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Athletic Life Coaching: Teaching Beyond Belief Educational Series

Walking Through Your Fears after Injury:

Athletes Living Beyond Belief

By Gina Tricamo, M-HYT

Isaiah 40:29-31 He gives strength to the weary and increases power to the weak. Even youth grow tired and exhausted, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

How do athletes get back in the game when an unexpected set-back occurs through physical injury?

This question is rehearsed over and over in the mind (the functional processing of the brain) as one struggles to deal with the present dilemma of physical, often times severe, pain and disability. Compounding the physical duress is the psychological, disheartening feeling of depression and lacking faith of a timely recovery.

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With a positive attitude, affirming support system, knowledge of the injury and a beyond-belief-faith attitude, an injury can be overcome without turning your world upside down. Through acceptance, and surrender to the things that cannot be changed, you can begin to change your approach to healing and wholeness with the end result of a full recovery!

Session Outline:

1. Learn to assess your injury and accept responsibility 2. How to approach injuries with proper steps3. Overcome psychological challenges4. Practicing positive affirmations/visualization5. Yoga/Integrated Therapies and Sports6. Experience beyond belief faith in recovery7. Re-entrance back into the game

Hebrew 12:11-13 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and week knees.

Coping with a sports injury requires both physical and psychological rehabilitation. Most sports injuries focus only on the physical component of the injury. However, it is important to look at all four developmental domains of the soul esteem - the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual – to help an athlete have timely healing and wholeness.

The injury itself can also be viewed as an opportunity to develop characteristics of inner strength from the untimely set back and become a more confident, resilient and thriving athlete.

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1. Learn how to assess your injury – Learn about your injury as much as possible. Many times being in extreme pain is debilitating and it can be difficult to focus on what is being explained to you. It is important to take someone you trust with you as a support system to write down your concerns and the information being provided in and around your injury.

I have used an assessment tool diagram of the body – front, back and side views. Place an X in the areas that are being impacted by the injury. This will help the Practitioner also understand more clearly what you are experiencing in all areas of the body. An injury localized in one area can manifest more intensely in other areas of the body as well. Knowing the pathways of pain and discomfort gives the doctor or therapist a better sense of how to treat the injury (see attached diagram).

Ask the following questions of your doctor, therapist, trainer or coach until you have a clearer understanding of the injury:

What is my diagnosis (what type of injury do I have)? How long will recovery take? What is the purpose of the treatment I am receiving? What alternative treatments are available? What are the side effects of treatment? What should I expect during rehab? What alternative workouts can I safely do? What are the warning signs that I am getting worse?

Knowledge is empowerment! By understanding the injury and knowing what to expect during the rehabilitation process you will feel less anxious and a greater sense of control in what could feel like a very uncontrollable dilemma.

The serenity prayer says, “God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the

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things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” It is important to accept the responsibility for the injury. This is not to say that the cause of the injury is in anyway your fault. What is means is that you exercise the wisdom to accept in this particular moment you have an injury and you are the only one that can fully determine the outcome.

By taking responsibility for your recovery process you will shift your thoughts from dwelling on the past (or blaming the injury to an outside factor) to finding a greater source of peace of mind which will aid in a speedier healing.

Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by meditation and petition, with gratitude, present your request to God.

2. How to approach injures with proper steps:

In-place Support System – You do not have to do recovery alone! It is a very common behavior to isolate from teammates, coaches and friends. In spite of those emotional struggles of self-worth it is important to maintain relationships during your recovery.

Coaches, therapist and good friends can be the best listeners as you work through and vent your anger. They can offer advice and encouragement not to give up! Just knowing that you don’t have to face the injury alone can be a really big comfort. If you’re physically able to hang out in the locker room, suit up and sit on the sidelines and/or be visible, you are taking the necessary steps to fight your way back to wholeness.

Set Goals – short term (ST) and long term (LT) goals facilitate faster healing. A ST goal may entail being still and resting for a period of time, rather than using brute force and compounding more injury. View your injury as a challenge,

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rather than an end-of-world crisis. The ST goal will be focused on recovery rather than performance. Jim Rohn, author and motivational speaker, stated, “If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plans, your plans will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us.”

