Today’s world, thankfully, is changing.
People, including athletes, are incorporating more holistic and mindful practices into their daily lives. Meditation is one of those practices anyone can do, from children to elders.
“I wake up every morning, and the first thing I do is meditate,” explained Bianca Andreescu, a Canadian tennis player and the 2019 US Open Tennis Women’s Champion.
“I think it really helps me get a good jump-start to the day. Not opening my phone or anything, not getting too overwhelmed,” Andreescu shared with the press after winning the women’s title at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
Rewards
Not only is meditation most certainly worth the time and effort, but the rewards speak for themselves.
For Andreescu, it’s a daily practice. “I take 15 minutes every morning just to get in tune with my body and my mind. I visualize myself having a good day, like, stuff like that.”
When asked by WTA TOUR how she dealt with the pressure of being in her first Grand Slam final and facing a pro-Serena home crowd, Bianca credited her mum.
“My mom introduced me to meditation when I was really young,” Andreescu explained. “I was maybe about 12. Ever since then, I have been meditating, and I do a lot of yoga.
“I also work on the mental, because that’s also very, very important. It’s definitely showing through my matches where I’m staying in the present moment a lot of the time. I don’t like to focus on what just happened or in the future.”
Manifest What You Want
Andreescu’s preferred form of meditation is called creative visualization, which is a type of mindfulness exercise that involves creating a visual mental imagery of the goals that you want to manifest.
But it’s not all about visualizing her on-court success, Andreescu told the press. The 19-year-old uses meditation as a daily practice in order to improve her mindfulness and avoid a cluttered mind.
But she did reveal that when she goes on court, she likes to repeat words or phrases that keep her motivated between points.
“…I keep keywords in my head usually,” Andreescu said. “I just keep very short key words in my head, like, before I serve, before I return. I just try to pump myself up.
The art and practice of meditation basically has one goal in mind: to slow down the mind.
Meditation is not difficult to learn, and it is not difficult to keep up the pace. With only 10 minutes a day, you could be on your way to a brand new you.
As you can see, becoming a world-class athlete is one of the best benefits of meditation!
“Concentration is a fine antidote to anxiety.” Jack Nicklaus
Meditation is a habit that may come easily to some. I have been meditating for many years, but there were many days I found myself slipping. These days, not so much, not since I completed the no-cost Action Habits Challenge by Connie Ragen Green, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, independent publisher, and serial entrepreneur. You can check it out here.
The many days I found myself slipping, especially when stressed out. I learned to understand better and manage my stress after I read “7 Days of Self Care Free” Private Label Rights (PLR) content from Susanne Myers and Tracy Roberts. You, too, can get it at no cost here.
If you’re interested in revitalizing your life through meditation and would like to learn a virtually risk-free and cost-effective practice that people of all ages can do with patience and guidance that will serve you for the rest of your life, I would love to connect with you. You can connect with me here.
I’m Donna SLam, who loves to blog about how meditation brings self-compassion, peace of mind, and clarity to my life and others by sharing tips and strategies to live a fulfilling and purposeful life. I enjoy championing others to lead a healthy and happy life through meditation, walking, self-development, and spending time with loved ones.
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