Golf & Tourism Magazine July - September 2014 | Page 23

Fitness & Health

I need to improve my
Sports Performance but…

...I have a mental issue
By Dr. Rosa M. Hechavarria

If after lots of discipline, effort, training and poor results you have asked yourself:
What’s the matter with me? What should I do? I train and train and in the end… the
same. And then, you hear this sudden and reckless answer: IT’S A MENTAL ISSUE…
When this happens, then it is time to train for real.
¡Yes…. It is true! What I mean is that sports
aren’t just physical training. Mind and body
are physiologically united. For each
thought (real or imaginary), the
body experiences a reaction.
For instance: have you ever
had a bad dream? When
this happens, you wake up
anxious, afraid, with the
heart beating fast, dilated
pupils and maybe, even
sweating. After a few seconds you realize that you
were sleeping and that it
was all a dream; but anyhow, it
takes time to shake that unpleasant sensation. Your mind was creating unpleasant images and your body
reacted to it.
With this in mind, can you see how
strong is the connection between
your mind and your body, and how
necessary is to train your mind, the
same way you have trained your body
for that sports event? Without that
dual training you won’t be able to get
an excellent sports performanc