Active Mindfulness

Mindfulness For Sports

Take a moment to reflect on how much of your ability to perform or enjoy sport is tied to psychological factors. For many of us everything from a lack of belief in ourselves, lack of focus, negative thoughts or our current mood can have an impact on our activity. Think of all those teams who go down a few points early on and seem to loose their focus or the individual who fails to prepare well believing it will all be easy. Perhaps the psychological gets in the way before you even get to participate, a difficulty setting any training goals, a lack of motivation or that nagging voice that says it's all ok, just stay home in bed. Mindfulness offers an essential element to your training which is often overlooked, a tool for dealing with all these psychological factors. With practice mindfulness can help you develop a greater understanding of yourself, the thoughts and feelings which impact your ability to thrive. With this understanding you are better prepared to choose how to respond to them. In everyday life and especially in high adrenaline fuelled situations we have thoughts or feelings and we respond to them automatically. it often feels like we have no choice in the way we respond. With mindful practice you develop an ability to notice the patterns of mind and mood earlier, increasing the gap between them and responding. This allows a moment where you can make a choice of how to respond.

Our latest course - Mindfulness for runners is now available on Udemy.

To see the full details of the course visit Udemy.

This course is an introduction to the idea of combining mindfulness with running. It is ideal for athletes, coaches and all of us who enjoy running. Whether you are looking to improve performance, overcome the obstacles of the mind or simply enjoy being out for a run. Mindfulness can support you. You can take this course at whatever pace suits you.

The content of the course is as follows;
Section 1 - The adventure of mindful running. This will introduce you to mindfulness and mindful running. I will take you through exercises designed to help you think about how mindfulness and mindful running can support your goals. We will explore how mindfulness for sport performance & enhancement (MSPE) supports skills including concentration, focus, and ability to let go of negative thoughts. All of which can help us overcome thought, emotion or motivation based difficulties. In this section we will begin mindfulness with a mindful eating challenge.

Section 2 - Anchoring to the present. This will allow us to start practising mindfulness. You will have access to audio meditations which allow us to connect with the body, breath and sounds around us. We will begin using mindfulness while walking.

Section 3 - Noticing thoughts. As we become skilled at noticing our body we will also start to notice our thoughts, particularly those that get in the way of our performance or enjoyment. In this section you will be guided through techniques that allow us to diffuse from the power of our thoughts and meditations which allow you to practise putting space between you and the negative thoughts so that you can choose how to react. We will then put all these skills together and start mindful warm ups and preparation for running.

Section 4 - Daily practise. In this section we focus on bringing mindfulness into everyday life and making it a regular practise. We will learn ways of coming back to mindfulness when you need it most and we will begin a lifetime of mindful running. I will also give you my top tips on mindful running and introduce you to further form of sports meditation. Here is the link to the full course.

Intro video below. Click here to access the course
https://www.udemy.com/course/draft/3894636/?referralCode=2E1DA3CA43956D6B5BBE

Services

Active Mindfulness provides a number of services to individuals and groups.

Mindfulness For Sports Services

Introduction To Mindfulness For Sports Stand Alone Workshop For Sports Groups / Teams.
During this interactive 2 hour workshop your group or team will learn about mindfulness, begin to develop a personal practice and explore how it may be able to enhance sports performance and enjoyment. This can be accessed over zoom or Active Mindfulness can attend your club.
£150

Four Week Mindfulness For Sports Course
The four week course can be booked for groups and teams who wish to develop a mindful practice to enhance enjoyment of and performance of sports. In this course we will look at the evidence for using mindfulness, how it works and develop a practice. We will explore how it works for your sport and practice this between sessions with hone tasks. This course can also be accessed remotely or in your club house.
£300

Individual Mindfulness Coaching Sessions
Perhaps you would like a bit more of a personalised experience. Why not book a series of one to one Mindfulness coaching sessions with Dr Gemma Applegarth. In these sessions we can explore your goals, and develop a personalised mindfulness plan that moves you towards your objectives.

A series of 4 sessions each lasting 60 minutes is £300

Introduction To Mindfulness For Runners Online Course

In this 4 week group (limited to 10 participants) course you will develop a mindfulness practice with expert guidance from Dr Gemma Applegarth. The course consists of 4 x 90 minute sessions plus an individual review over zoom. It is suitable for any level of mindful experience from beginner to moderate. The course will introduce mindfulness with a specific focus on adding mindfulness to your running. You will develop the skills to be able to be in the moment with your run which could lead to greater enjoyment or enhanced performance, as you free yourself form mental and emotional blocks. Week 1 - Understanding mindfulness and the mechanisms that support sport performance & enjoyment. Starting mindful practice.
Week 2 - Continuing mindful practice. Bringing mindfulness to movement.
Week 3 - Mindful walking & running. - Finding your anchor to the present.
Week 4 - Building on practice and making a plan.
Within a month of week 4 - Individual 60 minute zoom session.

Next Course - Scheduled for January 2025

Cost - £250
Please email gemma@activemindfulness for further details or to book a place. Location - Zoom

Introduction To Mindfulness For Sports Performance Enhancement. Online Course.

In this 4 week group (limited to 10 participants) course you will develop a mindfulness practice with expert guidance from Dr Gemma Applegarth. The course consists of 4 x 90 minute sessions plus an individual review over zoom. It is suitable for any level of mindful experience from beginner to moderate.

The course will introduce mindfulness with a specific focus on adding mindfulness to your favourite sports training. You will develop the skills to be able to be in the moment with your run which could lead to greater enjoyment or enhanced performance, as you free yourself form mental and emotional blocks.

Week 1 - Understanding mindfulness and the mechanisms that support sport performance & enjoyment. Starting mindful practice.
Week 2 - Continuing mindful practice. Bringing mindfulness to movement.
Week 3 - Mindful walking & running. - Finding your anchor to the present.
Week 4 - Building on practice and making a plan.
Within a month of week 4 - Individual 60 minute zoom session.

Next Course - Scheduled for January 2025

Cost - £250
Please email gemma@activemindfulness for further details or to book a place.