Monitoring Progress - this will motivate you to keep moving forward, no matter how small or slow the steps appear in the first phase of recovery after the injury. By journaling your goals you will become more motivated as you notice small improvements in the rehab process. You will become more confident as you observe you are getting better and improving.

Goal setting strategies should be integrated into all rehabilitation programs. By monitoring and charting the athlete’s progress, attention is directed towards marked and measurable outcome. It is important to know when the individual has reached the goals set during rehabilitation process.

NOTES:

Examples of Progress Charted that indicates a noted increase in the time spent working in the fitness center over time:

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Goal: Spending an extra 20 minutes in the fitness center over time

Effect: A measured increase in muscular strength over time

Goal: Adding 10kg to lifting exercises that work the injured body part

Effect: An increase in the number of repetitions on recovery exercises over time

Goal: An increase of 10 more repetitions on recovery exercises over time

Effect: An increase in the number of recovery exercises over time, with exercises becoming increasingly demanding

Goal: The addition of 1 new exercise every week

Effect: Increased performance over time

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Find an Empowerment Agent – someone who will compassionately coach you during rehab. There are Spiritual Life Coaches on campus, teachers, counselors or anyone who is positive. Stay away from negative people who give the message of doomsday!!! Your ‘Surround-Sound’ should be one of positive affirmations and a hope that does not disappoint!

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Work closely with a Personal Therapist – your medical doctor, chiropractor, physical therapist, and/or holistic therapist can help you set realistic goals that are aligned with each stage of healing. Most athletes have a tendency to try to speed-up recovery by doing too much too soon! To accept you are injured and have limitations is a critical step in recovery.

Maintain your Wellness and Fitness while injured - an injury is not an illness, in most cases. Yes, there are symptoms like nausea or lack of appetite from the pain, and/or more stress on the working areas of the body from over compensating. It is important to captivate what is working and build upon it! Depending on the level of injury and energy, modification will assist in the rehab. Alternative training, such as yoga therapy, will maintain strength and flexibility in the body’s systems. Water aerobics helps to take the stress and shock off the body and create ease in movement. Your therapist can work with you uniquely to facilitate a range of movement that is beneficial, but not intrusive to the healing process. Practicing breath-work induces relaxation. Meditation provides stress reduction, facilitates focus, clarity, harmony and balance in the homeostasis on your body, mind, intellect and spirit.

3. Overcome psychological challenges – coping with an injury not only requires physical rehab, but also psychological rehab. Unfortunately, many times this area is overlooked in the recovery phase, yet it has a tremendous impact on getting back into the game!

Athletes react to injury with a wide range of emotions, which may include denial, anger, fears and depression. Often, the

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injury creates resentment when the ‘fairness-card’ is pulled out of the deck! It doesn’t seem fair to be so broken when the athlete was once physically active and healthy.

It is important to acknowledge these emotions and accept the circumstance. Coming into the place of surrender opens the mind to wake up and move from negative thoughts to more positive strategies to cope with such a physical set-back.

As the athlete move towards recovery with acceptance and enter into a positive outlook, there is a release from the emotional tension that gifts the athlete with the ability to focus, become emotionally flexible, and resilient.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melodie Beattie

The Psychology of Gratitude is a very powerful methodology in healing the whole person. One of my favorite experts on the brain imaging and functions is Dr. Amen, M.D., a clinical neuroscientist and psychiatrist.

The following is a discussion on the powerful effects of thought processing on the brain and associating gratitude to recovery. In his book, Natural Ways to Unleash Your Brain’s Maximum Potential; Magnificent Mind At Any Age, Dr. Amen states, “When you bring your attention to the things you are grateful for in your life, your brain actually works better.” He conducted a study with Psychologist Noelle Nelson by scanning her brain twice. The first was after “appreciate meditation,” and the second was after “fear-based meditation.”

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After the second scanning of fear-based thoughts the results indicated, “…seriously decreased activity in two parts of the brain. The cerebellum, in the back of the brain, was completely shut down. The cerebellum, which is known as the little brain, is known to be involved in physical coordination, such as walking and playing sports. This area is also involved in processing speed.”

The brain scan study further revealed that “…when the cerebellum experiences low activity, people tend to be clumsier and less likely to think their ways out of problems. They think and process information more slowly and they get confused more easily.” Dr. Amen attributed these fear-based thought processing to the athletic slump, when an athlete’s negative thinking of failing actually creates that outcome scenario.

