⛷️ From skiing to tennis, I am having more fun and success than ever before 🎾
Despite having natural athletic ability, I have never shined in any sport. Over the years, I tried many activities from judo, dance, handball, and squash to kickboxing, fencing, volleyball, or scuba-diving. Unfortunately, I never had the inner confidence to really go for it, so I was at worst mediocre and at best average, in most of my attempts.
However, one of the ancillary and unexpected benefits of microdosing psilocybin has been the improvement of my athletic performance. I noticed it both while playing tennis and skiing. It doesn’t take a big leap of faith to see how this improvement could expand to other sports.
Both physical and mental upgrades have contributed to my greater athletic performance overall. These enhancements will be beneficial in many other areas above and beyond sports…but today let’s focus on sport!
On another note, many of you have been asking me where I buy the psilocybin for my microdosing regimen - I order online via SHAFAA and pay with an e-transfer. The brand, products and website were recommended to me by a partner focusing on psychedelics at one of the Big 4. I, and several of my F&F, are using SHAFAA’s products with great results. There is free shipping to Canada for orders above $150. Their capsule stacks are very friendly for microdosers. You can use this coupon code: ref9244468 and this link.
When it comes to countries outside of Canada, namely The US, I am following the decriminalization movement in Oregon and Colorado; cities such as Oakland, Denver, Santa Cruz to only name a few have already decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms.
🏋️Physical Benefits
As per The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, “The extreme sports underground have been using psychedelics for more than 40 years to increase reflex time to lightning speed, improve balance to the point of perfection, increase concentration until you experience ‘tunnel vision,’ and make you impervious to weakness or pain”.
Increase Focus
The ability to focus and concentrate is one of the key and widely recognized benefits of microdosing psilocybin. Focus is usually perceived as helpful in the context of intellectual endeavors, such as writing, reading, or studying. However, it comes very handy while playing most sports by reducing distractions and increasing single-mindedness on the game.
Decrease Reaction Time
Increased reactivity is also a valuable by-product of microdosing. Psilocybin makes individuals feel more present and one will have the perception that time “expands”. In addition, visual abilities, via an improved sense of contrast and depth, are improved, supporting faster reflex-time.
Optimize Balance
Another interesting benefits of psychedelics is an improved sense of balance. Once again a more acute vision combined with an unobstructed focus allow the players to be graced by a a greater sense of balance that will be helpful in most sports.
Heighten presence
I spoke about presence in the past. This is an important aspect of sport, as being more connected to our body and being in the moment are key contributors to great physical performance. This seamless relationship between the mind and the body allow us to more easily be in a state of flow.
I have experienced all of the above benefits while playing sports, which has definitely improved my results. However, the mental aspect of sport is where I needed the most support. It is also where I see the biggest opportunities for most players to increase their performance.
🧠Mental Benefits
The mental aspect of sports used to be my Achilles’ Heel - and when watching fellow sportswomen and sportsmen, it seems to be a common challenge. From anxiety, limiting beliefs and debilitating stress there used to be not much playing for me in sport. And, thus, despite the total lack of stake in my athletic endeavors. Microdosing psychedelics has greatly helped me in not only becoming a better player, but also in bringing the fun back in sport.
Reduce Stress
I used to be very stressed when playing sport. Any sport. All the time. Even if I was just taking a tennis lesson, I would grip my racket very tightly, overthink my shots, exert great control over my body making it very stiff and, thus, performing well below my physical ability. Psilocybin has greatly helped me by calming my nervous system, bringing more flexibility in both my mind and body. I now play with less self-imposed pressure which has greatly improved the quality of my shots. Last week, was the first time I went skiing since microdosing and I saw a big improvement in my performance. The greater ease in my mind and body has allowed me to ski faster, and smoother regardless of the number of skiers around me and quality of the snow.
