My coach training begins early, not every day, but most.  It is usually dark when I begin and I prefer complete silence.  The unique thing about this training is that while I’m not thinking about coaching, it helps me become a better coach.

It is sitting and either focussing on my breathing, or on nothing at all.  I’ve been doing it for many years and the regularity varies as does the length of the sessions.

The benefits of these simple meditations are that I feel extremely calm and light immediately afterwards, and this lasts for hours after I finish.  My thinking and insights are clearer…these are the things which help my coaching.

If, like me you have probably read about the extended periods of time spent by a lot of people in meditation, or that there are religious connotations.  There don’t need to be and certainly aren’t with me.

How do I do it?

• I go to a spare room in our house before I begin getting involved with the day; before my brain gets caught up in the daily grind.
• I’ll choose a chair where I can sit upright.
• I close my eyes and begin focussing on my breathing.  This is to a slow count; in for 5, out for 5.
• This breathing is usually enough to keep my attention from wandering. If I need a greater focus, I imagine there is a feather on the tip of my nose.  I visualise it moving as I breath in and out.
• I do this for about 10 minutes, occasionally 15 or 20.
• Toward the end of the session I’ll switch my focus to the goals I have that inspire me.

When I first began meditating, random thoughts would enter my mind.  Initially I thought this shouldn’t occur and worried that the thoughts wouldn’t vanish. It is natural for this to occur. Paradoxically, when I allowed the thoughts to be there, they would pass.  So long as I didn’t engage with them and give them any emotional space, they would float away.

Most sessions an idea that I might want to investigate further will float in.  I trust that I can allow that thought to pass and that I will remember it when I finish.

Athletes make strategic errors partly because their minds are already so busy thinking about things peripheral to the task: the golfer thinking through a difficult shot to the green and worrying – at the same time – about her overall score…the batsman facing a spin bowler and thinking about his poor recent form against spinners.  Meditation is tremendous for learning to be able to think clearly in pressure situations like these.

Practicing thinking clearly through regular meditation might result in lower golf scores and more runs.  At the very least you get to enjoy the mental and physical health benefits of this simple practice.