How to handle pressure like an Olympian

We can learn a lot about blocking out nervousness from techniques used by elite athletes.

The yoga tree pose helps to develop concentration skills.

Fake self-confidence

Josephine Perry, a chartered sport psychologist and the author of I Can (Sequoia), says we can learn a lot about how to deal with pressure from techniques used by elite athletes. High levels of self-confidence serve to block out nervousness, but if you don’t feel full of confidence then fake it.

“One such trick is to repeatedly adopt a confident power pose — holding your head high, chest forward, thinking tall — as you prepare to do anything that makes you feel under pressure,” Perry says. It is a learned behaviour that eventually becomes second nature, enabling you to offset nerves and reduce performance anxiety.

“Since the brain processes images 60,000 times faster than words, our body language sends an important message to other people and the way you hold yourself,” Perry says.

“Learn from athletes that the way you sit, stand and even the clothes you wear can make you seem more confident.”

Practise the tree balance daily

A big factor in feeling pressure is an unfocused mind. “An untrained mind can be scattered and prone to negative thoughts,” says Lexie Williamson, a yoga teacher who works with athletes and is author of Yoga For Runners.

“If your thinking is unfocused you will spend too much time randomly jumping from one thought to the next, questioning your capabilities when it matters.”

One way of training your thought processes to avoid pressure is to learn concentration techniques, she says.

The yoga tree pose is a balance that helps to do this if done daily. Spread the toes and shift your weight on to your left foot. Anchor your gaze to a point on the wall ahead and slowly lift your right foot. Turn the right knee out to the side and press the sole of the right foot into the calf or thigh of your standing leg. Bring your hands together at chest height into a prayer position. Stay here for five to 10 breaths — or as long as you can manage. Repeat on the other side.

Breathe more slowly

Perry says the short sharp breaths we typically take when we feel under pressure tell the brain we are in panic mode. It becomes a vicious cycle.

“In order to calm down the responses in our body we need to change our breathing patterns, which in turn controls our brain better,” Perry says.

“Most people breathe 12 to 18 times per minute on average, but in stressful situations that rate rises. To feel calmer and offset pressure we need to get it down to five to eight deep breaths per minute.”

Breathe in deeply through your nose for a count of four — as if trying to send the air you take in down to your diaphragm — hold the air behind your belly button for two seconds and breathe out to a count of six through your mouth.

“This will help you to feel calm, coping and ready to take anything on,” Perry says.

The Times