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CourseSports | Motivation

Sports | Motivation

Discover a healthy sense of perspective as you set clear intentions to pursue your goals.

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Better mental health starts with Headspace

Hi and welcome to the Motivation Pack and to day one. Now very often when we think about motivation for sport, we might think it's about shutting out any negative thoughts, any doubts, and filling our head with positive self-talk, but that really just adds more chatter to an already busy mind. It also means we have to hold on very tightly to those positive thoughts and continue to shut out any negative thoughts. That's really quite an exhausting way as this sport wasn't exhausting enough already. So we need to find a way to go beyond thought to find that feeling inside. So it's not an idea. It's not a concept. It's a feeling. Motivation in this context is a place that we come back to. It sees us through the good times. It also sees us through the difficult times, the more challenging times. So in this pack, I'm gonna show you an exercise you can use to really find that place of motivation. Again, it's more a feeling than a thought. Over the next few days, it will become more apparent how this relates to sport, but today, the focus is really on the exercise itself, and it's a reflective type exercise. If you haven't done this type of exercise before, then do make sure to check out the reflection video where there's some really helpful tips and advice, but as always, I'm going to guide you through the exercise as we go. So all you need to do right now is to get comfortable, to set yourself up in the usual way. Eyes open, a nice soft focus with the eyes, and when you're ready, just taking some big deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. And with the next out breath, just gently closing the eyes as you become more aware, the physical sensation, the weight of the body, just settling back in to the sounds and the space around you. And as you bring the attention now back to the body just starting at the top of the head and gently scanning down. As always, just noticing what feels comfortable, what feels uncomfortable. Not looking to change any feeling but just becoming aware of how the body feels right now. And as you scan down through the body, just becoming more aware of the breath, the movement of the breath in the body, just noticing where you feel that and what the rhythm of the breath is right now. And as you continue to follow the breath, starting to notice how each breath is different from the next. I'd just like you to ask yourself the question, what's most important in your life right now? I want you to ask the question as though you're asking somebody else, so ask it in the second person. What's the most important thing in your life right now? And in asking the question, you're not trying to answer it logically. The mind instinctively...

Details

TypeCourse
# of sessions10
Duration10-20 min

About your teachers

  • A former Buddhist monk, Andy has guided people in meditation and mindfulness for 20 years. In his mission to make these practices accessible to all, he co-created the Headspace app in 2010.

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  • Eve is a mindfulness teacher, overseeing Headspace’s meditation curriculum. She is passionate about sharing meditation to help others feel less stressed and experience more compassion in their lives.

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  • As a meditation teacher, Dora encourages others to live, breathe, and be with the fullness of their experiences. She loves meditation’s power to create community and bring clarity to people’s minds.

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  • Kessonga has been an acupuncturists, therapist, and meditation teacher, working to bring mindfulness to the diverse populations of the world.

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  • Rosie Acosta has studied yoga and mindfulness for more than 20 years and taught for over a decade. Rosie’s mission is to help others overcome adversity and experience radical love.

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