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How does imagery really work? Psychoneuromuscular theory: when an Elite Performer practices using imagery, they imagine movements without performing them, although the brain interprets this as if they were performing them, which provides similar impulses in the brain and in the muscles. Small impulses fire from your brain to your muscles with the exactness that you are imagining.
Take one small area of your performance that you are struggling with or want to enhance. If you were performing that one thing to your level of ‘perfection’ what would that look like? Write it down. Go through what you wrote down and take out anything you can’t see, hear, taste, smell or touch or anything that is phrased in a negative way. Go through it again and add some sensory information ( see, hear, taste, smell or touch) and positive’s (strong, steady, soft, fast, etc.). The positives might not be what is actually happening but what you want to have happen. For example, one of my elite marathon clients used to start races too fast so she began imagining that she started races slower (which for her was a positive), strong, energized and relaxed.
Imagery should include as many senses as possible. Think back to your favorite movie. If you were watching the movie but had no sound, what would your experience be like? What if you had sound but no picture? Now imagine you were watching and listening to your favorite movie and you could taste, smell and feel everything going on in that movie. How would that change your experience? Lastly, you have probably attached various emotional states to your favorite movie: sadness, laughter, anger, etc. Because we use so many of our senses when we watch a movie, it feels like real life and that is why we watch it. Imagery is much the same way.
Imagery works to improve concentration, build confidence, control emotional responses, acquire or develop sports skills, cope with pain or injury and help solve problems.
Try it and let me know how is goes.
Dr. Michelle
Photo credit: theoutsiders.net
Hi Michelle,
I would like to try and get my 12 year old daughter to use this to help with her basketball. Does it work with young children? And should it be introduced in the same manner as I would to an adult?
Particular areas are her evasive/attacking dribbling skills and her free throw shooting.
Thanks!
Jon
Hey Jon. Thanks for your comment. You can use this with a child and it is different than what I would do with an adult. With children it’s more about teaching them life skills. In this case developing her imagination, confidence, helping her have a healthy perspective of what it means to win and lose, etc. How she deals with basketball will have a lot to do with how she (unconsciously) perceives that you deal with her playing, her ability and how much you ‘push’ her to play. At 12 she really still should be having fun playing. There is plenty of time for angst, fear, self doubt and anxiety. For girls at age 12 sports are all about having fun, social groups and to a smaller degree, learning a new skill.
If you want to use psychoneuromuscular theory in a healthy, productive way for your 12 year old daughter I would talk to her about who her basketball icon is and why and give her the opportunity to watch that person play. As you sit and watch with her you could gently point out her icon’s great dribbling skills and free throw shooting skills…yeah?
Let me know if you have other questions!
Thanks
Dr. Michelle
Hi Michelle,
Oh yeah, I agree re the enjoyment and fun part. We constantly encourage and praise her for her efforts rather than the result so that she understands that participating rather than just winning is the goal. One of the reasons our kids play sport is to learn the life lessons it provides – coping with win/loss and with team sports, commitment to others and to a program etc.
She does play for her club and for a representative team, and asked me for help with getting more court time – she wants to be on, all the time! So I mucked around at home with her, trying to get her to imagine perfect shots going in, and then replicating that. It kinda worked but she didn’t take it into the game.
Cheers
Jon
Hey Jon. Nice job with your daughter!
Imagery will take some time. It’s really hard for a 12 year to focus sometimes at all let alone on imagery. Keep it short. Keep it simple. Have her tape it so that she can listen to it.
Let me know how I can help!
Thanks
Dr. Michelle