His evidence base brain scan exposed how negative thinking actually shut downs the coordination part of the brain. The other area of the brain that was affected was the temporal lobes that are involved with mood, memory, and temper control. Problems in this part of the brain are associated with some form of depression and also dark thoughts, violence, and memory problems.

When practicing ‘gratitude thought processing’ these areas of the brain stabilized and reflected healthy waves. Dr. Amen believes that practicing gratitude helps the brain to heal. He created an exercise to counter-balance negative thoughts, which consisted of writing out five things one is grateful for every day. The act of writing helps to solidify the thoughts in the brain. It was indicated that depression was lifted; there was a sense of being more optimistic, more progress towards ST/LT goals, and a greater sense of well-being.

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Brain Exercise: Write out 5 things you are grateful for today

“And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind – having a fresh, mental and spiritual attitude.” Ephesian 4:23

4. Practicing positive affirmations/visualization - What separate an elite athlete from an average athlete is the way they deal with their injury and unfortunate setbacks. Although the athlete is not performing during this period on the sidelines, there

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still is lots of work that can be done to improve their game and speed up the recovery process. By utilizing ‘key mental tools,’ the athlete has the ability to get back playing at their best performance.

To get the most out of your daily rehabilitation, it is important to remain focused, work with progressive endurance, and maintain a positive attitude. Growing research indicates faster healing process by using specific mental skills such as:

positive affirmations imagery techniques to create mental visualization feelings and sensations connected to the desired outcome as

though it is happening or has already happened

In order to combine all of these key mental tools it is important to first understand what they are and the techniques used specifically for athlete facing injury and moving towards recovery.

One key mental tool is guided imagery, or visualization, combined with mental rehearsal. Psychologist and therapists help individuals visualize or rehearse a desired event. It involves using all of the senses to create an imagined experience that feels real. By tapping into the sensations of the scenes and creating a very real experience there is a positive desired outcome.

Step-by-Step Use of Imagery:

Sit in a comfortable place where you will not be disturbed Relax your body and take several long, slow breaths Close your eyes and create a vivid and convincing image

(this image can be one you have previously experienced, or one you simply desire)

If you become distracted or find your mind wandering on other thoughts, simply acknowledge it and let it go

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Focus on your breathing if you lose the image Maintain a positive attitude and affirmations Imagine the sights, sounds, tastes, feelings and even

smells of the experience Take mental notes of as much detail of the scene as

possible (what you are wearing, what you are hearing, the colors, the smell in the air, how you are feeling)

If your visualization session is not going the way you desire, simply open your eyes and start over with your breath work

Always end a visualization session with a positive image and affirmations

Athletes have many opportunities to try various imagery or visualization techniques. From injury recovery to improved sports performance, these techniques are showing promise as a standard part of an athlete’s training program. Various studies have shown visualization is one of the most effective tools to use during an injury. Because the injured athlete cannot train physically they often turn to visualization in order to rehearse and practice their sport.

Three applications of visualization specifically tailored for the injured athlete have been outlined as follows:

Application 1: Emotional Rehearsal

The first application of visualization is emotional rehearsal. During injuries emotional rehearsal can be used to generate internal states of positivity and general feelings of optimism.

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The emotional rehearsal technique involves self-indulging in experiences that makes the athlete feel good. Here are a couple of sport related situations that can be rehearsed in order to create resourceful and positive states:

Reminiscing over past sport successes Imagining an ideal future in sports (perhaps involving the

athlete winning some of the highest accolades available)

Outline below is the typical sequence of steps taken in order to reminisce over past sporting achievements. Initially the athlete should try doing this for 10 minutes, looking to increase this duration over time.

