Sport Psych Studio

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Los Alamitos, CA
Sport Psych Studio

WE ARE OPEN! Sport and performance psychology consulting. Interventions address optimal athletic performance and overall well-being.

The physical part of sport or performance is only part of the picture. The mental side puts you over the edge.

08/21/2020

The adversity we find ourselves in are opportunities for us to grow and find our strength. Everything happens for a reason. Each setback is a teaching moment. Have you ever noticed how past struggles might have been necessary for your profound growth and transformation? What do you think about this quote?
Practicing gratitude consistently has its benefits in enhancing overall well-being, happiness and satisfaction in life, fighting depression, and more 💫 Can you list a few things you are grateful for today?
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08/19/2020

Click the link in the profile or visit www.sportpsychstudio.com (Blogs & Articles tab) to learn how sport psychologists are weighing in on Pro Golfer John Rahm's temper taking over his game.
Find useful articles like these on our website. Check back from time to time for the latest relevant sport and performance psychology news around the globe. Or subscribe to our exclusive newsletter where we notify you when an article or blog is released, including premium content and specials only for newsletter members. Subscribe by visiting our website and the bottom of the Blogs & Articles page.

08/18/2020

Here’s a continuation from yesterday’s breathing check-in. Here are some breathing exercises for your pre- and during performance routine.
Have you tried these techniques? Did they help? What is your favorite breathing routine?
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@ Los Alamitos, California

08/18/2020

Check in with yourself. How do you breathe? Have you ever noticed your breathing before? Has there been a change in breathing rhythm? Are you a shallow breather?
There are many causes of shallow breathing including stress, posture, anxiety and physical restriction. Breathing shallow tricks our bodies into feeling stressed and therefore the longer we breathe like this, the more we create a physiological stress response. This can negatively impact our performance.
Breathing techniques are different depending on the sport and can make a big difference in the quality of your performance. By implementing breathing strategies, a performer can improve speed, strength, and endurance, and overall quality. Since abdominal breathing involves significantly fewer muscles, it exerts less energy.
Diaphragm breathing provides benefits during performances as more energy is made available to the rest of the body. It uses the full capacity of the lung, therefore allowing air to enter the rest of the lungs and oxygen to the rest of the body.
It is important to use momentary relaxation tools to reduce activation or anxiety at any point during practices and competition. When the nerves carry worry and stress instead of activations for smooth, coordinated efforts, performance suffers. Relaxation by belly breathing lowers arousal and lets go of excessive muscle tension. This technique can be done quickly because it does not achieve a deep relaxation state, thus one can maintain physical or mental performance.
Look out for our next post on specific breathing exercises for performance
@ Los Alamitos, California

08/13/2020

Part 3 of the Mindfulness Series includes strategies for cultivating mindfulness.
Explanation of a couple of the slides above are the following:
Interoception awareness is the perception of sensations from inside the body, including the sensations related to internal organ functions such as the heartbeat, respiration, and satiety.
Diaphragmatic Breathing will balance out the nervous system and restore proper core stability. It activates our parasympathetic nervous system, which is our body's rest mechanism helping us conserve energy, slow down the heart rate and take us into relaxation.
For questions about any part of these strategies, leave us a comment or send us a direct message. Mindfulness techniques are helpful for performance so that we are are fully aware, engaged, and present.
If interested in mindfulness practices, coaching is now available via telehealth. Contact us at melanie@sportpsychstudio.com.
@ Los Alamitos, California

08/12/2020

Sport and performance psychology consulting available via Telehealth for targeting mental roadblocks that prevent optimal performance. For example, consulting can help when anxiety hinders performance goals such as during playing a sport, an exam, or in front of an audience. Contact us today! We are continuing to serve clients via telehealth (phone and video sessions). Ask us about our specials limited time only!

08/05/2020

Home field advantage has been a huge factor in many sports across the leagues. How do empty seats in the restarts of the leagues affect player performance? Dr. Mark Otten from California State University of Northridge explores this further in his interesting article.
To find it, click the link in the bio or go to www.sportpsychstudio.com and click the Blogs & Articles tab.
For easier access to premium content like this, subscribe to our new free newsletter! We will be offering exclusive specials and content just for newsletter members. To subscribe, go to www.sportpsychstudio.com and find the subscribe button on the bottom of the page!
Comments or questions? DM us or leave a message here.

08/04/2020

What we can take away from Mindfulness is that we all experience pain in all shapes and forms. But it is resisting the pain where suffering arises. What we resists, persists. Not only will it persist, but it will grow in size -Carl Jung.
Our tendency when we feel pain is to resist it in ways, such as repressing. When we do this, we only push the pain under the surface. However, it will always come back to haunt us later on.
Try next time to embrace it. Try having a willingness and acceptance approach to the experience of your difficult thoughts and emotions. Let go of the need to control things that are beyond your control. Use the relaxation techniques we teach you. For those who want to dive in deep, it may be insightful to understand where the anxiety is coming from. Then observe what happens after time. Does the suffering tend to dissolve?
What happens when you resist your pain, anxiety, etc.? Having trouble with this concept? DM or leave us comments and questions below.

08/04/2020

⭐️Before going into mindfulness techniques, it is essential to understand this perspective's fundamental foundational attitudes.
1. Suspension of judgment- recognize when you judge and see what evoked emotions arise
2. Patience- invite self-compassion to our awareness
3. Beginners mind- letting go of all our preconceived ideas to look at life with new eyes and curiosity
4. Trust- peel back the layers of the shield we use to protect ourselves
5. Non-striving- adjust expectations by not needing an outcome to fix or heal yourself
6. Acceptance- allowing room for all emotions and experiences to occur
7. Letting go- allow things to be and align our hearts with how they are
8. Gratitude- allows you to bring attention to the good in your life
9. Generosity- bring happiness to others by giving them your presence and full undivided attention
10. Equanimity- inner smoothness
Which one do you think is the easiest for you to embody, and which might be the most difficult? Which are you willing to work on moving forward? Which of these, do you already integrate? Is there any you want to know more about and tips on how to cultivate them?
These foundational attitudes are the qualities of mind and heart. They are inter-connected and open the door to the other principles. It is vital to attempt to embody these attitudes in your approach to practice, but these are also organically developed through practice itself as well. They can be cultivated consciously as a way of deepening practice and integrating it in daily life.
Resources: Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn “Full Catastrophe Living”, Bob Stahl, & Elisha Goldstein.

06/30/2020

Our focus is to help anyone who is hitting any mental barriers in the realm of performance, including athletes, musicians, test-takers, actors, business professionals, and more. We are dedicated to helping support you in achieving optimal performance and overall psychological well-being. The physical part of the performance is only part of the picture. The mental side puts you over the edge.

To integrate the mental side, performance skills incorporated include, but not limited to: reducing and better managing stress, increasing concentration, learning strategies to perform under pressure, improving consistency, enhancing overall performance, injury rehabilitation, and reducing performance anxiety.

We individualize treatment plans to tailor the needs of each client. We teach you the appropriate mental skills and provide tools to keep in your toolbox for future engagements. We promise to be there for each step of your journey. Our goal is to help you grow from adversity and move forward to where you want to be.

We now have office space in Los Alamitos. It is possible for us to also have office space in Newport Beach or Irvine, California. However, due to COVID-19, this is uncertain. Please contact us for more information. Virtual and telephone sessions are also available. Find more details on our website. Please contact us by calling 1-562-380-0826 or emailing melanie@sportpsychstudio.

Address

4281 Katella Avenue
Los Alamitos, CA
90720

Website

https://sportpsychstudio.com/

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