Release Limiting Belief 1 - “I am not good enough to play”
I have seen this limiting belief in action in many of my fellow racquet players. Not long ago my tennis club organized a friendly round-robin tournament for the members. Nothing competitive; the goal was to have a social activity after months (years?) of nothingness due to Covid. Most players (across gender, race, age) were extremely anxious to play for pretty much the same reason: they were terrified to play poorly, thus, disappointing their teammates and opponents. I could relate as I used to suffer from that fear too. In that regard, microdosing has really helped me with putting this limiting belief to bed, thanks to increased awareness. And the combination of psychedelics and healing modalities such as tapping meditation, hypnosis and visualization have totally freed me from the stress of disappointing teammates and opponents. I am now happy to play whether I play “well enough” or not!
Release Limiting Belief 2 - “I should not shine too bright”
Many of us, consciously or unconsciously, picked up this extremely damaging limiting belief during our childhood. Whether it plays out in our career, relationships and / or physical activities, this upper limit (read 📖The Best Book to Uplevel Your Life☀️) prevents us to give our best athletic performance in a misguided attempt to protect us. Whether we unconsciously believe that we won’t be liked, we will be attacked, and / or it is arrogant to shine too brightly, we will self-sabotage our attempts at better results to align our results with our beliefs. It is akin to driving with a foot on the accelerator and the other one on the break - exhausting and inefficient. Similarly to the L.B.1, microdosing psilocybin has helped me to get way more comfortable with playing to win and actually winning. Instead of being in that extremely small box where I needed to play well enough to please others, but not too well (also to please others 🙄), I now give my best performance regardless of the situation.
Minimize Performance Anxiety
I used to be so anxious prior to a tennis game that I would not be able to sleep the night before. Not that I am playing competitively by any stretch of imagination; I started tennis during the pandemic and I just play ladder games within my local tennis club. Nevertheless, my anxiety was such that no matter the infinitely low stakes I would invariably endure a sleepless night; which was a guarantee for low performance. Many players I know are in the same boat and won’t even play ladder games due to their anxiety. Personally, I refused to have my anxiety dictates what I could and couldn’t do in my life, so I would, regardless, engage in anxiety-inducing activities, which obviously was preventing both satisfying results and fun. Thanks to microdosing, I have been able to manage my anxiety way down which has been life-changing in my day-to-life, including sport.
Increase Flow and Fun
Last but not least, after all we “play sport” and not “work sport”, I now really have fun and an increased sense of flow when playing. Instead of being something I need to struggle with and fight against, I approach my physical activities as a game. It might seem obvious to some, however most of us have been so conditioned to constantly perform that we forget why we are doing things in the first place. Being able to play, really give it my absolute best, enjoy it, and get great results have been nothing short of magical to me. As always, I just wished I had started the microdosing process earlier…but better late than never!
For me the beauty of microdosing psilocybin has been the great number of benefits I received in every part of my life. Regaining a zest for life and improving my outlook on life were the two main reasons I started this process 9 months ago. However, not only did my enthusiasm for life and my outlook became much more positive, but I also increased my creativity, my flexibility (mental and physical!), my ability to hope and dare, as well as my overall mental and physical ability.
I am now getting MORE life, and MORE of life!
😎Key Takeaways:
One of the ancillary and unexpected benefits of microdosing psilocybin has been the improvement of my athletic performance;
Both physical and mental improvements have contributed to my better athletic performance overall;
Physical benefits; increase focus, decrease reaction time, optimize balance, heighten presence;
Mental benefits; reduce stress, release limiting beliefs - I am not good enough to play & I should not shine too bright -, minimize performance anxiety, and increase flow and fun;
The beauty of microdosing psilocybin has been the great number of benefits I received in every part of my life.
My enthusiasm for life and my outlook became much more positive, and I also increased my creativity, my flexibility (mental and physical!), my ability to hope and dare, as well as my overall mental and physical ability.
I am now getting MORE life, and MORE of life!
Please share your comments and questions!
If you are interested in knowing more about me, you can visit my YouTube channel.
I wrote a book, “Paris, Mushrooms, and Me”, based on my experience microdosing psilocybin; please reach out if you would like to reserve a copy. The book will be published in 2023.
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