Close your eyes Take a few deep breathes in order to become completely

relaxed and comfortable Allow your mind to drift back to one of your sporting

performances Once you have located a time, begin internally recreating the

experience Imagine that you are watching your performance on a giant

widescreen TV Pay attention to every visual detail of the experience, making

sure that the image is rich in color and it is 3D If the image is still…turn it into a movie with

motion/movement If the image is distant bring it as close to you as possible, to

the point where everything on your imaginary screen is as clear as possible

Notice the sounds that were occurring during your past success

Make sure that the sounds are as clear and as lifelike as possible

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Combine the sounds and moving images so it becomes no different to watching a film at the cinema

Allow your internal sights and sounds to generate all of the good feelings that you felt at the time

Indulge in these feelings

Here are a couple of added tools that will help to increase the effectiveness of this intervention:

Play music while you use this visualization technique Use it just before you go to sleep (the mind is highly receptive

just before falling asleep)

During an injury this application of visualization keeps the athlete feeling positive and optimistic. Learning to generate positive internal states will always help to attract positive results.

Application 2: Physical Rehearsal

The second application of visualization for the injured athlete is physical rehearsal. During injuries, physical rehearsal allows the mental practice of the physical techniques of the injured athlete’s sport.

The brain does not distinguish the difference between reality and fantasy. Consequently one can take advantage of this by mentally rehearsing the physical actions of your sport, without having to move a single muscle.

The British Olympic Golden Medalist, Steve Backley, sustained many recurring injuries during his athletic career and was a prolific user of visualization. He attributed his success by using physical rehearsal while on the sidelines due to injuries. He would visualize himself throwing the javelin over and over again, to the point where he actually felt like he was performing in the heat of an international competition.

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The following is a typical approach to apply physical rehearsal techniques. Like the emotional rehearsal, begin by doing this for 10 minutes, gradually increasing increments of time.

Gently close your eyes Begin to inhale and exhale deeply and experience relaxed

state Imagine you are sitting in front of a large cinema screen and

you are watching yourself perform Slowly drift into the image within yourself, no longer watching

but now participating in such a way you can see everything from your own eyes

Notice the physical sensation of your sport activity. Pay attention to how each of your technical actions feels

Examine your body position, noticing how you carry your body when you are performing at your best

Sharpen up all of your visual senses to appear clear, vivid and full of color

Introduce all of the sounds that you would experience if you were actually performing

Rehearse your physical performance over and over again in your mind, pulling together all the sights, sounds and feelings of the physical action of your sport

Take a few deep breath and gently open your eyes

Like any sport activity practice is important. The more you practice the physical rehearsal the more effective it becomes

Application 3: Fast Healing

The third application is used to promote a faster healing process through imagery. Research has indicated that mind and body are intrinsically inter-linked; due to this connection, visualization is a powerful aid in recovery. The brain shifts from the stress brain

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wave, beta, into the calming alpha brain waves. You can use many creative approaches to facilitate healing in the body through healing meditation.

The following offers one type of visualization technique. Once again, start off with 10 minutes sessions and build upon the length of time each session.

Gently close your eyes Begin breath work and enter into a relaxed state Allow your focus to internally drift towards the injured part of

your body When you are physically aware of the injured area begin to

imagine a bright healing light moving across the injured body part

Create an image of your body part becoming stronger and healthier as this healing light continues to shine on the injury

Notice a positive internal feeling the light is creating. Observe that the better you feel, the brighter the light becomes

Take time to create an internal image of the healing light mending the wound

After 10 minutes slowly open your eyes and take a few more deep breaths

This healing visualization exercise should be done regularly during injury rehab. Below are suggestions of times you can integrate healing imagery:

Before you go to sleep When you wake up In the shower or bathtub During rest periods during the day During sports massages, physiotherapy, acupuncture, etc. While you are eating (visualizing the nutritional value of the

food nourishing the wound/injury)

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5. Yoga/Integrated Therapies and Sports

Athletes who are gifted to excel in various types of sports represent an elite group of humanity. Their developed qualities require long hours of commitment and dedication, discipline and fortitude to continue above and beyond any and all challenges. There are tremendous rewards involved in loyalty to the team, coaches and global sport fans.

Inevitably, maintaining the integrity and stamina of the demands of an athlete’s performance, day in and day out, results in the occurrence of injuries either during long, hard hours of practice or during the sport event itself. We have looked over various mental methodologies to overcome the obstacles that create anxiety and fear of getting back into the game after trauma to the body.

In this section we will explore therapeutic and holistic approaches that secure wholeness and wellness during and after the recovery period. Western medication may appear to speed up the recovery but the side effects and inadequacy of a full recovery can set up the athlete for a longer and more painful rehab period.

