That professional athletes use guided visualization and other Mind Power techniques to increase their level of performance is nothing new. In a previous Topic of the Month (see index) I wrote about basketball legend Michael Jordan’s method. He claims he spent as much time off court practicing making shots in his mind as he did on court. “I practice in my mind being in a pressured situation and making the game winning shot,” he said after winning game one of the NBA finals several years with ago, with a brilliant shot with less than ten seconds left in the game.
But that athletes also use the same method to heal themselves from injuries and illness is not so well known.
Thérèse Brisson was sidelined with broken ribs while she was preparing for the Winter Olympics last season. The painful injury meant that the captain of the women’s national team couldn’t practice with her team. Yet she did practice – in her mind. “I was able to maintain my mental edge by practicing every day in my head,” she says. “I’d go through all my moves and game situations. I would picture how things looked, how they sounded and felt.”
When she came back from the injury, she was ready to play, and she credits her mental efforts for being able to help her team win the silver medal at the Nagano Games. She also claims it helped her to heal quicker.
