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