For those who are injured.

[Mrs Redboots]

We were talking in the pros' room after my skate today (so what day don't we?), and for some reason the subject of visualisation came up. I think we were talking about a recent television programme on "The dancer's body", and the segment on how one learnt a dance, and got the steps into muscle memory. I said that I had been fascinated by her saying that visualising yourself doing the dance helps, and that I could never visualise myself skating better than I can in real life, and if I do it in bed I'm apt to have a crashing fall and wake myself up (is it called a clonic shock or something?). Anyway, I'd also read that it was nearly as good as a workout.

Then the coach who was waiting for her next lesson piped up that when she had done a class on imaging, they were told that skaters/dancers/gymnasts who did visualise while they were laid off with injury or illness came back far quicker than those who didn't. So it is worth running through your various programmes/jumps/dances in your heads, to keep you neurologically "on your toes" even if your boots have to remain in their bags.

[singerskates]

Anne,

I'm constantly day dreaming about doing my programs correctly and what they would feel like. and when I'm dreaming, I find myself waking up moving my leg violently as if I just did a jump. I am the one who does the Choreography most of the time for my own programs and my coach just works out the ruff things that she knows just wouldn't work. She no longer touches my freeskates but since I'm new at interpretive freeskates I have been working with her quite alot since I didn't know what to do in an interpretive freeskate. I had no idea that I had to fill different levels of space as I skated. I only thought of matching jumps, spins and foot work with the music.

I suspect that I should get my practice CD from the van and run it on my CD player in the house as I layback on the couch and fall asleep. It has my freeskate, my US Interpretive FS and my Canadian interpretive FS on it. I could set it on repeat as I sleep.

I haven't even started working on my Canadian interpretive FS program so this could be quit interesting.

[SusanaO]

That's very interesting. I was a gymnast for many years a long, long time ago. Our coach would tell us visualize our routines as much as possible when we were training for a competition. Of course you had to visualize yourself going through the routine perfectly. This wasn't always easy since, as you mentioned, when I was having trouble with a specific exercise my brain was tempted to show that. Anyways, I think it did help.

[mikawendy]

Mrs Redboots--
When I have trouble sleeping at night, I imagine myself skating. At first it didn't work because I'd get too excited thinking about what I was doing, but I find it's very calming. I usually can't remember the point at which I fall asleep... Maybe it's been helping my skating without me even knowing it!

Something about skating is very relaxing to me even in real life. I mean, yes, it is *quite* frustrating when my body won't do what my mind is telling it to do, but after a good practice session, I come home wiped out (you'd say knackered?) and sit on the couch (or in the tub) and feel very serene. I think it's because it forces me to stop thinking about everything else because I'm concentrating so hard on what I'm doing!:D