Sport Hypnosis

Donald R. Liggett

Human Kinetics, 2000 - Education - 197 pages

Harness the power of your own mind! Hypnosis is now a mainstream, modern training technique used by top professionals; it's not the submissive state that has been portrayed in movies and misunderstood by the public. It can help you sharpen your mental focus, relax your body, visualize success, stimulate healing, and control your emotions during training or when facing important competitions.

The positive effects are similar to what sport psychologists, coaches, and athletes refer to when they talk about "getting in the zone." In this state of mental functioning you channel attention and energies fully toward the task at hand. Sport Hypnosis is a guide to that special psychological realm and the higher performance athletes aspire to.

First, Sport Hypnosis presents an overview of mental training and hypnosis. Next, the book provides specific information on how you can use hypnosis to enhance a variety of mental skills. These skills include relaxation, imagery, goal setting, concentration, easing pain, and increasing inner strength. Finally, because athletes rarely focus on one skill at a time, Sport Hypnosis describes in detail how coaches and athletes can apply and combine different hypnotic techniques. Five case studies explain how athletes improved several aspects of their performance through hypnosis. You'll read how hypnosis helped a soccer player eliminate a long-standing, debilitating hamstring pain and how a basketball player achieved a higher free-throw percentage.

Author Dr. Don Liggett presents the hypnosis techniques that he has applied effectively with athletes in many different sports. You can adopt these techniques readily to your own training and competitions. If you're looking for a way to improve the mental side of your performance equation, Sport Hypnosis just may be the edge you need to become a champion.

Contents

• Preface: 9
• Acknowledgments: 9
• Incorporating Hypnosis Into Mental Training: 1
• Demystifying Hypnosis: 2
• Taking Mental Training to the Next Level: 19
• Developing Specific Mental Training Skills: 23
• Easing Out Tension: 25
• Imaging Perfect Performance: 41
• Mobilizing Energy: 57
• Building Motivation With Goals: 65
• Optimizing Arousal Levels: 77
• Eliminating Distractions: 93
• Gaining Inner Strength: 99
• Easing Pain: 113
• Unleashing SelfHealing: 121
• Learning From Case Studies: 133
• David the Quarterback: 135
• Scott the Soccer Player: 143
• Matt the Kayaker: 153
• Jim the PoleVaulter: 161
• Beth the Basketball Player: 167
• Final Thoughts: 173
• Reducing Fear in a Reluctant Athlete: 180
• Glossary: 186
• References: 187
• Index: 191

About the author

Donald R. Liggett, now deceased, was a professor of psychology and education and a hypnotherapist certified through the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis. He worked with a wide variety of athletes, including powerlifters, basketball players, football kickers and receivers, gymnasts, wrestlers, hockey players, and cross country runners. He received his master's degree in experimental psychology and doctorate in international education and educational psychology from Stanford University. While teaching the psychology of hypnosis at Stanford, he became the first person to use hypnosis to improve athletic performance of members of Stanford's gymnastics and football teams. In 1997, Liggett was invited to teach sport psychology at the University of Malaya and to use hypnosis to help Malaysian athletes prepare for the 1998 Commonwealth Games. These efforts were rewarded when three of his athletes won medals--two golds and one bronze.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Sport Hypnosis
• Author: Donald R. Liggett
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Human Kinetics, 2000
• ISBN: 0736002146, 9780736002141
• Length: 197 pages
• Subjects: Education / Teaching / Subjects / Physical Education; Medical / Sports Medicine; Psychology / Hypnotism; Sports & Recreation / Sports Psychology