Exploring an alternative path to better athletic performance

Hypnosis has often been a font for comedy. David Letterman, back in the day, went for a few weeks where he would shout out for no reason: "I must have been hypmotized!" Hypnotists who perform on stage make their subjects cluck like chickens.

But hypnosis can also be serious business. It is a scientifically recognized phenomenon that has been defined as a wakeful state in which subjects experience heightened suggestibility and concentration.

A 2001 article in Scientific American argued, "Though often denigrated as fakery or wishful thinking, hypnosis has been shown to be a real phenomenon with a variety of therapeutic uses -- especially in controlling pain." Hypnosis has helped people harness the power of their minds to quit smoking, lose weight and improve sports performance.

I visited Sue Marcus, a sports hypnotherapist in Chicago, this summer to help with my golf game, which was in a rut. For 18 holes, I was averaging almost exactly 86. I like to think I'm better than that.

I'm a big believer in the power of the mind. I think my golf game suffered, because I've come to believe that a score in the high 70s is a great score for me. Because my mind believes that, it won't let my body shoot any better than that. Even when I'm playing exceptionally well, I'll do something stupid -- such as hit balls out of bounds or miss 3-foot putts -- to sabotage my round.

I finally visited Sue after shooting three straight rounds of 86. She hypnotized me as I sat in a chair in a darkened office and listened to her voice for about 20 to 30 minutes. It was a soothing experience. Her voice lulled me into something like a dream state -- hypnosis is often described as the state right between wakefulness and sleep.

She then told me to imagine myself as a professional golfer I admired. She told me the next time I played, I'd be very relaxed before I hit my shots. She suggested that I tug on my collar before I hit a shot, to remind myself to reach a relaxed state. In all, the session took less than an hour. The science of hypnosis theorizes that some people are very susceptible to hypnosis, others less so.

How susceptible am I? I don't know, but about a week after the session with Sue, I finally got around to playing golf again. How did I do?

I shot an 86.

I don't know what that means. It probably means I need to practice more. I'm going
to do that, but I'm going to get hypnotized again, too.

Attention softball players
Masters Athlete staff, including yours truly, will be in The Villages, Fla., for our annual The Villages Masters Athlete Softball Championships from Oct. 24-26. There's still time to register. You'll find the registration information at our Web site: www.masters-athlete.com. We'd love to see you there.

The awards keep coming
One thing we don't have to be hypnotized to do well is put together a good team to publish Masters Athlete. The magazine, thanks to two of our contributors, was honored in the Florida Magazine Association Awards. Our relaunch as Masters Athlete won the Charlie Award for best redesign, thanks to Randy Schirz at Cavedweller Studio. And Matthew Kadey was honored for his nutrition columns. Congratulations and thank you to Randy and Matt.