Inspire Youth Athletes to Achieve Personal Success

Be Mindful

I can. I will. I am strong. I am confident.

"The goal of meditation is not to control your thoughts. It's to stop letting your thoughts control you."

How Do I Meditate?

Start by choosing a meditation method you can look forward to each day. Although constancy and discipline are necessary for practice, meditation shouldn’t feel boring, or not fun. With the right method, you’ll soon be able to find the perfect balance between too rigid and too relaxed.

Pick a Type of Meditation For Me

Are you wanting to manage better sleep, are you anxious at practice, manage stressful situations better? If so, you may do well with some guided meditation or relaxation meditation. Meditation helps you find insights into your mind! This is the true goal of mindfulness and awareness meditation. Or, are you trying to develop better patience? Or empathy? Or give back? Gratitude meditation is another good choice.

Check out this video:

The Complete Guide To Meditation For Athletes

There are many types of meditation you can try. Whether it be Mindful meditation, Body Scan Meditation, Morning Meditation, or Visualization Meditation, there is a type for every athlete! When you know why you’re interested in meditating at home, you’ll know which ones are right for you.

Starting Small

It takes a lot of practice to become great at anything. This includes meditation at home. With anything, it is important to start small, even 3-5 minutes will make a huge difference to you the athlete. Even these short durations will feel like forever for some beginners. The more you practice, just like in soccer, basketball, or football, you will get better overtime. The quality of your meditation is more important than how long you meditate.

Try this meditation:

3 Minute Meditation

Pick a Time and Place

Pick a time that works best for you and go find a quiet place away from noisy distractions. Whether it be after a morning workout, or after school, pick the best time for YOU.

You’ll also need to find a comfortable position. You can sit on a cushion, chair or even a couch, so long as you feel comfortable and you can sit up straight. Your neck and shoulders should be relaxed, and your eyes can be half open or shut during the meditation session.

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Find Your Happy Place

man in gray jacket and black backpack standing on green grass field near mountain during daytime

Since you’re just beginning, a guided meditation can add a structure to your meditaiton. With guided meditation, the instructor leads you through a specific skill, from breathing exercises to visualizations to body scans. This voice and instruction will allow you the athlete to center on the present moment.

Try this guided meditation:

7 Minute Guided Meditation

Begin With a Guided Meditation

Being in the present moment is key to meditation practice. When you meditate, you train your mind in being aware of whatever object of meditation you’ve chosen. There will be distractions in the form of sounds, odors, sensations of discomfort, tension and more. There will also be distractions that your mind will produce all on its own: to-do lists, things you should have done or said, things you plan to do or say, emotions, daydreams… the list is endless. But stay focused, and if your mind does wander, come back!

To help the mind stay focused on the here and now, one of the best ways to meditate at home is to focus on breathing. When those distracting thoughts pop up, acknowledge them, and go back to focusing on breathing. Noticing and coming back is what meditation is all about.