Expert: Pamela Enders - 6/14/2009

Question
okay tumbling has always been my thing when it came to cheerleading, but at cheersport i fell on my head doing standing multiple bhs to a tuck. After that i was afraid to throw everything i was able to do. after about three months after the accident i had worked my way back up to throwing fulls by my self(but i still would stop sometimes in the middle of the pass). then about a month after basically overcoming my mental block my coach made me do a bhs tuck on the tumble track and ,i did the same thing i did at cheersport, i stopped right in the middle of my tuck. But this time i finished my tuck instead of falling on my head. but this still scared me allot so my tumbling block came back, and my parents took me out of tumbling classes cause i wouldn't throw my tumbling unless my coach was right there and they didn't want to waste money for me not getting any better! and now i cannot get back into tumbling class until i prove my block is completely over, and it really annoys me cause i KNOW i can do it but i tell my self differently... PLEASE HELP ME!!!

Answer
Dear Amber,

Thanks for writing me; I’m glad you did.  

First, the fact that you fell on your head is no small matter.  When an athlete falls like that, it results in a trauma – a psychological trauma that must be acknowledged, honored, and worked through.   It’s natural that you have been afraid but it’s now time to work on this, resolve it, and move on! You will need to rebuild trust in yourself and this will take some time.

Here are some things to consider: After an injury, we tend to get stuck on replaying the incident.  This prolongs the fear and it also engraves the incident in our brains. The body does what the brain thinks so you will definitely want to stop this process. To do this, you can try some visualization. (Many pro athletes use this to help them recover from injuries.)

But before we get to the corrective visualization, here is something you can do to calm your body and reduce your muscle tension:


1.   Exhale as slowly as possible 3 – 5 times.  Exhale through your mouth, slowly, expelling as much air as possible.  Then inhale through the nose, slowly.  Repeat as often as necessary.  Be sure you do this s-l-o-w-l-y!

2.   Begin with 3 – 5 long slow exhales.  Now make a fist and tell yourself that you are going to put all your tension and worry into that fist.  Really “see” all your worries concentrated in the fist and then count to 3…and open up the fist and release all the tension.

3.   Do a mental body scan. Begin with 3 – 5 long slow exhales and close your eyes. Now with your mind’s eye, scan your body, beginning with your head, eyes, jaw, lips, etc., then moving to the back of your head, and so forth, slowly moving ove your whole body, part by part, from your head to your toes.  As you do so, if you experience any tension anywhere, release it with your out-breath.

This exercise will also help you to recognize when you are tense which will enable you to release the tension as I indicated.

Now I recognize that what I just suggested is not a cure-all.  It is intended to help you take the edge off the intensity of your tension and anxiety.

It sounds like you have started ruminating about the block, where your mind goes over and over it and you can’t turn it off.  Am I right?   You must break the cycle of fretting.

When you become aware that you are thinking about tumbling, say “stop it” to yourself and find something else to focus on.  This will not be easy since you have inadvertently trained your brain to zero in on the tumbling – but…it can be done.

So it goes like this…when you find yourself thinking about tumbling,  say to yourself, “stop it” and then find something else to distract you, either some pleasant thought or pick up a book and read for a while or listen to some music.  Add some deep exhales to calm down.  As I said, this won’t be easy but you have to find a way to disconnect from the negative rumination.  This is called Thought Stopping and it’s a procedure that has been around a long time. It can work if you apply it.  It’s up to you!

So the first steps are to reduce tension by the techniques suggested above.

When you tumble successfully there is a good communication between your brain and your body.  You see, every time you make a move, you are creating or strengthening what is called a neural pathway in your brain.  Over time, these pathways run deep and make it easier to do what you want to do.  

(Think of a snow-filled hillside…if you use a sled on the hill, you will create a path and it will be easier for the sled to go that route each time you go down the hill.  But if you inadvertently put the sled in a different position, it will create a new pathway even though the path may lead right into a tree!  It’s the same with our brains!).

Ok, so because you have been a successful tumbler, the neural pathways are there, you just need to find them again.  The fall has caused the communication between your brain and body to go a bit wacky!  (Not unusual, just frustrating!)  It might be that at this point, when you get ready to tumble, you are telling yourself something like, “I hope I don’t fall.”  Or, “I can’t do it.”  If this is the case, you are actually sending a message to your brain to fall or fail.

The first thing is to set up a different communication with your brain.  So, try to tell yourself something like, “I did this successfully before and I’m going to do it again.”  You need to be deliberate about this in order to get back on track.

Here is another way to retrain your brain. It’s a special kind of visualization that can be helpful.

1.   Find a nice quiet place and while sitting up, close your eyes.
2.   Exhale as slowly as you can 3 – 4 times.
3.   Say to yourself, “With each out-breath, I am relaxing more and more.”
4.   Once relaxed, see yourself, with your mind’s eye, in a safe place, a place you feel ultra comfortable, secure and happy.
5.   Really enjoy being in your special safe place as you continue to focus on your out-breath.
6.   Now, shift your focus and “see” yourself in your cheerleading practice spot, beginning to do a simple tumbling move.
7.   If you feel more than a little anxiety, stop visualizing this move and return to your safe place.
8.   Stay in your safe place until you feel calm and secure.
9.   Now, once again, see yourself in your practice spot beginning to execute a basic tumbling move.
10.   If your anxiety level is manageable, stay with this scene, focusing on your exhale to keep calm and focused.
11.   See yourself executing the move with grace and ease and “feel” yourself enjoying it; enjoy your success.
12.   Now assign a power label or cue word for this successful execution. It can be anything.  For example, you could simply call it “success” or “good move.”
9.   Once you have your power label, visualize and feel the whole successful routine again only this time say your cue word to yourself.
10. Repeat over and over.  Each time you do this, you will be creating brain and muscle memory.  
11 If at any time your anxiety level increases too much, go back to your safe place and repeat the above steps
12. When you can “see” yourself doing a basic tumbling move without too much anxiety, move to a more difficult move.
12.  Just like before, if too much anxiety pops up, go back to the previous level or go back to your favorite place to calm down.
13. Repeat this process, each time gradually visualizing yourself executing more difficult moves in a step-wise fashion, pairing the exhale and relaxation with “seeing” yourself doing the moves
14. Finally, see yourself connecting in the way you want to.
14. Be sure to use your cue word or positive trigger with each step you take.
15. Repeat as necessary. Keep repeating this process until the anxiety associated with visualizing tumbling becomes manageable.
15.   The anxiety may not  disappear completely, the goal is MANAGEABLE ANXIETY.


This visualization accomplishes several things.  It helps you ease into the idea of  tumbling while minimizing your anxiety and it also engraves the successful execution of the move in your brain.  You will be training your brain to feel and think in the way you want.  You will also be learning how to control your thoughts and feelings rather than have them control you!

Now, one last thing; when you next begin to do any tumbling move, take a moment to focus, exhale slowly, say your power label to yourself and see yourself executing the move successfully. Then go ahead!

I know this has been a long response but I wanted to be thorough.  Change takes time and effort but the effort is worth it!

Give this a try and let me know how it goes for you.   

Good luck!

Pamela
http://www.confidentcheerleadingblog.com
http://www.confidentcheerleading.com/competitions