Since my heart can’t take much more of these Game 7s (and there’s two more tonight!) and the Wings and Sharks series is sure to screw with my fragile balance of sanity, I figured now would be the time to share the Playoff Meditation Exercise I developed last year.
Fair warning: This is no joke. Reader’s Digest, Sun Media and an Ottawa radio station I spoke with today would have you know I am a certified mindfulness meditation expert. And well I really am not, I do practice regularly, I am prone to fits of nervousness and anxiety and these are doubled and even tripled — but generally in a good way — during the playoffs.
Being a fan of a Western Conference team in this day and age, however, means exciting games ending around 1 a.m. Which, in turn, means a racing heart rate just before bedtime. So, rather than a final shot or two of whiskey to force you into unconsciousness — though that probably works better after a loss — we offer How To Mindfully Experience An NHL Playoff Game.
Step 1 – Don’t think of the implications: You are watching one game, not the three or four games that came before it and not the (you hope) many games that will come later. Just this game. It’s the meditation embodiment of an athlete’s oldest cliché — take it one game at a time.
Step 2 – Enjoy it: Even the overtime. Especially the overtime. When you have a rooting interest, this is a near impossible task. I cannot even imagine how Canucks fans could savour the last ten minutes of Game 7 last night, but they must. You love sports, and this is as good as it gets and you don’t know what you’re going to see, or if it’ll ever be like this again. Things change. uncertainty is certain. Savour the damn overtime.
Step 3 – Intermission Mindfulness: This, actually, really helps. I don’t mean it helps you watch the hockey game. I mean, it’s just good for you. Intermissions are 15 minutes long. Occasionally they are longer, but never shorter. Give yourself those fifteen minutes, in silence, to sit or lie down and just breathe. You don’t have to get all Zen and The Art Of Stickhandling. You don’t have to think about hockey at all. It’ll start again in 15 minutes, and the quiet break is way better for you than any wisdom Don Cherry might spew.
Step 4 – Be A Child: Experience things. They teach you this sort of thing in mindfulness, usually by giving you a raisin or grape and having you spend 10 or 15 minutes slowly tasting and chewing it, noticing every little thing about its taste, texture and consistency. It helps you (okay, me) remember to slow down and enjoy things instead of eagerly waiting for what comes next. So, pick a player on whichever team you like best. Watch his shift, from start to finish. Notice where he goes without the puck and how he manages to meet up with it later on. Try to experience the game through his eyes. I’m not being obtuse here — try to see what he’s seeing when he flinches and dumps the puck a second before the hit arrives or when he tosses a blind pass to a teammate he somehow sensed was arriving to fill the space.
And … when all else fails. Then you can grab the whiskey. But do it mindfully, and savour the flavour. Especially if it’s expensive.
We’ll have more when the second round becomes official tomorrow.
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