Sports Visualization
Visualize Success Winning Goal Best Performance
Sports Visualization guided imagery exercise
Sports Visualization Hypnosis Scripts are direct suggestion scripts aimed at building up the athlete's confidence and self belief. This guided imagery script is a visualization exercise for a 400 meters runner.
The first part of the script is designed to remove negative triggers and replace them with confidence. The rest of the script is built around locking in keywords. The runner is trained to divide the race into four sections and perform differently in each section. In the script a keyword is attached to each section, and a set of responses is mentally linked to each keyword.
That way, during the race the keyword appears in the runner's consciousness at the right time and triggers the response the coach has put there through training.
Sports Visualization Hypnosis script
| [Use your usual induction... then....] | |||
| Target | Remove pre-race nerves | Technique | |
| Now take a deep breath and just .... Haaa.... let it all go... | Breathing | ||
| Take another deep breath .... and just allow your mind to clear.... that's good. | Breathing | ||
| I want you to imagine a day.... a perfect day.... a day when you waken up.. and every thing seems just right.... and you think about the day and you know that today is the day that has the most important race of your life.... | V | Dissociation | |
| Behaviour | Today is the day when you are going to show everyone.... but especially yourself... what you can do. | > | Reframing |
| Behaviour | Today is the day when you have absolute certainty.... and you can feel it, you can feel it in your heart... you can feel it in every heartbeat... you can feel it in your mind... | D | |
| and as you think about it you can feel a wave of relaxation spreading from the middle of your forehead... across your eyes... and down your cheeks.... down through your jaw... and your neck... and your shoulders relax... and your chest is relaxed and your tummy relaxes.. and you can feel a way going all the way down... down through your thighs... and your calves and your feet.... down your arms.. all the way down to your fingers.... Totally relaxed... | D | Anchoring emotional response: race day = calm | |
| GETTING READY FOR THE RACE | |||
| Behaviour | And that is your Racing Relaxation..... that is the feeling you get when you run a race.... | D | |
| Allow your mind to wander off to the meeting.... See the track... the people... see the other runners... the officials... the time keepers... | V | Possible triggers | |
| Behaviour | None of that is important... none of that bothers you... | D | Defused |
| Identity | Because you are there to win..... | D | Reframing |
| And as you get onto that track... you start warming up.... | V | Possible triggers | |
| and inside you are feeling loose... and relaxed... | D | Defused | |
| Behaviour | And everything is prepared... and you are fit and strong.... and all that training .... all that preparation... is coming back to you ... you feel totally composed.... completely at ease... completely relaxed... and ready for what is to come. | D | Reframing |
| The RACE - Install the trigger words | |||
| And you start ... getting prepared... into your track outfit.... and you are picking up your spikes and putting them on... and you are sauntering across to the blocks... making sure you are in the right lane... | V | ||
| Behaviour | and everything around you goes quiet..... and you focus on your breathing... and you settle into the blocks... and your eyes are looking straight ahead... that track is curving round like railway lines..... | I | |
| Capability | and in your mind you can see yourself exploding out of the blocks.... Relaxing along the straight.... slingshotting off the bend.... and hurtling unstoppably towards the line.... | V | The Four sections of the race. |
| Capability | and as you are thinking about that you are getting ready... and something inside you settles.... falls into place.... and your focus is on those lines.... | D | |
| Behaviour | and you are breathing gently and easily.... your muscles are like coils of steel.... | V | |
| And shot goes ... and you are off.... | Trigger point | ||
| Behaviour | And you explode out of those blocks... and it's like someone else is doing the running.... you feel that power in you... feel that surge growing in you.... you are exploding down there.... cleanly out of the blocks... straight on... roaring down that track.... | V | EXPLODE |
| And the paces start to lengthen.... and you are going... sailing... flying.... | |||
| and you come up to the first hundred.... It is easy, effortless... and you pass that and you are going down the back straight... | Trigger point | ||
| Behaviour | and as you go down the straight... your are building up speed, you are building up momentum... everything is coming together... you pour on the power.... you are shooting down that straight.... hurtling down there.... just being amazed at how well your body is working... it is all happening automatically... | V | SURGE |
| and you are soaring down the straight and you get to the bend.... | Trigger point | ||
| and you start going round that.. and it is like you SLINGSHOT ... like you have been fired out of a slingshot.... hurled out of a catapult... | V | SLINGSHOT | |
| Behaviour | The power goes on even more... and you go roaring out of that like an express train.... | ||
| And in your mind you are relaxed... as if there is a voice at the back of your head saying "This is easy. This is how it should be" And you feel fulfilled... complete... | |||
