ABSTRACT

This chapter describes the first batch of Hong Kong elite athletes receiving systematic mindfulness training under the facilitation of sport psychology practitioners with guidelines from the manual. The primary assumption of traditional psychological skills training is that optimal performance is most likely to occur when athletes are able to reach so called optimal mental states by controlling psychological mediators such as cognitions, emotions, and sensations. Some athletes had to travel overseas for competitions or participated in school activities. Athletes are asked to stay focused on breathing and observing the moment, while accepting any emotion or thought that arises. Of particular relevance in a Chinese culture, sport psychology practitioners asked athletes to imagine/visualize a scenario of facing the stress from the perspectives of academic demands, parental expectations, and sport development. Some athletes really appreciate the fact that mindfulness is not about absolute calmness and control, but about here-and-now focus, being non-judgmental, acceptance, and commitment.