Flexibility
“Without proper care, the human body loses considerable flexibility as it ages.” Randy Myers, Director of Fitness at Sea Island in Georgia.
“The ability of golfers to improve is largely determined by their range of motion.” Laird Small, Director, Pebble Beach Golf Academy.
All of us are getting older and as we age, we lose flexibility. Go to any practice range that has a lot of players of various ages and you can get a rough idea of the age of the player simply by noticing how flexible they are. The young ones follow through with the club wrapped around their body and their shoulders twisted almost 180 degrees from their feet. Those of us with higher mileage bodies are not nearly so flexible. This decreasing flexibility affects our stroke, our power, and our length off the tee.
In my book, EFT and Golf: The New Mental Game Manual, several pages are devoted to flexibility. EFT can sometimes produce dramatic changes in flexibility that are easily seen and experienced. If you haven’t already done so, do the EFT demonstration tests in Chapter 3. One of the tests is for flexibility.
How can we use EFT to increase flexibility and offset the effects of aging?
As part of your warm-up before a round, include stretching. The experts now say don’t stretch cold muscles; warm up first, then stretch. As you stretch, notice any pain or stiffness that limits you from stretching further. Focus on the specific pain or feeling of stiffness and do a couple of rounds of EFT. For example, if you are stretching your lower back by twisting with a club on your shoulders, note where you stop and why. If you feel pain in your lower left back that stops you from going further, tap on the pain in your lower left back. It would look like this, “Even though I have this pain in my lower left back, I deeply and completely accept myself.” The reminder phrase would be, “Pain in my lower left back.” The more specific the focus, the better. “Pain in my lower left back” is better than “pain in my back.” Most of the time, this simple step will free up your swing before you play.
If you’re out on the course and develop stiffness or pain, stop and tap on it. That will usually stop it from getting worse and will often resolve the problem.
A little deeper processing may eventually be necessary. Our emotions can have a considerable effect on our muscles and joints. The mind-body connection is very strong and doctors are becoming more and more aware of that connection. A simple way to check for emotional components of tightness or pain is to ask yourself what in your life could be contributing to this tightness or pain. Notice if anything pops into your mind. Be careful not to judge it. Don’t say, “That can’t be right” or “that’s silly.” Sometimes it sounds reasonable and sometimes it doesn’t. Just tap on what comes to mind.
Here’s a reasonable example. If you have a stiff, painful neck when you turn your head to the left and you ask yourself what could be contributing to that, the idea of your boss being a pain in the neck might pop into your mind. You would tap on, “Even though my boss [insert name] is a pain in the neck, I deeply and completely accept myself.” The reminder phrase would be, “Boss is a pain in the neck.”
Here is another example. Let’s say you are stretching and your shoulder feels tight. You ask what could be contributing to this tightness and you suddenly feel fear. You wonder what could be fearful about a stiff shoulder and the thought that you are getting old pops into your mind. Perhaps your stiff shoulder is evidence of getting older and that scares you. You saw what happened to your father or grandfather as they got old. Tap on the thoughts that are most appropriate for you. For example, “Even though I’m afraid of getting old, I deeply and completely accept myself.” See Chapter 10 for other examples and more detailed information on flexibility. Sometimes we need assistance from a professional for deeper processing.
Old injuries that are completely healed may also restrict our flexibility. Think of it this way. When we suffer a physical injury, we also suffer an emotional injury. Doctors only deal with the physical injury. See the section in Chapter 10, Coping with Injury and Rehab, for detailed information.
I advocate a regular workout routine of strength training, aerobic training, and stretching to play at your best and keep old age at bay. I would also suggest regular checkups with a chiropractor who works with athletes. They are the non-invasive muscle and joint specialists.
Augment your warm-ups and workouts with EFT to get the most out of your mind/body.
Questions and Comments
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Until next time, keep on tapping.
Jack