Yoga therapy is viewed by many health practitioners as an ideal method for protecting the mind and body of the athlete. The ordinary player finds yoga useful to overcome physical

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challenges brought on by the activity of their game. The professional athlete, however, discovers the value of yoga practice to reach their aspired goals and maintain peak physical and mental performance.

The everyday wear on the body from rigorous performances causes extreme stress and damage to the athlete’s physical well-being. One of the main concerns yoga therapist are aware of is that sport activities rely on usage of one part of the body repetitively, creating asymmetry (imbalance) and overuse of that body part. Not only is there physiological stress, but psychological stress as well.

Dr. Krishna Raman, author and head of the Department of Neurosurgery and Neurosurgeon in India, writes extensively on the integration of yoga and western medicine for prevention and cure. He has provided in depth discussion on yoga for the athlete to provide healing and recovery during injuries and continued peak performances through the athlete’s career.

He breaks down each sport and the types of injuries that occur and provides resolution through the practice of yoga. Let us look at some of the basic facts of the types of injuries that occur in the athlete’s body:

Athletes suffer frequent strains and aches of the muscular system

Athlete’s muscles endure intense, repetitive, jerky stretching that irritates the tissues and sinews

Muscles contract and remain shorter than at first and become hard and unyielding (often referred as muscle imbalance)

Repetitive training exhausts glycogen storage in muscles and creates an excess buildup of lactic acid

Due to stronger forces generated during the athlete’s event performance the risk is higher for repetitive tears of tendons, ligaments and muscles

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Female athletes endure special problems due to their different bodily structure

Injury in the lower back, cervical spine, hip joints, knee cartilage, calf cramps, foot and ankles inflammations

Broken bones

Ezekiel 37:5-6, 9-10 God, the Master, told the dry bones, “Watch this: I’ll bring the breath of life to you and you’ll come to life. I’ll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You’ll come alive and you’ll realize that I am God…Come breath. Breath life…the breath entered them and they came alive! They stood on their feet, a huge army.”

The simple act of incorporating Breath Work and Meditation can radically switch up the homeostasis of the athlete’s body mass and mental stamina!

When an injured athlete begins yoga practice it is important to demystify the idea that yoga is a quick fix to healing. Yoga is, however, a consistent and progressive approach to getting back into the sport with commitment and dedication, allowing time to heal and experience deeper changes to take place in the body and mind.

A key factor to note is that Yoga is not about competition, which is completely opposite to what has been engrained into the psyche of the athlete. By taking time to explore the injured area, letting go of the competitive nature, surrendering into the process of alignment, focusing and responding simple as you can manage in a personal and intimate way, athletes discover the healing power of yoga.

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Some of the reasons athletes come to a yoga class:

Overuse injury Extreme tightness that may cause new injuries Tight shoulders and hips Rotator cuff problems Damage to the hamstrings Herniated disc Sprains and broken bones

A well-known Yoga Therapist for athletes, Beryl Bender Birch, stated, “It’s very easy to injure an elite athlete by coming on too heavy-handed. They’re strong and very tight. It’s like a guitar string that you’ve tightened up and tighten up to get the highest possible resonance. But then you just turn it the tiniest bit and it explodes.” Does that sound familiar?

The Approach:

Gentle movement Encouraging modifications (using blocks and straps) Individualize poses for specific injuries Avoid certain poses to not create more injury

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Work on alignment of the primary lines Gentle touch in adjustments Make it a personal practice After recovery continue yoga practice to maintain flexibility Meditation is powerful, enjoy your Savasana!

Integrated Holistic Therapies that complement and enhance the healing process is maintaining a nutritional diet. When pain is extremely intense the appetite is suppressed. Stay hydrated!!! An excellent source of natural electrolytes is coconut water! Eat foods or take supplements high in B12 complex, magnesium and potassium, and amino acids.

Chiropractic adjustments are very beneficial in regaining alignment. Once again take into consideration the extent of injury. With herniated disc adjustment need to be avoided, however your practitioner has other methodologies available to relieve the stressors in the injured area.

Acupuncture is very beneficial in moving energy to the injured area and creating new cell growth to damaged area. It releases lactic acid and reduces stress throughout the whole systems.

