192. Dance in the Moment: Harnessing Mindfulness for Performance Excellence

192 Mindfulness

[00:00:00] Welcome to passion for dance. I'm your host, Dr. Chelsea and my mission is to create happier, more successful dancers through positive mental skills training. And we are in an era where high schoolers have 32 hours of things to do. And a 24 hour day. College students are expected to do well in school, attend a million events, get an internship volunteer, never take a break. We could all learn a little more about mindfulness. 

So in this episode, I'm going to clarify the difference between mindfulness and meditation, because they aren't quite the same thing. And explain how mindfulness can improve your skills as a dancer. As well as your mental well-being. And of course, I'll make sure to share a one minute mindfulness exercise that you can try today. 

Welcome to passion for dance. I'm Dr. Chelsea, a former professional dancer turned sports psychologist. And this podcast is for everyone in the dance industry who want to learn actionable strategies and new mindsets, to build happier, more successful dancers. I know what it feels like to push through the pain, take on all the criticism and do whatever it [00:01:00] takes to make sure the show will go on.

But I also know that we understand more about mental health and resilience than ever before. And it's time to change the industry for the better. This podcast is for all of us to connect, learn, and share our passion for dance with the world. 

Mindfulness and meditation are both big buzzwords right now, and for good reason. There are now volumes of psychological research to demonstrate how both skills can improve your mental health and well-being. So I want to clarify the difference first and why they help. 

While sometimes used interchangeably, mindfulness and meditation are actually two different things. Both are powerful tools in your mental skill toolbox, but mindfulness is especially influential when it comes to improving your athletic performance. Mindfulness is about becoming aware of your current state. Noticing what's going on in the present moment. That allows you to notice how your body might be feeling before you take the stage or the thoughts you're having in practice, when you get frustrated. It's about [00:02:00] awareness and being in the present. 

If you've ever been told to get out of your head or be in the present when you're on stage, the skill that you need is mindfulness. Meditation on the other hand is choosing to direct your attention to something specific. Dancers do this a lot, usually with things like visualization or repeating a mantra in your head for positive self-talk 

Both skills or helpful mental tools, but today I want to focus on mindfulness because as dancers, we always want to perform our very best when it counts and training mindfulness is one of the ways to help ensure that happens. And it's easier than you think. 

So let's clarify what I mean first. Mindfulness is defined as the ability to focus your attention on the present moment without judgment. The goal is for your mood to be positive, confident, optimistic, and non-judgemental. Wouldn't that be a great state to be in before you perform?

 And not just perform, but through all of your hours of rehearsals as well. The nonjudgmental part is important here. [00:03:00] Consider for a minute. What happens if you make a mistake on stage or you are embarrassed in class when you can't pick up the choreography. Usually we go down a negative spiral about what happened, and it's hard to recover the choreography on stage. You just make mistake after mistake or you can't get out of that negative mood, the rest of class, and you leave the studio frustrated. 

A mindful dancer, however will react differently. If a mindful dancer makes a mistake in competition. They can focus on each subsequent count of the dance without getting lost in the negative thoughts for the remainder of the routine. 

You're back on track and in each count in each movement . Or during practice, a mindful dancer is unlikely to ever have a truly bad day . Instead, he's able to let go of a poor turn sequence or a stumble and choreography and focus on the next attempt without judgment for how the earlier failure felt. When you practice mindfulness, you practice that controlled focus and being in the present moment that certainly comes in handy [00:04:00] for all athletes. 

Mindfulness is astonishingly simple, yet powerful tool that helps you regulate your emotions, improves concentration teaches you to focus in the current moment. And maybe most importantly, in our crazy lives right now, it helps you slow down. High school and college athletes are often extremely overwhelmed teachers. I know we are too. There are so many demands on our time and pressure coming from all sides often, including ourselves. So why is mindfulness so special for artists like us? 

As I've said, mindfulness is about living in the current moment and isn't that why we love to dance anyway? It's about being lost in the choreography, experiencing the flow of movement without judgment, just letting it all go. If improv is hard for you, there's a connection here. It's hard to let go and let your body just move and flow. You're probably caught in your head worried about what other people think and the tool of mindfulness can make [00:05:00] improv a lot more fun. 

Imagine your favorite routine you've ever performed. Take a second. Genuinely. If you can close your eyes, picture it. What was your favorite performance on stage? What made you love it? Was it the technical skill you got to show off or the way the crowd cheered? That might be true, but I think for many of us, what makes a routine so special is how you feel in the moment. You get lost in the routine onstage. a high energy routine can make you genuinely smile bigger than you ever have. A passionate contemporary routine might even leave you crying onstage. 

And that one I know I have completely lost it on stage as a dancer during nationals one year. A story for another time, but when you are truly in the moment, Emotions happen in the most beautiful way. And it's the emotion of the routine that makes dance so special compared to other sports. In order to feel that emotion though, you have to get out of your own way, you have to allow for space in your mind. To [00:06:00] experience the movement and not judge what you're doing. Mindfulness is that path to allow that to happen. 

I want to pause for just a second and say hello to any new listeners and thank you for being a part of the community. If you're new to the show today or found us recently, I have a special resource for you. It's simply the new listener resource and it has my best recommendations for other podcasts or books to inspire you.

As well as all my current free resources that you can download, which includes things like the competition confidence checklist or journal prompts that might help you today. It's actually a simple Google doc because I'm constantly updating it and sharing new things for dancers and dance educators. And I wanted a way to give you all the links in one place.

