Page number: 571

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Michael Doyle.
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The following is a mental relaxation exercise that I used on the Canadian National Junior Climbing team the night before the world championships in Bulgaria.
The point of this drill was to prepare the team for the next day; to get the team focused and to get them relaxed and confident so they would be able to sleep well.

I started by instructing the team to brush their teeth and arrive ready to go to bed as soon as we were done. Also to bring blankets or something to lie on. Once the team was assembled I told them to lie down on their backs, get comfortable and close their eyes. With music playing in the background I began to talk...

First I want everyone to concentrate on their breathing; deep breaths in through the nose, out through the mouth. Now we are going to try and relax. Start by tensing every muscle in your body and hold for five seconds then relax. Every time you relax try to feel yourself fall deeper into the floor. Clench your hands and tighten your arms and now relax. Tighten your legs and stretch your feet away from you and now relax. Tighten up your face and relax. Keep concentrating on your breathing...

Now pictures yourself hiking through a forest, you have a backpack on and you can feel the shoulder straps and the pack pressing into your back but it is not too heavy. You can see the sun streaming through the trees, hear the birds and feel a light wind passing by. As you walk along this trail it slowly becomes steeper. As the trail becomes steeper the pack is becoming more and more heavy. You keep walking but it is becoming more difficult, the path is steeper and your pack is heavier. You are starting to strain with the effort of hiking, you can feel the pack staring to really dig into your shoulders. It's getting heavier and heavier. You keep hiking and soon the path is almost to steep to climb and the pack is almost too heavy to continue. So you stop.

You take off the pack and look inside. In the pack are some very large rocks with writing on them. You barely managed to lift a rock out. Written on it is the word "doubt" and you roll the rock down the hill, watching it bounce away until you can't see it. And you feel better. You pull another rock out of your pack. Written on it is the word "weakness" and you roll the rock down the hill. You can see it bouncing and tumbling away from you, and you feel better. You pull the next rock out of the pack, on this rock is written the word "expectations". You toss it away and it bounces down the hill and you feel better. The next rock is labelled "hesitation" and you throw it away, again watching as it tumbles down the hill and you feel better. The final rock is labelled "fear" and with a grunt you roll it down the hill. It bounces and tumbles out of view and you feel better.

With the rocks gone you shoulder the pack again. Almost immediately the trail becomes less steep until it is only a gentle slope. All of a sudden you walk out of the forest and are standing at the base of a cliff.

Someone is standing there. Someone you know, someone you respect and someone that you want to be there. This person simply smiles at you and says "Congratulations. I'm so proud of everything that you have done and you should be proud as well." And you do feel proud.

Then this person reaches into their pocket and pulls out a pill with the word "confidence" written on it. You take the pill and feel more confident. They then hand you a drink labelled "power", you drink it and feel more powerful. They pass you another pill labelled "endurance" which you take and feel fit. The last drink is called "grace" which you drink and you start to feel light.

Now you feel confident, powerful, fit and graceful... ready to climb. You see a route on the cliff in front of you. It is a route that you will climb tomorrow. You can see the sequence, you can see the holds for the hands and feet, and you can see all the clips. The person standing there hands you a rope and you tie in. They belay you as you start to climb. As you move you can't believe how light you feel, how big all the holds feel and you grow even more confident.

Then you are at the top of the cliff. You feel amazing; strong, relaxed. You are sweating slightly but you feel good. There is a large meadow there. You can smell the grass and feel the sun as it sits low in the sky, almost about to set. You feel the warmth and soak in the rays and are getting drowsy, that pleasant after workout drowsy. You lie down and reflect on what you have just done, how you felt, how you limbed and you are pleased.

Now slowly open your eyes and go to bed.

Here's breakdown of the different parts of the drill and why they are there.

The point of the breathing and the tensing then relaxing of the body is to try to get the team relaxed. Get them focusing on the task with something physical before launching into the visualization.

It starts with something everyone can picture, a trail in the forest. This helps ease into the visualization. Then the work begins. They really have to focus to try and feel the strain of their muscles and the feeling of the pack.

Each rock symbolizes a different mental weight, something that can weigh down and affect a climber's performance. The purpose of having the rocks in the pack is to show that they are carrying this weight with them. By being able to throw them away and watch them tumble out of sight they can release those mental weights as well. Immediately the pack is lighter and the trail easier.

In my experience many of the kids who have been coached alot feel like they have been given their strength or endurance rather than earned it. Or they feel that they need to be given a little more. This person is supposed to be someone they respect and want to please. The person says they are proud and it shouldn't matter what happens.

The climb is just to remember what we are preparing for, why they feel strong and confident. The meadow provides a little personal time to reflect and to get ready to go to sleep.