Oils and herbs have tremendous healing attribute. Lavender oil reduces inflammation and stress. I highly recommend the Wie Laboratories WHITTIE PATCH. It is a combination of over 21 herbs that shrink herniated disc and inflammation and restore the vertebras to healthy stamina.

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6. Experience beyond belief faith in recovery – “You just have to believe in yourself no matter what!” How many times have we been told these words regarding ‘belief’ when struggling with challenges or dilemmas? In the world of sports the importance of having ‘belief’ is regularly emphasized. However, belief alone is not as powerful as believing ‘beyond belief’!

Definition of Belief:

The mental act, condition, or habit of placing trust or confidence in another person or group

That which is directly related to the events surrounding a person – “seeing is believing” as evidence to prove or disprove your beliefs

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The best explanation of this concept is the example in competitive sports, where the athlete’s belief in their ability is usually dependent on how well they are performing. If the athlete is performing well, positive beliefs about their abilities are reinforced, “Yeah, awesome job.”

On the other hand during times of defeat and setback, belief in the athlete’s sporting abilities is likely to be damaged. For example, if an athlete continues to play badly for a significant period of time then it becomes increasingly difficult for them to create high levels of belief in their abilities due to lack of evidence and outcome.

So here is the perplexing concern – If belief is dictated by performance, then the argument is that belief alone holds no or little value of its own, as it is only a commentary of how well the athlete is performing at any given moment.

Here is the question that uncovers a more profound understanding of Belief! Is it possible for the athlete to have a deep rooted belief in their abilities even when they are performing badly?

The answer is yes, however it is an intuitive experience that moves an athlete forward from belief to beyond belief in the realm of faith!

“Faith is believing in the absence of success.” Nideffer (1992)

This concept of beyond belief faith knows that whatever the sport throws your way, one still achieve professional goals. The real power of faith comes from its unmovable properties. While belief alone depends on what is actually happening in the arena of sports, faith remains fixed in placed, irrespective of the surround circumstances.

During times of loss, injury or unforeseen circumstances faithful athletes are able to remain confident and committed to their cause,

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while athletes that only hold to the ‘belief alone’ system allow the quality of their performances to be dictated on how they feel from the outcome.

FLOW CHART: HOW FAITH IMPACTS PERFORMANCE WHEN AN ATHLETE MAKES A SERIES OF MISTAKES IN THE PLAYING FIELD

Negative Thought Process:

Series of mistakes ------ creates a lack of belief (no faith)

--------- unmanageable feelings of self-doubt ------ start playing conservatively ------ opponent takes control of the game ------ increased chance of losing

Positive Thought Process:

Series of mistakes ------ unmoved level of beyond belief (high level of faith) ------manageable feelings of doubt ------ playing with assertiveness and courage ------ regain dominance in the game ------ increased chance of winning

The flow chart demonstrates that beyond belief faithful athletes never compromise who they are and how they play in the face of challenges and touch situations.

Testimony of the power of faith in action:

In 2001, the Croatian tennis player Goran Ivanisevic won the grand slam Wimbledon, despite being entered in the tournament as a Wild-Card. Before 2001, no Wild-Card had ever won Wimbledon!

Ivanisevic was given little or no chance of winning the title that he had desired throughout his career, having lost in the final three times prior to that year. He entered the tournament following two

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disastrously bad seasons in 1999 and 2000, during which his world ranking slumped from 12 to 97!

Much had been speculated about the reasons for Ivanisevic’s unprecedented success that year. After being quizzed about his unlikely achievement, Ivanisevic attributed his success at Wimbledon that year to a deep rooted sense of faith.

He talked of how he made a pact with God to give him “one more chance” of winning the title that had eluded him throughout his illustrious career. Apparently from the onset of the tournament with all the evidence pointing towards him being out of form and at the end of his career, in his own words he still knew that he was going to lift the trophy. Ivanisevic’s experience highlights how having faith in your abilities moves the athlete beyond the realm of believing and into the realm of knowing in faith! If you can cultivate an unmoving sense of faith in your abilities as a professional, any challenges can be met.

Matthew 17:20 The simple truth is that if you have a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed size, you would tell this mountain, “Move!” and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.

