Working with the Physical Side of Performance Anxiety.
In my work I spend a lot of talking about what goes on inside our minds and how those goings-on relate to our performance. The goal is to practice finding a third-person perspective on our own thinking- the ability to step back and analyze our own thoughts, beliefs, and reactions as if from a bird’s eye view. From my own experience and that of the amazing people I get to work with, I know that this is a game changing, essential skill for anyone looking to excel in any area of high-pressured performance.
However, the more I do this work, the more I realize that alongside the ability to understand and manage our minds comes the equally important need to develop skills to understand and manage the physical manifestation of negative thinking, limiting beliefs and anxiety. In other words, we also need skills that allow us to manage and release physical tension and the feeling of being anxious that exists more in our bodies than in our minds. I’m talking about the racing heart, sweaty palms, knot in your stomach, nervous energy that so often accompanies high-pressure scenarios in performance. Without the skills to manage this physical experience, the sheer power of our fight or flight reaction can make it very difficult to access our mental skills. Sometimes we need a tangible way to manage our bodies so that we can stay grounded in our physical skills and be more success in managing our minds. Here’s what we need to do.
Acknowledge. Re-label. Breath.
Acknowledge = don’t try to ignore it. Trying to mentally ignore the feeling of anxiety or nerves rarely works. Typically our brain focuses more on the things we are actively trying to not think about! Instead, admit that you are feeling the nervous energy and decide to do something to manage it. Looking right at the fear immediately lessens it’s power.
Re-label = shift your perspective on what it means to be feeling that nervous energy. Your high-performance self is curious about this feeling and interested in how it can help your performance. Remember that we need nervous energy to perform at our best. What is this heightened awareness doing for you? How it is sharpening your focus?
Breath = breath… but not just any old breathing. There are two super important elements to managing our breath for performance.
The breath needs to reach your stomach. We can take big breaths into our chest all day long, but this type of shallow breathing actually sends a signal to your brain that you might be in danger…. which in turn will ramp up your fight or flight response. Not what we are going for! Practice breathing fully down into your stomach.
We need to pause at the top and bottom of the breath. This means holding your inhale in your stomach for a beat, exhaling and waiting a moment before inhaling again. Adding in this pause slows down the rhythm of your breath and sends the signal to your brain that everything is okay.
Recommended breathing technique for during performance: You can do it anywhere, anytime. I always recommend to build a habit of consciously including this type of breathing in your warm up, or when you are preparing for your high pressure moment, as a way to center and ground yourself in the present moment, and to balance the nervous energy in your body. Then, use this breathing throughout your training or competition in moments where you need to reset, re-focus, or ground yourself in trusting your skills.
Inhale through your nose right down into your stomach.
Hold for a moment.
Exhale out through your mouth with pursed lips (helps to slow your exhale).
Hold for a moment and repeat step one.
Although our natural tendency is to avoid or attempt to ignore the feeling of discomfort that high-pressured moments create in our bodies, we gain much more by practicing working with this feeling. Get to know your physical signs of discomfort, nerves, or fear and use the moments where they appear as opportunities to practice managing your body alongside your mind. This is a skill, like everything else, that can be learned and mastered with effort, strategy, and patience.
So get out there, perform, and have fun!
Until next time,