Sports Hypnosis: Unlocking Focus, Confidence and Flow

First, I want to start out by saying that what I am going to share is based on my own experience as a hypnosis practitioner and is based on the training that I received but not all practitioners are alike and another practitioner may have a differing opinion. There are a multitude of different techniques out there, and each of us finds what works best for our clients.

Helping clients using hypnosis for athletic performance is a passion of mine because it actually helped me with my mental game when I was a competitive archer. I struggled a lot with confidence and I recorded hypnosis tapes for myself to listen to. I wasn’t as experienced then as I am now, but I could definitely feel the difference and I saw the potential power it held. My time as an athlete and my time coaching and running an archery academy has given me a behind the scenes look at the struggles athletes face when it comes to the mental game. 

So let’s get into the most commonly asked questions I get. 

First I want to dispel the most commonly held myth regarding hypnosis. And that is that this is some crazy mind control, woowoo thing.  

 I go into more detail in my hypnosis FAQ episode called “Hypnosis: The Business of Mind Control?” But the short answer is no, it’s not mind control. You are in complete control. I am not doing anything to you, I am simply guiding you into a state that everyone goes into on a daily basis and training you to help yourself. YOU get to decide whether to follow the suggestions. This is not magic, this is mental training that can help you break through your blocks and become the athlete you want to be.

What can sports hypnosis do for me? 

 I don’t usually like starting with a negative but I want to start by going over what hypnosis CAN’T do. It can’t make you go against what YOU truly desire for YOURSELF. It can’t make you go against your true ethics and morals. It can’t put in the practice hours for you. But what hypnosis can do, is help you change the way that you react to situations. For instance, it can help your confidence if you perform really well in practice but freeze in tournaments. If having people watch you makes you nervous, it can ease those nerves. It can help if you’ve developed a mental block around your sport, such as target panic, the yips, the twisties or whatever your sport calls it.  It can help if you’re having trouble mastering a new technique. It can give you the mental edge you need to excel and help you get into the zone when you need to. Many practitioners, including myself, offer a free consultation, so I would highly recommend taking them up on that to see if you’re a good candidate!

Is hypnosis just positive thinking or visualization?

Hypnosis is way more powerful than just simple visualization. While positive thinking and visualization are great things to be doing, they kind of just scratch the surface. With visualization you’re CONSCIOUSLY trying to motivate yourself or imagining yourself succeeding. And while they’re great tools that I’ve recommended to my archers when I was coaching, they are still just working on your conscious mind. Hypnosis works on your subconscious mind, the part of your brain that runs in the background and controls automatic habits, reactions, and even physical responses. That’s where the real change happens. Here’s an example: You can tell yourself, “I’m confident, I’m calm, I’ve got this” all day long. But if there’s a deep-seated fear of failure lurking in your subconscious, that pep talk won’t always stick when the pressure’s on. Hypnosis helps rewire those underlying beliefs so that confidence becomes your default setting, not just wishful thinking. We help that new belief take root so deeply that your body and mind start responding in a whole new way, even under pressure. 

And while visualization can be a big part of a hypnosis session, under hypnosis, those mental images become more vivid, more impactful. You feel like you’re actually experiencing it. It’s like the difference between watching a movie and living it. Your brain starts reacting as if the success is already happening, building those neural pathways for real-world results.

How many sessions will I need?

This is a hard question to answer because everyone and every situation is so different. My starter sports performance program consists of 6 sessions which I often split as 4 1-on-1 sessions and 2 recordings. This gives us the time to get to know each other, it gives you, the athlete, time to get used to the process! Issues are often like an onion, you peel a layer and find another layer beneath. Giving it a few sessions, allows us the freedom to work through all of the layers. In my practice, I also offer a premium program. My archery coach, an amazing man who has coached at the highest level in archery, once told me that in order to shoot your best, you had to get your life in order. Now, I obviously can’t change the circumstances in your life, but with hypnosis, we can change the way you respond to them. The premium program goes a bit further and works on releasing negative emotions that not only affect your performance in a sport, but also your performance in life.

Is this just for elite athletes?

No, hypnosis can help any athlete that struggles with the mental aspect of their sport and I’ve worked with athletes ranging from hobbyists to elite. The only real requirement is that you, the athlete, want the change for yourself. And what I mean by that is that you are clear with your goals and that those goals are actually YOUR goals, not your coach’s, not your significant other’s, not your parent’s. It always becomes very apparent to me pretty quickly where an athlete’s true motivation lies. 

What can I expect from a session?

I answer this question in a little more depth in the Hypnosis FAQ that will be linked in the notes. But each session is customized to the athlete and what they want to work on and I’m sorry to say but the short answer is: every session is different. Some sessions are conversational, some sessions you may feel really relaxed, some sessions you may feel that you’re floating in the clouds on another plane of existence. My recommendation is to go into it every session with an open mind and no expectations. And one other thing, don’t worry that you’ll do it wrong because as long as you’re capable of following simple instructions, you’re capable of being hypnotized and you really can’t do it wrong.  

I already work with a coach or sports psychologist. Should I add this? 

Absolutely. Think of hypnosis as another tool in your toolbox, not a replacement. In fact, it can often enhance the work you’re doing with a coach or sports psychologist by reinforcing new patterns or beliefs at the subconscious level.

Now this is just my personal recommendation, but I suggest looking at everyone on your support team as just that, a team. If possible, I actually recommend getting everyone together for a meeting, or giving each practitioner permission to talk with one another so we’re all working together toward your goals. 

I hope that this has answered some of your questions regarding acupuncture and dispelled some of the myths. If youre interested in acupuncture or hypnosis and want to know if it’s right for you don’t hesitate to schedule a free phone consultation on my website robbwellness.com (that’s Robb with 2 b’s). Please check out some of my other episodes for more info on hypnosis and chinese medicine and get free guided meditations.  Thank you for listening to Mind and Needle