Powered by Carolina HealthSpan Institute
It’s no secret that sports and mental performance go hand in hand. A quick Google search of “mental performance for sports” turns up 2.1 million results. However, we often think about athletes in the gym shedding blood, sweat and tears with a trainer as they push their bodies to the extreme in preparation for their next big event. What we don’t often see is what they’re doing (if anything) to train mentally.
The term “mindfulness” is becoming more widely used and in most big cities you can find a yoga/mediation studio in nearly every neighborhood. Messages about the importance of how we eat are everywhere and organic, natural based grocery stores and sections are becoming more accessible all of the time.
For me, health (in every sense of the word) is everything. I am obsessed with natural, whole food eating and my love for physical training goes beyond just preparation for the racecar. I eat and train to feel good mentally first, because no matter how fit you are, if your mind is out of whack, everything else will fall by the wayside.
Mental strength and performance has been on my radar for quite some time but it wasn’t until recently however, that I became aware of the cutting edge practices and technology that is now allowing athletes to take their mental performance to the next level.
Over a year ago I was researching this topic and looking for something “next-level” that would help me in my pursuit to be my best on the mental performance side. As life goes, that “next-level” program I had hoped for came to me when I was recently introduced to the folks are Carolina HealthSpan Institute thanks to my trainer Thomas Cardo.
At Carolina Health Span Institute, Dr. Brown and his team offer a wide variety of services including NeuroFeedback and BioFeedback for many people including athletes like me in their pursuit of peak performance.
A few things that drive me every day are learning new things and constantly improving. In just a few sessions at Carolina HealthSpan Institute, I have not only started to understand and better develop control of my mind and body connection, but I have learned so much about how I can improve and why I am the way I am through a brain map and stress assessment.
For me, a great portion of our focus and development is on my sleep and relaxation. It is quite often that you’ll see a tweet from me at 2am when I can’t sleep because my wheels are turning yet again; pun intended. As someone who is constantly “on” and overly consumed, it is a constant battle to keep myself balanced and not on the rev limiter. Not surprising for a racecar driver, but also not always a good thing because good sleep and a clear focused mind is essential to performance.
I am excited to see continued improvement and control through my work with Carolina HealthSpan Institute as I prepare to be back in a racecar again very soon. In the coming months, I’ll be sharing more information and some behind the scenes at what exactly NeuroFeedback and BioFeedback training is and how it is helping me on and off the racetrack. In the meantime, shoot over to Carolina HealthSpan Institute and check out information about Peak Performance or their other services for mental strength and training. ~ Shannon McIntosh
For more on Shannon’s training at Carolina HealthSpan Institute, click here.
