You’ll no doubt have seen that quite some time has passed between this post, and the previous one. This is because I have been deeply involved in some new projects, including giving lectures about “Performing in The Zone”, fine-tuning the “Orchestral Auditions 101″ 3 day workshop, establishing a new website, BrassMusician.com, and playing trumpet with the Gothenburg Opera!

It’s been a busy period to say the least, and will no doubt continue for quite some time.

What I encourage you to do though, is to use the Categories and Archives navigation (in the menu bar to the right) to browse through the many interesting articles here on the Performing in The Zone blog.

Using lessons learned from BrassMusician.com, The Zone blog is due for a makeover, and that will be happening in the near future (hopefully!)

Until then, if you’d like to get in touch, try using the chat feature in the menu bar to the right. Or, send an email using the address found in the footer of the main site.

Until next time!

/Jon

Thanks to skype video chat, I’m now able to give 1-on-1 performance coaching to anyone, anywhere in the world!

Here is the information from the Private Coaching page of thezonebook.com

What you get:

1-on-1 Personal Performance Coaching online via Skype, or in person where available.

What is the aim of Personal Performance Coaching?

Personal Performance Coaching is different for everyone. However as a general goal, Personal Performance Coaching aims to help you to feel more calm, confident, and in control in your performing situations.

Your individual aim for Personal Performance Coaching is discussed early in the first session, so that a clear path of achievement can be mapped out for you.

How many Personal Performance Coaching sessions do you need?

This varies greatly from person to person, and performing situation to performing situation. Two or three sessions may be enough for one person in one particular performance arena, whereas another person may require five or more. This is very individual.

It’s more than just another chat session!

Personal Performance Coaching is not about you going on skype for an hour and then suddenly you are a master performer. Personal Performance Coaching is about having your current situation assessed, goals defined, a path made to help you achieve those goals, tools to help you get there, and support to lead you through the process.

A very important point to note here: You will get given the tools, but it’s up to you to use them.

Depending upon your requirements, you will be given mini assignments to carry out between consultations. These may be short and simple, or more involved, depending upon who you are, and what your current situation is.

Is it confidential?

Yes. Your Personal Performance Coaching sessions will be treated with the strictest confidence. If you decide to give a review of your Personal Performance Coaching, you can choose to use an alias, or your real name – this is completely up to you.

And finally…

The more you advance, the more you’ll discover that Personal Performance Coaching is not only about getting better results in performing situations – it’s all about you – it’s about learning how to develop yourself into a natural and confident performer in all areas of your life.

Rates:

1st session: US$90 (usually lasts between 1 – 2 hours)

Subsequent sessions: US$75/hour
Payment must be made via PayPal prior to each live personal coaching session.

What now?

Here are the simple steps to follow to receive Personal Performance Coaching.

1) Fill out the Private Coaching form by clicking here. The purpose of this form is to provide me with some background information about you.

2) After you have sumbitted your form, I will contact you via email and suggest possible times for your first coaching session.

3) Once we have booked in a time, you will be sent a PayPal invoice for your upcoming coaching session. Please note that payment must be received before your Personal Performance Coaching session begins.

4) We find each other on Skype (my alias is thezonebook), and then we begin your first session.

Have a question?

Feel free to send an email to

Alternatively, you can ask your question directly through the chat feature above, in the column on the right.

Often, especialy from younger students, I hear and read that so and so is the *best* trumpet player in the world, such and such is the *best* orchestra – as if a musician and group of musicians could be rated on a scale from 1 to 10.

I believe that this is an unfortunate miscalibration by many younger students, stemming perhaps from a competition-driven dog-eat-dog society or educational institution.

As I mentioned, positive role models are important, but the younger student needs to understand that music and musical performance is subjective, and that there is an immense difference between a person being the ‘best’ at something, and a person’s intepretation ‘appealing’ the most.

I’ll try to give a concrete example. On July the 6th, 1912, Don Lippincott was the fastest man on the planet, running 100 metres in 10.6 seconds. This is not subject to interpretation, rather, it is a concrete fact. On August the 16th, 2009, Usain Bolt was the fastest man on the planet, with his time for the 100 metres recorded at 9.58 seconds. The medium for determining who was the best, or fastest, is fixed – that is, time.

