She hears those words, "game, set, match," and she heads to the net for the handshake, but it wasn't her name she heard after those words. She put everything she had into that match. She drew more from herself than she thought she had. As she heads to the net, those few shots, those few moments that could have made the difference fly through her head. She feels the disappointment, yet as she clasps hands at the net, she gives a smile, perhaps some words of encouragement to her opponent as her opponent moves on to the next round. Then she packs up her bag and heads for the locker room. A wave to an appreciative crowd and a few autographs belie the sadness she feels. She wasn't picked to win, but in that 6-4, 5-7, 6-7 loss she left her heart on that court, even some blood and skin, maybe a few tears.Watching tennis matches is often a painful experience for me and it's not because the player I'm rooting for dumps an easy put-away into the net at set point, although that has its own level of anguish. What's more and more painful for me these days is watching a player lose, regardless of who it is. Although she may try to brush it off, those feelings from the loss and the images of maybe what she should have done differently can stay with her into the next tournament and longer. The impressions may run deep, yet she has to rebound and try to take a positive attitude into her next match. And we know the psychology has an effect on the body. As tennis commentators like to point out, a player's "body language" is often a key to what is going on inside her head.
Now there are two major points to consider here for every player:
- The state of the mind and body while playing the match
- The recovery of the mind and body after playing the match
Point I - While Playing the Match:
The first thing is, don't lose. Not losing requires a superior level of performance - a continuous display of perfection from being "in the zone." In the zone, as I covered in my blog post, "Tennis, Peak Performance, and Transcendental Meditation," comes from a high level of brain integration, typical of world class athletes.
The second thing is, if the player does lose, the psychophysiological functioning should be sufficiently stable not to incur deep stresses or impressions from the loss. This level of equanimity in loss comes from a quality of functioning called "field independence." Researchers have associated field independence with a more stable internal frame of reference from which comes a greater ability to assimilate and structure experience in a positive way.
Both of these "things" have their basis in a more stable, integrated psychophysiological functioning which can be cultured through Transcendental Meditation. Win or lose, then, every player will find it a less stressful experience, which means they will emerge from the match with less recovery time required on all levels. Which takes me to my next point:
Point II - After Playing the Match:
Without that higher level of psychophysiological functioning while playing the match, more recovery time will be required to shed the impressions and restore vitality to the physiology. The problem for players today is that they have not been aware of an effective, systematic way of quickly shedding these impressions and quickly restoring vitality to the body or, in other words, dissolving the stresses as they move from match to match and from tournament to tournament. Every player knows that carrying past impressions only hampers her ability to perform freely and, therefore effectively, both mentally and physically, in her next match, in her next tournament. No player wants to go to the line carrying that kind of baggage.
I'd like to imagine that the player in our opening scenario goes back to the locker room for her usual post-match routine (what is it, ice bath (brrr), rubdown from physio or whatever?) and then slips into some loose-fitting, comfy clothes, and then heads to the Meditation Room the WTA has arranged for its players at the Premier Tournament facilities to do the technique of Transcendental Meditation where, from the deep rest she'll experience, shed some of the impressions of that match and reinvigorate her body, emerging mentally and physically ready to take on her next challenge. This is a true technology for recovery. And you know, if I knew every player had this technology in her bag, I wouldn't find watching a player lose so painful.
Anyway, that's how I see it.
Two notes from the Author:
1. Here are the links to two blog posts I referred to in the text:
- Tennis, Peak Performance, and Transcendental Meditation
- Fitness from the Inside through Transcendental Meditation
2. To substantiate every benefit from the technology of Transcendental Meditation that I've cited here with scientific research would make the read more than a tad clunky. More than 380 peer-reviewed research studies on Transcendental Meditation have been published in over 160 scientific journals. If you want details: Scientific Research on the Technology of Transcendental Meditation
