”Is there room for the Buddha in the applied sport psychology service? Mindful reflections of sport injuries, health and wellbeing from a sport psychology practitioner” (By Arne Edvardsson)

→ About the speaker: Arne Edvardsson is a part time sport psychology teacher at Halmstad University. He also delivers sport psychology consultations with the Sportfeedback Organisation. His wide background in psychology and neuropsychology provides him expertise in neurofeedback and mindfulness therapy, especially for injured athletes.

Text: Simon Martin, a summary of the symposium: “Psychological perspectives on sport injuries”  held at the Nordic sport science conference. November 22/23 2017, Halmstad.

Background: We can say that someone practicing mindfulness, meditation and personal insight is a “small Buddha”. However, a substantial amount of athletes seems to escape their problems (including injuries) by using avoidance strategies, and never talk about their emotions. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”3,5,6,12,13,14,15,16″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ]

Goal: To provide new reflections about the use of mindfulness practice related to health issues in sport.

Highlights: These reflections encompass:

1. Acceptance: athletes should try to “embrace” the critical situation, instead of flying away or struggling
2. Mindfulness: athletes should be compassionate with themselves.
3. Non-judgment: the second arrow (the first arrow is when ones does something wrong, the second when he/she blames him/herself for that) should be avoided.
4. Non-self: athletes may be aware that they are not their thoughts or feelings, but they observe them.
5. Practitioner skills: a good social atmosphere is required to ensure a mindful state from the client.

→ Take-home message: because negative events such as injury can’t be always avoided, athletes should be educated in the long run to be kind with themselves. “The best way to present Buddha might be to don’t mention his name”.

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