Thinking Body, Dancing Mind: Taosports for Extraordinary Performance in Athletics, Business, and Life

Thinking Body, Dancing Mind: Taosports for Extraordinary Performance in Athletics, Business, and Life ANNOTATION Written by a sports psychologist and a renowned T'ai Chi master, here is a guide to enriching all of life's pursuits through the practice of its simple mental tools and wisdom. Using stories of success from athletes and businesspeople, the authors present techniques and exercises to promote relaxation and enhance performance. FROM THE PUBLISHER Why fight your way to the top when you can rise to it? Let go of the obsession to win - and you will be victorious. Acknowledge your vulnerabilities - and turn them into strengths. Find the courage to risk failure - and begin your journey to success. That is the secret of the TaoAthlete, and in this remarkable book t'ai chi expert Chugliange Al Huang and renowned professional and Olympic sports psychologist Jerry Lynch teach you the time honored principles of successful performance - whether on the playing field, in the office, or in your relationships. By mastering the unique strategies and mental exercises of the TaoAthlete, you'll unlock the extraordinary powers of body, mind, and spirit that will lead you to victory in any field of endeavor.

This is perhaps my all-time favorite book. The concepts and exercises will help you with every area in your life where you want to accomplish a goal. As a musician I found it to be wonderful and refreshing. It goes right along with "The Inner Game of Music'" and "A Soprano on her Head." Replacing the sports performance scenes with musical performing situations is a no-brainer. It's incredibly helpful to us performers who tend to be very down on ourselves and notoriously dim about mindset, self-talk, etc..

I am in graduate school for Sports Psychology and this book hits at the heart of what works for athletes. This is an Eastern-thinking text, so if you do not agree with that philosophy, you will not like this book.Not only can this book be a reference for the athlete, it is also a reference book for living. I love this book.

This book addresses most of the stumbling blocks many athletes encounter in their quest for excellence. It then suggests specific guidelines for achieving not only performance excellence but also an internal sense of calm and satisfaction with the effort and accomplishment. The format is succinct and easily used as a reference when specific concepts need to be reviewed. It is not a deeply theoretical book. Rather, it is a very practical and, in my experience, highly effective friend. It has totally changed my approach to my sport (and to my life) with wonderful results.

Chungliang Al Huang and Jerry Lynch have put together a truly exceptional sports reference. The book is divided into three peices. First, it teaches the reader a special approach to solving problems. This process includes directed thoughts, afirmations, visualizations and many other techniques to tackle ones goals. Next the book addresses every problem an athlete could possibly encounter in pursuit of world class performance. The authors have disected these obstacles and given several strategies for conquoring them. Finally, the third part of the book (actually about the entire second half) presents all of the phsychological traits which exemplify champion athletes. From detachment to integrity, every last emotion and thought of a champion is addressed in this book. Thinking Body, Dancing Mind is very usefull for beginners who are just learning the basics of their sport. Amazingly, the book takes on an entirely different dimension for world-class athletes, who are struggling for an edge. For these athletes this book can be liked only to the bible.For those interested in maximizing there performance, Optimum Sports Nutrition by Dr. Micheal Colgan is another great source for athletics.