7. Re-entrance back into the game

The inspiration and hope is to encourage Athletes to walk through the fears, traumas, discouragement into a state of unforced energy of grace! Think of the time to heal as a grace period, time afforded you to pull back in order to move forward and rise up in character from the life experience.

Keep in mind that every aspect of growth comes from the recognition that your character is being built from every situation, dilemma and encounter set before you. With this knowledge you

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are to press forward, with fortitude, in faith. You will be an athlete living beyond belief!

Group Exercise: Share your personal experience and concerns with one another -- get REAL! Break up into groups of 6 people and create a Plan of Action using the materials from today’s workshop. Be prepared to share with the larger group! End the share with 6 statements of gratitude!

Breath, Visualization and Meditation Exercise: We will conclude today’s session with a few minutes of contemplative focus to receive the healing power of Light and Love.

Notes:

Contemplative Thoughts for Meditation and Reflection:

The greatest effort in sports came when the mind is as still as a lake.

Timothy Gallwey

Concentration is the ability to think about absolutely nothing when it is absolutely necessary.

Ray Knight

Let be and be still, and know – recognize and understand – that I am God.

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Psalm 46:10

Cited References:

Teaching Yoga to Athletes by Sage Rountree How to Use Imagery and Self-Hypnosis for Sports by Elizabeth

Quinn Bible and Motivational Quotes For Athletes, Sports, Sport

Teams, Player, Coaches, Runners Dealing with injuries: The Psychological Approach by Mind

Sport, 2007 Integration of Yoga and Western Medicine for Prevention and

Cure by Dr. Krishna Raman

Brief Bio:

Gina Tricamo holds a Degree from the University of San Diego in Psychology and Cultural Counseling, the Creator of Positive Choices through Yoga/Meditation (PCYM) Program for At-Risk Populations, former Deputy Probation (Specialty Units) Officer with over 300 hours in

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Psycho-Therapy, Criminology, Combat Training and Substance Abuse Education. She holds a Masters in Holy Yoga Therapy and a certification in Warriors at Ease Body /Mind Techniques for working in military settings.

After years working in law enforcement she resigned her position to begin the process of inner healing and a desire to serve all communities from a more integrated holistic and spiritual prevention/intervention best practice. Reinventing towards a less punitive perspective and growing new hand was a slow, mindful process that led her to redesign her gifts into the arena of healing arts. Gina incorporated her previous professional knowledge to develop a combination of psycho-therapy; kinesthetic educations, art therapy, visualization therapy, breathe work, yoga and meditation for at-risk populations.

Gina develops and implements Beyond Belief Holistic Wellness Education via webinar throughout the U.S. and Canada and facilitates private retreats. She has written several therapeutic writings; including teachings dealing with yoga therapy for Addictions, Health Opportunities (including HIV/AIDS), End of Life Journey and Grief Process, Brain Injury, Chronic Pain and Women with Issues. She continues to write extensively in areas regarding holistic and therapeutic approaches in order for all to live fully present in body/mind/spirit.

Ms. Tricamo has a private practice as a Holistic and Spiritual Life Coach and Yoga Therapist and presently teaches Yoga at the Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, AZ.

WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT MS. TRICAMO:

“Gina Tricamo is one of the most gifted presenters I have ever heard. She speaks from her heart with a great deal of sensitivity to the participants while imparting her practical knowledge in therapeutic ways that each person can experience and remember. It is my opinion that Gina's PCYM model has a great deal of potential to heal in real and lasting ways.” Dr. Teeya Scholten, R. Psych., Calgary, Alberta

“Again, we see the pattern of deep ethical commitment to social justice and to the spirit of the traditions –whether Christian or Hindu or Buddhist—many of us claim. Gina is not only sincere but charismatic, and many have been helped by her expertise in healing arts and by her positive spirit.”

Dr. Gail Pérez, University of San Diego San Diego, California

“Ms. Tricamo brings to her role as a yoga therapist and teacher her many years of experience working as a Probation Officer in San Diego, California, who consistently went against the grain, developing innovative and highly-successful programs that brought hope and the possibility of self-renewal to countless incarcerated youth and their families.

Ricardo D. Stanton-Salazar, Ph. D., Sociologist of Education

ASSESSMENT TOOL DIAGRAM OF BODY

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Place an X in the areas that are being impacted by the injury

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