Using trumpet players as an example,  there is no medium or method for categotically proving that one trumpet player is the ‘best in the world’. Even if official high/low note, loud/soft, or speed-playing competitions were to exist, these elements in themselves have nothing to do with music – and a trumpet player is first and foremost a musician.  Yes, musical competitions do of course exist, and all things being equal, an excellent performer will come away with the 1st prize. However, at the highest levels, it is often a case of subjectivity which determines a ‘winner’ from a ‘runner-up’. In other words, perhaps a different judging panel would have chosen a different ‘winning competitor’.

So, philosophical discussion aside, the message to young musicians is this:
Listen. Listen to many performers – performers of your instrument, performers of other instruments. Listen to many orchestras. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, NY Phil etc etc – not one of these orchestras is the ‘best’ – but they are all excelent and all worth listening to. You may have your favourite – and that’s ok – but please avoid the trap of saying ‘such and such’ or ‘so and so’ is “the best”.

Now, with that in mind, my next post is of the Berlin Philharmonic performing a few minutes from Strauss’ Alpine Symphony. For a R.Strauss style and sound I prefer the Berlin Phil, but that’s just me

To see the first installment, go to: http://www.keynotesmagazine.com

At first, this post might not seem like it is totally in line with the other posts on The Zone blog, but there are a lot of  truths and wisdom in what Warrior is saying here. If you’ve read Performing in The Zone, you’ll remember the quotes I use to begin every week of The 12 Week Performance Success Programme. The quote for Week 11 (pg.166) is “Knowledge is everywhere – in every book, in every person, in every situation. All you have to do is be open enough to receive it”.

When you read Warrior’s post, or *any* text, if you have the attitude, “What can I learn from this?” you’ll always be on the road to progress and self-improvement, and that’s what Performing in The Zone is all about.

For more  from Warrior, check out http://www.ultimatewarrior.com

“The Greatest Good to the Greatest Number will obviously be reached when each individual of the greatest number is doing the greatest good to himself.”

“Individualism has the strength to resist all attacks.”

Rose Wilder Lane

The health care situation is interesting. I’ve a few thoughts…

The vigorous opposition to more government in our lives is a good thing. Several intelligent, limited-government voices not pulling any punches are getting through, connecting and being heard. The genuine instances of this are inspiring.

About the rest, I have to to be honest, I find it all disingenuous and none of it inspiring.

It’s a myth that ALL those opposing government takeover of health care right now are fundamentally opposed to the government takeover of things. It’s not true.

Truth is, today, both liberals and conservatives want as much government in their lives as the government is willing provide. The only difference is, while liberals are blatant about their desire for it, conservatives try to hide theirs in hypocrisy.

Take Medicare and Social Security. Tell a “conservative” they can’t depend on those and watch a stack get blown. They will not stand for any talk whatsoever about these government entitlement programs being taken away. Their loved ones will be chained to the debt throughout their lives? Screw them, they will tell you, without guilt or shame.

Take the recent Cash for Clunkers program as a simple example. Cost the taxpayers billions. There aren’t any dealerships owned by conservatives? You think any of them turned down the government handout? You consider yourself a conservative? Did you exploit the Cash for Clunkers? If you did, I got news for you — you’re not a conservative.

Our government has not one bit of authority to even discuss the health care issue. Therefore, I don’t know why there is a discussion in the first place. There is no place in our constitution that authorizes National Health Care. Bickering over different parts is going on. The truth is the discussion should not be happening at all. Even under the twisted guise of promoting the General Welfare, the irony is sickening. Who screws the people’s General Welfare more than the government? Nobody. And the US government we have today worse than any other in modern time.

This health care thing isn’t about political parties. It’s about us — the people — retaining our constitutional rights. You seemingly intelligent, informed conservatives keeping a political scorecard — one for the blues, one for the reds — are acting no better than drunken, lewd sports fans at big bowl games. If you haven’t noticed, your government representatives aren’t playing the game to win for you. Their game plan is that the people lose out altogether. They don’t give a rat’s ass about ANY traditional, originalist American ideas or seeing them continued for another 233 years. Nobody in our government does. All they care about is keeping their power on that swamp infested with politics and parasites called Washington, DC.