So you can grab your copy today and it will always update as new things are happening [00:07:00] this year. You can get it at passionfordancepodcast. com. You'll see it right on the homepage. That's passion for dance podcast. com. Welcome to the community. I'm so happy to have you. Okay, let's get back to the show.

Now mindfulness doesn't mean you stop having emotional reactions or negative thoughts. It's not going to prevent those big reactions or overwhelming thoughts. But what it means is as you have the negative experience or the overwhelming emotions. You don't judge yourself for having that thought or emotion and allow it to flow into the next moment. If you've ever felt that sense of flow while you dance, I hope you have. It's where every moment truly just easily flows from one to the next your body does what it's supposed to do without fear of failure. And you can experience joy of each second. That's a flow state. And mindfulness truly helps you get there.

It's not about suppressing the negative thoughts or fighting against them to get into a flow state. [00:08:00] Rather mindfulness teaches you to accept a negative thought when it happens accept a difficult emotion when you experience it. And let it pass so you can stay present. 

And it's not just about your state of mind. Mindfulness research has revealed. a positive link between present moment awareness, or mindfulness and peak performance. Meaning your best. Athletes who were able to stay in the present moment without judgment are more likely to perform at their personal best. 

So let's talk about learning mindfulness. Mindfulness exercises are surprisingly simple on the surface, but not always easy to do. They often help athletes learn to hold a narrow focus and build concentration. And it might seem simple when I explain these to just hold your focus for one minute, but don't give up if you find it harder than you thought. I struggled with it for a long time, a minute as hard.

Many mindfulness exercises include breathing techniques, which is a type that I'm going to share as well. And it's simply breathing slowly and [00:09:00] observing your own body. I think dancers have a special awareness of our bodies compared to other athletes. We're usually better at this kind of awareness exercise since we are acutely aware of our body and isolating parts of our body as a part of our training. 

So, if you want to give it a try, here's a simple one minute mindfulness activity. 

Take one minute before a hard practice or during a break, when you have a minute and you want to be focused. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and just breathe slowly for one minute and focus on your body. How does it feel? Notice the sensations of breathing in and out. Notice any parts that are uncomfortable or maybe need a stretch or a massage. And it's okay to notice the thoughts that come through, like impatience or boredom or homework you need to get to, but label the thought. 

So if you're lying there and you notice that you're feeling impatient, then you can think "I'm feeling in-patient lying here." And then move on. Return your focus to your breathing. [00:10:00] 

If you need help to stay focused. And again, this is harder than it seems for many people. You can try to repeat a personal positive mantra during the one minute break as well, but work up to simply allowing your thoughts to come notice them, release them and return to your breath. 

And if you're a dancer who likes a challenge, step it up a notch, take five minutes to complete a full body scan. Again, lying down with eyes closed. Start with your feet. Just notice how they feel, then move up to your calves. What do you notice? Then move through your legs, hips, stomach, gradually move through your chest, shoulders, neck, and head. Five minutes can be an incredibly long time to stay focused on just your body, but it's something to strive for. 

And likely your brain will wander, that's okay. Mindfulness is about letting those thoughts wander when it happens, notice what comes up, acknowledge it, but don't fight any negative thoughts. Just work on being present. 

Now if you've never [00:11:00] tried mindfulness like this before you can start with a one minute slow breath, just noticing your body and then work your way up to five minutes or a full body scan. And especially for dancers, I think a full body scan has other benefits outside of mindfulness. Like making you more aware of areas that are especially sore or need to be stretched or cared for after a difficult rehearsal. It helps the dancer recognize areas of potential injury before something goes wrong. 

And especially if you're trying this for the first time or you're a little more skeptical, here's another option. 

You can trace your hand. I know it sounds silly. go with me. Slowly trace your left hand with your right index finger. As you trace up your thumb, breathe in, then breathe out as you come back down to your palm. Move up your index finger and back down then middle finger slowly breathing in on the way up and out on the way down. You can move through all 10 fingers and you have completed a mindfulness breathing exercise. That's it, but it allows [00:12:00] you to practice slow breath and staying focused on one narrow thing. Like your hand. And the added, tactile sensation, the little tingling you'll feel in your hand, when you trace up and down your fingers helps you stay focused in that one task and your current senses. 

Once you're comfortable with this, and you have learned to control a narrow focus and slow your breathing, you're ready to move on to body scans or other more challenging mindfulness activities. 

I hope you're encouraged to try this. And if you do, and you find it helpful, please share this episode with a dance friend so that we can continue to lift each other up. And as you practice mindfulness and you get better at it, it will start to help you as you prepare to take the stage. So you can be more present and confident and it will help you in your performances as well. Remember mindfulness can help regulate your emotions, improves concentration, teaches you to focus in the present and maybe most importantly, in our crazy lives helps you learn to slow down. So thank you for taking the time to be with me today and keep sharing your [00:13:00] passion for dance with the world.

Thank you for listening to passion for dance. You can find all episode resources at passionfordancepodcast. com and be sure to follow me on Instagram for more high performance tips at doctor. chelsea. pierotti. That's P I E R O T T I. This podcast is for passionate dancers and dance educators who are ready to change our industry by creating happier, more successful dancers.

I'm Dr. Chelsea and keep sharing your passion for dance with the world.