Dream Your Way to a World Championship Title…

By: Brittany Bevis

Upon first impression, the idea that someone could dream their way to a World Championship title might seem a bit far-fetched. However, Dr. Jay Granat, Psychotherapist, Author, and Founder of StayInTheZone.com, shows how Dream and Music Therapy can help athletes realize their potential and excel in sports.

A former university professor, Dr. Granat writes a weekly column for four newspapers and has appeared in The New York Times, on Good Morning America, BBC, CBC, Sporting News, and ESPN, just to name a few. In addition, Golf Digest named him one of America’s top ten mental gurus.

Dr. Granat has worked with Olympic gold medalists, professional golfers, tennis pros, and elite young athletes, but his work with equestrians and jockeys is what we found most intriguing…

So what is Dream Therapy exactly?

“Athletes tend to be visualizers and dreamers,” Dr. Granat says. “The daydream is a very powerful thing. Unlike a night dream, which might be scary or negative, a daydream is something you think about while in the shower, in the car, or going for a walk. It’s positive and gets your thought process going in a positive direction.”

“During therapy, there can be some hypnosis involved, but typically, if you ask, people will tell you about their daydreams in great detail and with a lot of emotion and passion. Rather than starting with goals, talking about dreams is very powerful and important with athletes.”

For example, let’s say a rider’s dream, ever since he or she was a young child, was to ride in the Olympics or win a World Championship title. Once Dr. Granat learns about the dream, he asks the athlete one key question. What thoughts, feelings, or behaviors need to change to increase the likelihood of achieving that dream?

“For example, let’s say a rider has taken a bad fall and is now loaded with fear and negative self talk, or maybe he or she is recovering from an injury and in the process of believing in themselves again. They need to sort out a plan for getting over their fear, because, as riders know, fear transitions to the horse through hands and legs.”

A thought that might need to change could be, “I think I will fall again when I get back on my horse.” A feeling that might need to change could involve finding a way to make the sport fun again. A behavior change might include switching trainers or even horses. The link between the dream and what they need to change is key, says Dr. Granat.

In addition to his work with dream therapy, Dr. Granat was recently involved in a brand, new study that examined how listening to music has an effect on athletic training and competition performance.

“The study involved 100 high school and college athletes,” Dr. Granat says. “97% said they use music as part of their mental training, and 96% said listening to music helped them to perform better and get into the zone. What’s not clear from this study is how they use it. For example, a tennis player may use music differently than an equestrian.”

Why is music so important? Dr. Granat explains that listening to music activates the part of the brain that houses “the zone.” It’s the side of the brain that’s playful, imaginative, willing to take risks, and doesn’t engage in self criticism. Some would say it activates a different neural pathway.

“We have seen, in other studies, with football linemen, who we thought would be listening to rap or hip hop, were actually listening to classical music to calm down,” he says. “It depends on the energy level of the sport and the athlete’s likes and dislikes. It’s about selecting the music that gets you in the right frame of mind.”

“Another thing is that most sports have a rhythm to them. For example, there are a certain number of strides between each jump. Also, many athletes listen to music to tune out distractions. However, some riders would not like this while on a horse, because they would want to hear the ground beneath the horse’s feet, the horse’s breathing, and other cues they want to be cognizant of. However, studying how listening to music before a rider gets on a horse might impact performance could be very interesting.”

The bottom line is that while simply dreaming about winning a World Championship title isn’t likely to help you bring home the gold, analyzing those dreams and determining how to enact practical change towards achieving your goal will put you on the right track.

“For example, money and getting sponsor backing is an issue for many amateur athletes,” Dr. Granat says. “So, you might start thinking about how you can generate more money; that opens up a lot of thinking. For example, are there family members you might know who could help? Can you do something online like crowdfunding or do something for charity? Then, the thinking become expansive.”

“Some people think there is only one way to solve a problem. My office is six miles from Manhattan, and you can get there a half a dozen ways: bridge, tunnel, swim, helicopter, ferry, or bus. Even though we are called shrinks, our job is to help a person expand on their dreams. I think talking about dreams gets the therapy started in a very positive and problem-solving direction.”

To conclude, Dr. Granat leaves us with a simple analogy that many equestrians can relate to.

“I wouldn’t look upon a jump as an obstacle; I don’t like that word. I would look upon it as an opportunity to fly. Another word I don’t like is barrier. It’s time to think positively, elevate, and energize.”

For more information about Dr. Jay Granat and his techniques, check out StayInTheZone.com, where you can read blogs, articles, and search for DVD series with interesting titles like…

• Bedtime Stories For Young Athletes
• How to Throw More Strikes With Sports Psychology and Self-Hypnosis
• How To Be A Better Putter
• Sports Psychology and Mental Toughness System For Tennis Players

Who’s hoping for an equestrian-themed DVD?

DOCTOR’S SIDEBAR:

“Many years ago, I got a call from a professional cowgirl in Texas. She started asking me questions about competing. Then, she said, ‘You’re pretty famous down here.’ I said, ‘For what?’ She said, ‘A whole lot of cowboys and cowgirls listen to your CDs in their pickup trucks before they compete.’ I’m from Brooklyn, NY, so it was kind of flattering. You never know who will be affected by your work.”