Mental Moment-Imagery Part I
Introduction
Imagery is a form a stimulation that is similar to real sensory experiences except the experiences happen in the mind. Through imagery you can recreate previous positive experiences. Recreating past positive experiences involves recalling from memory pieces of information stored from your experiences and using them to shape further meaningful experiences. Your mind remembers these events and recreates pictures and feelings of them for you to use for future events. Through imagery you can also create events that have not yet occurred. For example, a beginning tennis player who has not yet had many real experiences with the sport can begin creating initial positive experiences of their own by observing others. A beginning tennis player can begin to view other tennis players practicing and competing and begin to create positive experiences that will help shape future behaviors. If you have ever watched a great tennis player and mentally rehearse those moments or you’ve watched someone you thought was a great server and tried to mimic that person’s serve or you’ve watched a professional tennis player on television and tried to copy their tennis stroke, all of this is your minds way of remembering events and creating pictures and feelings of them.
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.
Theories
You can generate information from memory that is essentially the same as an actual experience. Because you can do this, those images can have an effect on your nervous system similar to the original or actual experience.
Psychoneuromuscular theory: when an athlete practices using imagery, the athlete imagines movements without performing them, although the brain interprets this as if the athlete 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.
Cognitive theory: states that the “blueprint” (map) in your mind is changed through imagery. For example, if you’ve run for years with your arms swinging across your body you will automatically do that out of habit every time you run. However, if you learn that better arm swing positioning is probably straight back and forth, you can help change your mind’s blueprint by using imagery.
Where to begin
- Recreate a past personal experience: think back to a time when you were in your zone during practice or competition. Recreate that experience by writing down as much as you can remember, using as many of your senses as possible.
- Create a positive experience. How would you like the situation to look? What would you like the outcome to be (versus what usually happens)? Write it like you are writing a story using as many of your senses as possible.
- Create a positive experience you have not had: if you can’t remember having your own past positive experience, you can use someone else’s. Most of us know someone in our sport we think of as a role model or if not a role model, we know of someone who is an icon in the sport. Think about what makes that person a role model or an icon. If you have a DVD or can find one of this person participating in the sport, watch it and think about what makes this person a role model or an icon. Write all of those elements down on a piece of paper again including as many of the senses as possible.
Write a story about your own past, positive experience, the experience you want to have or the person you see as a role model or icon. As you think about the situation or experience include as much about it as you can. Include all of the senses to make your imagine as vivid as possible.
Imagery can be useful for all performance situations. Next week I am going to talk about when to use imagery and the benefits of it.
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Dr. Michelle
Photo credit: en.wikipedia.org