| Identity | And at that moment you know that that's exactly what you want to be doing... exactly where you want to be... hurtling towards that line... | Reframing | |
| and you pass the three hundred mark.... the three fifty.... | Trigger point | ||
| Behaviour | On and on... nothing in your mind.... just feeling your body respond... focused on your body... your legs are working perfectly.... fluidly ... easily... Your arms are slicing through the air... your legs are eating up the ground.... and all you do is to enjoy that feeling of flying... all that training comes in automatically... | V | RELAXED |
| hurtling towards the line... and the other runner are like shadows... and you have gone past all of them .... and that line is ahead... you are way out ahead.... | V | ||
| Behaviour | and suddenly you become aware... there are people cheering... applauding... willing you on.... people at the track... people in your mind.... | V | |
| Behaviour | and you don't think about it ... because you are still powering down that track... right to the end... | V | |
| Behaviour | And you burst through that line and still your legs are carrying you on... every stride as if it was your first... | V | |
| Behaviour | And you begin to slow down... and you throw your arms wide... and you throw your head back.... take in great gulps of air... and you feel so good.. and you know that this another winning race.... | V | |
| Dissociation Visualization | |||
| Memory | and in your mind you can see more... dozens of them... one after the other... and you feel that perfect surge... as it is out of the blocks around the track... | V | Revivification |
| It is as if you can see yourself from the side... and you can see how you go round effortlessly... powerfully.... giant strides eating up the track... sailing on and on... sailing past the others.... | V | Dissociation | |
| Capability | Seeing the look of satisfaction on your trainer's face... watching the stop watch going CLICK!... as you do another personal best... | V | Approval of Others |
| Capability | and you feel you could keep running forever.... on... and on ... and on.... the feeling is so good... | D | |
| Identity | and it all just comes together then.... life can be so good... that's what you were born to do... that's what you want to do... That's what you are doing... the ultimate in self expression... showing who you are through your body.... Pouring on the power and roaring round the bends... Hurtling through the line... Unstoppable... again and again... | D | Ego boost |
| Take a moment now and enjoy that feeling... and build it up... and allow that feeling to grow.... that certainty... that pleasure.... on and on.... | Anchoring | ||
| and now imagine your next race meeting.... how is that transformed by being in that feeling?.... How does that change how you feel about your performance? Think through every aspect of the race while you are in that feeling... | V | Core Transformation Technique | |
| Allow your mind to dwell on every part of the race... from the excitement of knowing today's the day.... to the pleasure of getting there.... getting stripped down and putting on the shoes... standing on the blocks.... and just waiting... that anticipation... of the pleasure that is to come.... and knowing how good you feel..... and knowing that you can go round that track perfectly.... it is almost as if you are unaware of it... and it is do easy... so simple.... It is such a pleasure.... | V | Reframing the whole experience | |
| Identity | And you deserve to succeed.... You can succeed.... You are succeeding n0w.... You know what success feels like... You are a winner now... You are a winner for ever. | D | Ego boosting |
| Rule | You deserve to be a winner... you are entitled... to that pleasure.... | > | Non sequitur |
| Capability | And you know that you can just reach out and take it now... | D | |
| Identity | And enjoy that feeling... over and over... and that's what running means to you... | Reframing | |
| Internal Visualization and Reorientation | |||
| So now [ClientName] just take a deep breath.... and then let go.... that's right. | |||
| And another breath... and allow your mind to clear... that's good... | |||
| And you can take as long as you want to come back to the present.... and as you do... allow you mind to roam over your body... becoming aware of your muscles... you bones... your ligaments.. your tendons.... becoming aware of how they all fit together.... as if you could massage them... as if there was a hand cleaning and polishing... firming and toning... healing... allowing your body to heal where it has to... strengthen when it has to ... building up to peak performance... and you can enjoy that too... | V | Give the client the option to do more work on anything that needs attention. | |
| And allow yourself to feel that...feel your body making changes... adjusting... flowing... learning.... until you are ready to come back to the present.... | V | ||
| And then you can count from five up to one... in your mind... and when you get to one.... you will be back in the present.... ready for the rest of your day and feeling refreshed and relaxed.... | Option for therapist led session | ||
| Or you can decide to go into a deep refreshing sleep for the night... and just let go... by counting from ten down to one and becoming even more relaxed as each number goes by and you you just drift away... | Option of using the script before bedtime | ||
| So when you are ready... you can start counting.... |
MFRT00
VIZL05
MORE VISUALIZATION RESOURCES
