Mastering your mental game

I was speaking with an equestrian recently who described the anxiety she feels while riding. She explained how even a slight sense of nervousness on her part can be detected by the horse, which then mirrors her anxiety—creating a vicious cycle.
Unlike many other sports, horseback riding includes an interactive component: the horse. However, all sports involve a level of anxiety tied to performance.

Every sport relies heavily on mental strength. When you're overthinking your stance, execution, or a past mistake, your sympathetic nervous system activates, making it even harder to access the elusive “flow state.” Optimal performance is largely built on muscle memory, the law of association (when this happens, I do that), and the law of repetition (the more I practice, the better I get).

Unless you're new to driving, you probably didn’t think much about the mechanics the last time you got behind the wheel. Maybe you were singing along to the radio, thinking about your day, talking to your kids, or sipping coffee. So how did you arrive at your destination without consciously focusing on driving?

It’s all thanks to the original co-pilot: your subconscious mind. When you first learned to drive, you had to consciously think about every detail—checking mirrors, shifting gears, and reacting to traffic. But now, your subconscious handles it seamlessly.

Athletes function similarly. After countless hours of practice, their bodies perform with little conscious effort. But sometimes there's a disconnect between intention and execution. An injury or a poor performance can create doubt. This is when the conscious mind begins to interfere, leading to overthinking instead of trusting the subconscious.

This is where hypnosis can be incredibly effective. Athletes already understand the power of mental conditioning and visualization. Just as they watch videos to review their performance, hypnosis enables them to mentally rehearse success in a deep state of focused awareness. It's also an excellent tool for desensitizing old memories and quieting intrusive thoughts.

An especially powerful combination involves using IEMT (Integral Eye Movement Therapy) to clear negative memories and emotions such as fear, nervousness, or anger. Anger, in particular, can be complex—I might be angry at myself for missing a shot, frustrated with a referee's bad call, or upset with a fellow dancer for missing a cue. IEMT helps resolve these emotional blocks quickly and effectively, while hypnosis can then reinforce a connection to a future, successful self.

In the high-stakes world of athletic performance, success isn’t just about physical skill—it’s about mastering the mental game. Whether you're an equestrian, a dancer, a football player, or a weekend warrior, your subconscious mind plays a pivotal role in how you show up and perform under pressure. By integrating tools like hypnosis and IEMT, athletes can clear emotional blocks, reprogram limiting beliefs, and reconnect with their innate ability to perform at their peak. Mental conditioning isn’t just an advantage—it’s essential. When your mind is working with you, not against you, the path to flow, confidence, and consistent excellence becomes not only possible, but natural.