Guided Imagery and Visualization
How can guided imagery help performance?
Were it left up to sports psychologists on how to train athletes, training facilities would have "imagery" rooms as well as workout rooms. Imagery rooms would exercise the athletes' minds, building psychological muscle and increasing endurance.
While imagery work-out facilities are metaphorical, many athletes do sit in quiet rooms, either at home or at sports facilities to practice visualization techniques. They also practice imagery techniques before going to sleep, or each morning before breakfast - or as part of their daily workout routine.
They also pause on playing fields, tennis courts, pools, golf courses, or other sports arenas, to recall and use these mental exercises during competition.
In other words, a physical workout room isn't necessary for this type of exercise, only the help and guidance of sports psychology professionals, and the belief in the essential connection between the mind and body - and how this connection affects an athlete's performance - is necessary.
Studies in the science of sports psychology have shown that imagery works because having the brain imagine doing a specific activity, such as serving a tennis ball or completing a complicated ice-skating move, or shooting a hockey puck into a net, actually creates a neural pathway in the brain just as if the activity had been done physically. These neural pathways, in effect, tell the muscles - and body - how to perform.
Guided Imagery / Visualization Techniques
Studies have also shown that the most effective type of imagery includes as much of the sensory experience of the actual event as possible. That means including smells, colors, weather conditions, the feeling of physical movements, and trying emulate the emotional context.
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For example, divers picture the sight and smell of the locker room, dressing and showering, walking to the pool area, smelling the chlorine, and advancing toward the board. They feel the texture of each step taking them up to the board, the texture of the board itself, hear the sounds of observers sitting in the stands, and feel the earth moving away from them as they climb higher.
As they near the top, they feel the surge of adrenaline or arousal that actually occurs during competition. At this point, the imagery causes the same physiological responses as actually performing the dive, such as a racing heart, sweaty palms, and increased respiration.
The diver replays the ritual he or she makes before each dive, standing, moving fingers and toes - whatever movements the athlete has designed after years of diving practice and competition. The steps and movements associated with the dive take the athlete into the air, the feeling of turning head over feet, until finally the head, followed by the body, slide into the water.
A perfect dive, each step in the process recreated exactly as planned, is the imagery created in the diver's head. He or she also feels the exhilaration of a successful dive, and feels celebratory emotions.
Sports psychology researchers have proven that this type of guided imagery, if done regularly, not only increases performance levels, but also motivates and empowers athletes - giving them more self-confidence. Imagery can also be played over in the athletes' minds during competition - as the diver actually climbs the ladder of a pool in competition, while a tennis player bounces a ball before serving, or as the basketball player stands at the foul line.
Similar to physical training, it can take many months before the athlete sees the improvement, and devising imagery scenarios should be supervised by an experienced sports psychology professional. Improperly implementing guided imagery can seriously impair an athlete’s performance.
Most athletes, professional and amateur, understand that psychology somehow affects their performance. Guided imagery alone won't win a meet or game or match, yet in combination with physical training, it gives many an extra edge - an edge translated into victory.
If you are interested in helping athletes perform to their fullest potential by using psychological techniques and interventions like visualization, consider a career in sports psychology. Request information from schools offering masters programs in sports psychology or PhD programs in sports psychology.