The Power of Mindfulness

“Time for Recovery” or “Utter Uncertainty”? The Postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Through the Eyes of Olympic Athletes and Coaches. A Qualitative Study

“…As such, they can be interpreted as an attempt to adopt a mindful attitude of non-judgmental awareness to what really is instead of ruminating about what was and what could be. Several mindfulness approaches specifically targeted at high-performance athletes and coaches demonstrate that such a poised attitude based on the (trained) ability to make room for uncomfortable internal and external experiences (e.g., thoughts, feelings, or a sudden pandemic ruining all plans for the next future), while still engaging in personally valued activities, could allow athletes and coaches to navigate the broader challenges of a high-performance environment in a mentally and physically healthy way (Baltzell and Summers, 2017;Kaufman et al, 2018). Such a feeling of acceptance also represents an essential requirement for meaning-focused coping to enable personal growth in personally demanding or rather overburdened situations (Folkman and Moskowitz, 2004;Guo et al, 2013).…”

A rowing-specific mindfulness intervention: Effects on mindfulness, flow, reinvestment, and performance

“…A number of frequently used mindfulness interventions for sport have been developed, including: Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment ( Gardner and Moore, 2004 ), Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement Training ( Kaufman et al, 2009 ), and Mindfulness Meditation Training in Sport ( Baltzell and Summers, 2018 ). These interventions have had mixed success in enhancing performance or impacting performance-relevant outcomes, such as flow, anxiety, focus, and self-confidence ( Bühlmayer et al, 2017 ; Noetel et al, 2017 ; Corbally et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Flow comprises nine dimensions: challenge-skill balance, action-awareness emerging, sense of control, clear goals, concentration on the task, unambiguous feedback, transformation of time, autotelic experience, and loss of self-consciousness ( Csikszentmihalyi and Csikzentmihaly, 1990 ). Flow is not something that can be taught, and, therefore, being able to increase the likelihood of it occurring is considered beneficial for athletes ( Baltzell and Summers, 2018 ). The flow experience shares similarities with mindfulness; both concern purposeful, present-moment awareness.…”

Do Correlations Between Mindfulness Components and Rumination in Student Athletes Support Mindfulness Training to Reduce Rumination?

“…Easing off this wandering by becoming still and preparing oneself for mental, physical, and emotional experiences are aspects of mindfulness. Mindfulness interventions assume that by noticing that recurrent thoughts may be restrictive and may prevent one from reaching goals, the individual is able to balance the wandering mind (Baltzell & Summers, 2017). Thus, mindfulness may help reduce ruminative thoughts by balancing a type of wandering mind in which the "wandering" can be repetitive thinking.…”

“…Additionally, other components of mindfulness include non-judgment, acceptance and letting go (Kabat-Zinn, 2013), and these components may also contribute to reduced rumination. In addition to balancing the mind, Baltzell and Summers (2017) listed concentration, clear vision, and mental preservation among other functions of mindfulness that might help increase athletic performance. Through mindfulness, athletes learn when to encourage the wandering mind and when to focus on athletic tasks; this ability then enhances concentration.…”