Performing Under Pressure: Gaining the Mental Edge in Business and Sport

Chapter 9. STREAMING

Everyone wants to b e more powerful and effective. Streaming is about using energy effectively. It's about channeling the flow of energy to any part ofyour body and out into the world around you. You can direct or stream your energy internally (within the body) or externally.

Streaming can be a 10- to 20-minute process in which you sit or lie back, breathe easily, release tension, and guide energy through the body. The body is like a rechargeable battery. And streaming is a relaxing, recharging, regenerative process.

Streaming canal so be a 10- to 20-second process in which you release, breathe, and send your energy out. As such, it's an instantaneous, energizing, stress-reducing preparation to excel.

Downhill racers are an interesting breed. The good ones have the ability to be both aggressive and loose at the same time. Gary told me a story of skiing in Europe. He was racing down a slope in Switzerland, hitting speeds of 60 to 70 miles per hour, when his binding popped loose and his ski flew off. "What did you do?" I asked.

"I had a great time going," he replied casually, "so I tried to finish the race on one ski."

When I first met Gary, he was a member of the Canadian ski team. He was a very talented, moti vated young man in outstanding physical condition. However, he was experiencing a great deal of leg fatigue on the long downhill courses and it significantly interfered with his performance. He had become so frustrated and depressed about his inability to compete ...