I don’t know for sure, but there must be somewhere in Sun Tzu’s Art of War, that a loyal combatant does not voice criticism of their own side. I haven’t read it in a long time and, frankly, the best thing I like about the Chinese culture is the food, not books written by warlords wearing food bowls on their heads. I’m into Western culture, not Eastern. I just know some of the tough talking conservatives refer to the book quite often and maybe in it they learn not to point out where their own kind fail and that if you just focus on the opponent’s faults that somehow the complete solution to fix any problem will magically appear. I believe in some forms of mystery and magic, miracles, that type of thing, but I think this rule of war is weak and stupid. I’m not loyal to the people who are wrong. I’m loyal to the cause and the way of doing things that I believe is right.

Conservatives acquiesce to constitutional violations and usurpations of our freedoms and liberties all the time without so much as a peep, much less the kind of firestorm we are seeing today. This health care thing is not good, no. But when the bleeding, pulsing heart of freedom is no longer on the table — the very idea an American can look to know how to set the course of their life — it does not matter what other crumbs and morsels and other dried up shavings there are to scrounge from.

So I’m afraid not…at their core, many of those calling themselves conservatives today do not have any problem with big government. And it isn’t their primary motive, now, for rising up against health care reform.

The problem they have this time is the same problem they have all the time: Looking in the mirror at themselves to see both the problem and solution, and having others pass judgment on them.

In a weird turnabout to how government normally operates, government takeover of health care is likely going to come with some pretty harsh judgment. Some of it literally life and death. And that’s what they don’t like about it.

Most government run social programs are designed to be subjective and nonjudgmental. The less accountable you are for yourself, the more you mess up your own life, the more of a trainwreck your life is, the more the government likes you and wants you. The more you need a handout the more likely you are to get a handout. So government giveaways with strings attached, like this one seems it might be, are a real bummer.

Depending on how bad you’ve let your own health go throughout your life, you may just end up not getting the government to feel sorry enough for you and to subsidize the treatment or medicine or handful of extra months you’d like to stick around and live.

It’s been obvious for quite some time, handling the challenging and sometimes uncomfortable real stresses of life while under the influence of nothing more than one’s own self-responsibility is a little too much to be asked of some of us. And government now threatening to close some divisions of it’s pity force is enough to push them over the edge. Wow, better not let that happen.

Bottomline, people don’t want to accept that their own sloppy, irresponsible, unhealthy personal behavior is a big cause of the health care problem we have today, and they also don’t want to be judged on it. This is what people fear the most.

Don’t get me wrong. Even though I’d enjoy the squealing, I don’t endorse government anything. Government should stay the hell out of everything except defending us. Like I said, I don’t even know why there is any discussion about health care to begin with. But now that it is on the table, at least some damn truths should be told.

And one is this: When you decide whether you approve or not of government involvement or assistance in your life by splitting hairs as to how much or how little IT will judge your behavior, you’re not one of the “undecideds” — you’re a fat pig at the trough and you’re part of the problem this country has. And if you are a part of the problem, you aren’t part of the solution. I don’t care what political flag you roll under.

Conservative mouthpieces like to throw around the idea about staying true to our Founding constitutional rights and that we (the people) are sick and tired of our elected officials violating these as they please. Great. What about all around? Why don’t we abide by our Founding rights (and their responsibilities) entirely, not piecemeal.

How many of you have looked in the mirror lately? You say our representatives have a responsibility to uphold the principles and character of our constitution. Ok. What about us, the people? Do we have any responsibilities of any kind? Say, one like the responsibility to uphold a certain constitution of character and behavior, one similar to those of the people who lived at the Founding times. I think we do. In fact, because we are a government of the people, we the people have an even greater responsibility than our reps to hold up our end of the deal as an example.

In a few words: Self-responsibility, courage and dignity.

