Do the Yips Haunt You Under Pressure?

The tension is gripping, you feel all eyes on you, you know what you have to do but the pressure of failure seems to be clouding your mind. You try to focus on the moment but your mind is playing out the worst case scenario. Sure enough just as you see the perfect putt in your minds eye you twitch and your putt shoots to the right. It's enough to make any sane person feel a bit crazy with anger and frustration.

For some the tension and pressure of the game fuels them into a great performance. But this is more rare than it is common. More often the affect of this kind of anxiety is poor momentary decisions and subconscious sabotage. There is a scientific explanation for this mysterious problem according to the Institute of HeartMath. It's called cortical inhibition. Simply said, cortical inhibition is when the signals from the heart to the brain are out of sync, much like a radio station that has static. The internal static generated from feelings of frustration and anger causes loss of coordination and loss of decision making skills.

The Institute of HeartMath (IHM), a non profit research organization based in Boulder Creek, California has studied how emotions affect performance, mental clarity, decision making skills and overall health. As a result of their findings they have developed an advanced "inner-technology" called the HeartMath System. One of IHM's nationally-praised techniques is called Freeze-Frame®. This simple, yet powerful technique allows people to control the mind and emotions even in the face of mounting pressure.

Freeze-Frame has successfully been implemented as part of HeartMath LLC's (a training, consulting and coaching organization for IHM) larger organizational programs in business environments, military installments, police agencies, health organizations and even educational institutions. HeartMath repeat clients include Motorola, Hewlett Packard, Lucent Technologies and Cisco Systems among other Fortune 500 corporations.

Recently, HeartMath introduced a unique software and hardware program called the Freeze-Framer® Interactive Learning System. The software teaches the user the Freeze-Frame technique while utilizing a fingertip sensor that reads your heart rhythms and tells you with real time, on screen readings whether you're in or out of the "zone."

The "zone" is referred to in the world of science as "coherence" and HeartMath researchers describe it as a blend of the mental and emotional states being in sync and with practice they say it is a state that you can teach yourself to call up on demand. The Freeze-Framer teaches the user how to access this peak state, which is why their new software is quickly gaining popularity and is currently on display at the San Jose Tech Museum.

Doc Childre, creator of the Freeze-Frame technique and co-author of the latest book on the HeartMath system called The HeartMath Solution (HarperSanFrancisco 2000) says, "Coherence occurs when your heart rhythms are harmonious, your parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems are in balance, and your mind and emotions feel in sync." Aside from the deep gratification you can feel from your sport, playing sports can also be a huge source of stress for many people. For example, a 1994 survey of golfers in Japan revealed that pressure to perform well at golf is causing an alarming number of heart attacks.

Peter Fox, ESPN Network founding executive producer and author of the book Natural Golf, A Lifetime of Better Golf, confesses that the Yips use to get to him. He says, "I used to be a type A personality and I would drive myself very hard; as a result my blood pressure was high. HeartMath techniques helped me learn new ways of dealing with stress in business and with the pressures of my golf game. I can more easily diffuse pressure and stress whereas before I would aggress a situation making matters worse. Now that I am more in control of my mental and emotional responses, my blood pressure is lower and I have more finesse, both in business and in my game."

High expectation and competition can breed tremendous pressure. This kind of pressure not only causes a strain on the heart and jacks up the blood pressure, but it also puts a lot of distance between you and your intuition. Lynn Marriott, a PGA and LPGA Class A professional golfer and the Director of Golf Education at Arizona State University says, "When a player is grounded and trusts their intuition about the shot, there is no indecision. Using Freeze-Frame throughout your game increases the clarity about your golf shot. I use the technique just before my last look at the target, I get grounded, center in the heart and the feeling comes, 'yes go." Freeze-Frame helps me access the "go" signals more easily."

Whether the pressure of the game is about controlling your distance on a putt or maintaining power and finesse on a swing HeartMath experts say learning to manage the emotions and generating entrainment between the heart and the mind can help eliminate the Yips and keep the fun of the game alive.

Gabriella "Gaby" Boehmer
PR Director
Telephone: (800) 450-9111, Ext. 710 (Toll-Free)
Telephone: (831) 338-8700, Ext. 710 (International)
E-Mail: gboehmer@heartmath.com