My favorite mental preparation tools – Breathing

Objective: managing difficult moments

She’s been following a training plan that’s gone pretty well, and she’d like to do the race in 13 hours.

She’s aware that there will be difficult moments, and has no idea how she’ll react. This dimension scares her a little, and she would like to reassure herself by having tools to lean on when her body tells her it would prefer her to stop there😉

She has never done any mental preparation work, and our exchange takes place just 10 days before her race. After suggesting that she identify and write down her goals and how she has decided to go about achieving them, I let her try out some small breathing exercises that can help her even when she’s extremely tired and losing her lucidity.

I opt for the breath because, in my opinion, it’s an absolutely fantastic tool! Wherever we are, whatever we’re doing, our breath is with us, and it can enable us toinfluence both our body and our mind, quickly and easily.

Observe your breathing

We begin with an initial observation phase, during which Léane simply tries to feel her breathing, but without modifying it (e.g. which parts of her body are moving, at what rhythm, in what direction, the size of the movements, their amplitude, the contact of the air passing through her nose or mouth, etc.). When she notices that her mind is wandering off into her thoughts, which is normal, she quietly brings it back to her sensations, as many times as necessary.

This step enables her to learn to connect with her breathing, and to feel that by doing so, she can “put down” her mind and calm down inside herself. This can help her to channel her mind during the race, to avoid being overwhelmed, and to let go of any negative thoughts by returning to a calm focus on her breathing.

Extending exhalation time

Next, I suggest that Léa let the inhalation take place automatically, andgradually lengthen the exhalation time. To help her breathe out as long as possible, she can imagine blowing on a candle flame, very gently, to make the flame flicker without extinguishing it. After about ten breathing cycles, I ask her to observe the sensations in her body to see if anything has changed.

This step should help Léa to feel her ability to control the rhythm of her breathing, and to learn thatlengthening the exhalation brings relaxation and release. As a result, she’ll be able to approach the race in a more relaxed way, manage to let go if she gets tense during her run, and optimize short recoveries during refreshment breaks. The more she manages to stay calm and collected during the race, the less likely she will be to have a difficult time at the end 🙂

Breathe by associating sensations and colors

I suggest she continues by imagining that with each inhalation, she can fill herself up with what she will certainly need in delicate moments (for example: calm, confidence, lightness, …), and that with each long exhalation, she can free herself of everything she doesn’t need to be well (for example: fatigue, doubts, pain, …). If she feels like it, she can associate colors with what she inhales and exhales.

Visualize the use of running exercises

To conclude, I invite her to visualize herself using these breathing exercises during the race, so as to remain serene and confident, whatever happens, from start to finish. When we talk about her feelings, Léane tells me that she enjoyed associating colors with her inhalations and exhalations. She imagined herself filling up with white and letting out black.

Automate exercises

To help him automate the exercises and be able to transfer them to running, I invite him to :

• Use the Respirelax + app (available here on Android and here on the AppStore) every day for 5 minutes, choosing “Start” or “Soothe” mode, and associating sensations and colors with inhalation and exhalation, and bringing the mind back to the breath every time it leaves.
• Have fun every day, several times a day, over 5 to 6 breaths, when she’s walking or running, feeling her breathing, lengthening the exhalation a little, and associating the sensations and colors that speak to her most.
• Take pleasure each evening in visualizing yourself throughout the race, able to use your exercises to stay relaxed and confident.

Outcome

Two weeks later, at the race debrief, Léane tells me that she managed to cross the finish line in 14 hours, that she’s delighted, that it was an extraordinary and very difficult experience, and that the exercises helped her a lot, especially ” breathing in white and breathing out black. ” She tells me: ” This worked best for me when I was exhausted. It was very easy to do, so it was perfect when I wasn’t very clear-headed. It helped me to put my mind on something, not let my negative thoughts take me away, and stay focused on my goal. . ”

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little story, and that it’s inspired you, too, touse your breathing more to feel better in your practice!