Life comes with responsibilities. When you have freedom to live your life as you choose, the responsibilities are even greater. One of those responsibilities is to oversee your health and take care of your body and state of mind. You can’t trash yourself all to hell and then expect or demand that others put the pieces of your broken-down humpty-dumpty ass back together again when it all falls down. Also, the concept conservative means something more than just a political party. It means preserving things of value that make life work. And if you call yourself a conservative, I don’t know how abusing your health figures into your view of life and the principles you say you believe in. Every single fat ass, out-of-shape conservative should be into fitness and health.

The two major health care expenses today are those caused by overweight and out-of-shape people and the medical costs incurred in the last 6 months of a person’s life.

Whatever problems there are with insurance and insurance companies, one super-size part of the whole truth is undeniably this: people who do not practice preventative health care (including a health and fitness lifestyle) are the major cause of all its difficulties, grievances, problems and expenses.

Yet when there is a discussion about solutions, this reality is either nowhere to be found or thrown out of the discussion altogether because it hurts people’s feelings. I can’t help but think to call it: Cash for Junkers. Why should those who take care of themselves have to pay for those who Junk their bodies and minds their whole life?

Fat, unhealthy people have a problem paying for the health care of others through a government run program via tax revenues (as they rightfully should), but they don’t have any problem with other people paying for their own medical and health care needs (caused in large part by their irresponsible behavior) through the increased premiums insurance companies impose on everybody to cover the increased costs.

Most people today are physical wrecks. They are not only overweight, they are obese. People are eating antidepressants, other mood-altering drug or some kind of drug to sustain organ function like candy. Kids today are fat and out of shape and this not only effects their physical energy, it diminishes their capacity to think and learn clearly. Many have diabetes simply because they do not get any exercise at all and eat diets filled with only refined foods and sugar. What else can we expect when we have adults and parents eating the same way and then turning to fat-sucking procedures and stomach clamps because they couldn’t keep their own mouths shut.

People simply aren’t taking responsibility for their own health care and others are paying the bill for it. It isn’t right. Why should others who invest in preventive health care have to pay for any other individual’s lack of investing anything in it at all? The science is not OUT anymore when it comes to the benefits of good, sensible eating and/or regular exercise. The science is IN.

There’s no reason except laziness and lack of self-discipline that men are sporting three chins and a waistline bigger than their chest by their mid-thirties and women end up having asses the size of semi-truck rearends. (Laugh if you want…many of you are the husbands who have written me for advice on how tell your wife she’s fat and you no longer find her desirable.)

You can’t abuse your mind and body for 30-40-50 years and not expect that its ability to function won’t collapse. You can’t get around what’s been said for centuries: You can make time for health and fitness now or plan on making plenty of time for illness later.

Those who let their health and fitness go all to hell need to subsidize their medical repair bills themselves. And they should do so for as long as they, alone, are able to write the check. If you want insurance and can find what suits you, get it. But when the insurance company has to operate as the business it is and draw lines in the sand about what they cover and do not by the terms of coverage you originally agreed to, don’t whine and complain. And if you find yourself with an ailment that is not covered under the terms you originally agreed to, don’t find some unethical legal hack (are there are other kind) to file litigation for millions of dollars no one owes you. The insanity with litigation is costing everyone except the scumbag lawyers. And there is no freedom-sacrificing law that can be created to handle this problem better than getting back to the use of common sense and decency. Every single out of control problem we humans face today is driven by our refusal to think and behave as the best human beings we have the potential to be.

More dignity and courage are in order. These are two premier virtues our ancestors held, and they held them high. They are virtues we should exercise more today. Founding people risked and sacrificed for posterity’s sake. They considered with respect what the future would hold for American citizens many years down the road. Don’t you think we should do the same? Burdening our own posterity with debt is wrong and undignified and a coward’s way out.

When your time has come to leave this planet you should embrace your mortality with dignity and courage. If you can afford to pay for the medical resources to buy yourself more time, great. But don’t ask others to shoulder the expense for you. Find your peace and let go.

