We’ve all seen professional athletes deeply focused before a match. As professionals, they understand the importance of directing their attention to the present moment, centering themselves by focusing on their breath, which allows them to enter that calm space between stimulus and response.
They do this because focusing awareness on the breath is one of the fundamental techniques for achieving peak performance.
Take musicians as an example: they concentrate solely on the rhythm of the metronome, its consistent beat helping them master the fundamentals, just like scales in music. If you think of your breathing as the metronome, with its steady rhythm, you’ll quickly connect with your inner source, and your concentration will rise swiftly.
The longer you remain focused on your breathing, the more deeply you become anchored to that calm and peaceful space that leads to optimal performance. This is the essence of mindful breathing (as Thich Nhat Hanh says: “Mindful breathing is my anchor”). When we connect to that deep place through our breath, it becomes incredibly difficult to be thrown off by distractions, whether big or small.
Through mindful breathing, we can also become aware of hidden elements within us—thoughts or patterns that might be affecting our game, such as negative self-talk, deep-seated fears, or entrenched mental habits that have been with us since childhood.
Breathing is the first thing we do when we are born and the last thing we do when we leave this world. However, modern life and its accompanying stresses have shortened our breaths. We’ve become a generation of shallow breathers, always in a rush, and our breathing follows suit. When we are stressed, our breath shortens even more, leaving us more vulnerable to anxiety and stress.
And as we know, stress can significantly impair performance, making us lose focus on what needs to be done during the match.
How Breathing Works
Breathing is controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which is made up of two parts: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.
When we experience anxiety or stress, the sympathetic nervous system kicks in, flooding the body with stress hormones. When these accumulate, the immune system starts to weaken, and our ability to think clearly or respond appropriately declines. This tension is carried throughout the body.
But here’s where the parasympathetic nervous system comes into play: it essentially does the opposite, slowing things down. It lowers blood pressure, slows the heart rate, and helps release a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, essential for relaxation.
As Amit Ray says: “If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.”
Since breathing is controlled by the autonomic nervous system, one of the easiest and most effective ways to activate the parasympathetic system is through mindful breathing. It’s a cycle: inhalation, exhalation, and the space in between, like the momentary pause between two waves before the tide returns.
Achieving this level of awareness takes practice, learning to calm the mind by bringing attention back to the breath each time it wanders.
Entering the Zone
Elite tennis players are familiar with this experience. As Roger Federer said, “When you’re in the zone, things just slow down. Everything slows down. You have the utmost confidence. When it happens, you don’t try to focus on what’s happening around you because you could lose it in a second. Everything else becomes background noise. You don’t pay attention to this or that sound. You’re only focused on the present. You’re focused on the ball coming, on its seams… you see them as if everything were in slow motion.”
He continues, “You must stay in the present moment. You can’t worry about what just happened—the point you just won or the mistake at the net—because it’s already passed. You can’t worry about what’s about to happen either. You need to stay right there, in the present moment.”
A lost match is simply lost. You can’t dwell on the frustration, unless you want to carry it into the next match, creating another obstacle for yourself. Think about it: the match that just ended is over, and the next one is yet to be played.
You must focus on the present moment!
As Krishnamurti wisely said, “The mind must be empty to see clearly.”