure
✅ Regulate & balance their nervous system 🫁
While some teams have embraced mindfulness to boost performance, there’s still so much more to explore – especially when & how to use it for elite athletes.
One technique that stands out? Resonance Breathing 👃📈
It’s simple, effective, and scientifically proven to:
💪 Enhance physical performance
🧠 Sharpen mental focus
😌 Speed up recovery
🔥 What’s the Science? 🔥
A systematic review & meta-analysis (aka the gold standard of research) by Laborde et al. (2022) looked at how breathing techniques impact athletic performance. This review combined findings from 37 studies involving athletes at all levels — from recreational to elite.
Here’s what they found 👇
📈 Slow-Paced Breathing (SPB) = BIG GAINS 💥
When athletes practiced SPB (like resonance breathing) over time, it had a LARGE positive effect on physical sport performance. Think sharper focus, better decision-making, and stronger mental control.
💨 Breath-Holding (BH) = Small Benefits 🫁
Breath-holding also boosted performance, but it wasn’t as effective as slow-paced breathing.
⏳ Short-Term Use? Not So Much.
SPB, breath-holding, and hyperventilation didn’t show big performance changes in short-term use. The key is consistency.
How to Try Resonance Breathing 🧘♂️
This is how you can use it to prep for games, recover after sessions, or calm the nerves before big moments.
1️⃣ Inhale through your nose for 5 seconds.
2️⃣ Exhale through your nose for 5 seconds.
3️⃣ Repeat for 5-10 minutes.
This breathing pattern syncs your heart, lungs, and nervous system, putting you in peak state for performance & recovery.
If you’re an athlete or coach looking for mental skills that WORK on & off the field, this is your sign to try it 🔥🧠
Tag a teammate or coach who needs to see this! 👇