Maybe you didn’t see it in the fine print on your birth certificate, but it is there. It says: “you live, you die.” Who does enjoy the prospect of dying? Maybe only former WWF/E talent. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. Dying is going to happen to you. So face it like a human being who isn’t going to get out of it when the time comes.

Religious conservatives and born-again christians need to quit being the biggest pansy-ass hypocrites there are about this. You all show the most fear about dying and do the most screaming and yelling about what you are due from others when you are faced with death. I don’t need to explain it anymore than that. Everybody sees it for themselves. It’s obvious to anyone with decent common sense — endowed to us by a Creator — that too many of you do not practice what you preach. At all. You use your religion as an excuse, not an empowerment. And you do because you don’t truly believe in your soul what you claim to and want everyone else to buy into. It’s shameful. Find some God Damn dignity.

We all get older, but we don’t all have to get older the same way. You can live an active, healthy, enthusiastic and energetic life all the way through but you are going to have to do some work and put in some time along the way to make it happen. Too many don’t. Too many forgo the responsibility while they are capable of handling it and then cry foul once it is too late. Demanding that others be sympathetic, concerned and supportive once you’ve shot your load and spent a lifetime ruining yourself is weak, and wicked.

I will end by saying that I find the whole insurance obsession very uninspiring. All it does is instill fear throughout. There’s a written record of mankind going back over 3,000 years. There are stories of incredible challenges, none of them faced with assurances, guarantees or insurance of any kind. The Founding of this country is but one example. The signers of the Declaration of Independence put it all on the line: ”we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

It’s pathetic that in just over 100 years, since the beginning of the industrial age and the production of comforts and conveniences, the human being today is inspired more by what insurance and assurances he can arrange than the unknown risk of opportunity and challenge. People don’t do great things playing it safe and being surrounded by security. That’s why truly Great, Capital “G,” things aren’t happening anymore.

In my opinion, insurance ends up costing you a hell of lot more than money. Insurances of any kind have a tendency to dull your senses, suffocate your innate desire for freedom, demotivate your excitement and enthusiasm for life, and weaken all the virtues you were naturally endowed with to face any crisis or challenge you will come up against throughout your whole life. Some of your greatest life moments happen when there is nowhere to turn to be saved. It’s no coincidence that insurance salesmen have puny chests, timid confidence, and no passion for life. They market in fear and death, not courage and life.

Think about what I say time and time again. Greater people before us have lived and they have done much greater things than any of us living today. You think what you want. I think it has everything to do with that there was no insurance, not health insurance, not life insurance, not accident insurance — not insurance about anything, against any risk.

Life comes with unexpecteds and without guarantees. The quality of your life will be better the less you try to run and find safety nets and havens from them. Your life is better served if you take it as it comes without over-thinking or over-planning how you can beat the odds of the unexpecteds and what-ifs.

Your best insurance is to spend your energy, time, and thought on taking care of yourself better than you take care of anything else. Pay attention at all times to everything and always keep learning throughout your whole life. Accept all life has to offer and don’t fight in anger or self-pity with any of it. There are good lessons to learn in everything. Even pain and suffering can teach you things that are good.

Always Believe,

Warrior

If you are considering taking beta blockers (with or without a prescription) to get ahead in your next audition, think twice. With possible side-effects such as dizziness, fatigue, diarrhea, impotence, and even anaphylactic shock (sudden death!), beta-blockers are far from a cure-all!

As performers (especially in competitve environments) we strive to achieve to our full potential. We can easily fall into the trap of thinking:

“There is so much riding on this audition! If I win this audition, I will get a, b, and c, and will prove to myself and others that I am worthy! Think of all of the repercussions!”

or…

“If I lose or screw up, what will people think of me? I won’t get a, b, or c, and I’ll be a failure! Think of all of the repercussions!”

These ‘language-based thought processes are an extension of the spoiled brat of your psyche – your ego – which is hard at work.

Instead of risking some of the many side-effects of beta blockers to ‘calm you down’ in high-pressure performing situations, try Going Peripheral, the Qi Gong basic standing meditation, Pre-Performance rituals and mantras, or any other technique from Part Two of “Performing in The Zone”.

The techniques in “Performing in The Zone” are designed to treat the cause of miscalibrated performance arousal, and get you quickly and easily into an ideal state of mind for your performing situations, without the ill-effects of prescription drugs.

At best, beta blockers can only partially treat anxiety symptoms, and may end up causing any one (or more) of the following dangerous side effects in YOUR body:

Rash, slowed heart rate, low blood pressure, cold extremities, worsening of heart failure, fainting, rapid heart beats, asthma, diabetes, dizziness, fatigue, headache, depression, sleep disturbances, nightmares, hallucinations, short term memory loss, high or low blood sugar, stomach ache, flatulence, constipation, nausea, diarrhea, dry mouth, vomiting, heartburn, bloating, impotence or decreased libido, difficulty urinating, bronchospasm, cough, wheezes, nasal stuffiness, joint pain, muscle cramps, and anaphylactic shock (sudden unconsciousness or death).

So, instead of putting yourself at risk by waging chemical warfare on your body, go for the natural approach. Use the techniques in “Performing in The Zone” – they work! In addition, follow through with ‘The 12 Week Performance Success Programme’ in Part Three of The Zone book. You won’t need a prescrpition, and there are no dangerous side effects!

Disclaimer: The information above is not in any way intended to replace the advice of your qualified health professional. Should you have any questions regarding prescription medication you should contact your doctor or pharmacist. If you have taken Beta blockers and are concerned that you are experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned above, contact your local health professional, hospital, or emergency services number immediately.

What is stress exactly?

How does everyday stress affect your mind and body in performing situations?

And most importantly, what can you do RIGHT NOW to lower your stress levels?

Stress. What is it exactly?

Here’s a definition from thefreedictionary.com

Stress: A mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health, usually characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression.

Did you get that last part?

“…increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression.”

These are some of the main symptoms of, you guessed it, both the negative manifestation of performance arousal (performance anxiety) and an extreme positive version of performance anxiety (extreme excitement).

Now, think about this for a second. You’re sitting in a parked car, with the engine running, and out of gear. The engine is idling at a comfortable 800 r.p.m.

You rest your foot gently on the gas pedal, and the engine revs up a little, to 2000 r.p.m., and sounds pretty normal.

But what happens if you keep applying pressure to the gas? Let’s see…

…up at 3000 r.p.m – you hear the engine working a little harder, but it’s still ok…

…4000 r.p.m. – the engine starts to sound a bit strained, but it can handle it

…5000 r.p.m. now it starts to sound uncomfortable

…6000 r.p.m. the engine starts to strain as the r.p.m. needle approaches redline

…7000 r.p.m. it’s really struggling now, coping, but almost screaming under the STRESS

…8000 r.p.m. well, IF your poor engine can sustain 8000 r.p.m., it probably wont be able to for very long.

…9000 r.p.m. (don’t try this at home folks!!!)

So what’s about to happen? The ENGINE is about to OVERHEAT, and eventually BREAK DOWN. Either some small component will fail, and the engine will grind to a halt. Or, more dramatically, the engine might blow a head gasket, or just simply EXPLODE!

And why? Too much STRESS!

So back to you.

Let’s say that on your average day, your body and mind are cruising along at 2000 r.p.m.

When you get to a performance situation, your body and mind raise the revs, up to say 4000 r.p.m. You feel a gentle strain, but nothing you can’t cope with. In fact, just as many car engines, you seem to work best at this level. You have a great performance.

BUT…what happens if you have a day where there are several external and/or internal stresses on you, such as financial worries, running for public transport, getting stuck in an elevator, a late accompanist or team members, an argument with your spouse etc. Your residual stress level might be already up at 4000 r.p.m. – and that’s even before you begin getting ready for your performance!  And yep, you did the math, during your performance, your r.p.m. might be up as high as 6000 or more!  Making you feel, you guessed it, tense, nervous, increasing your heart rate, amount of perspiration, etc!

And that is ASSUMING you began the day idling down there at 800 r.p.m. What happens if the stress of yesterday stays with you? You don’t begin the day at 800r.p.m. – you’re already up at 2000r.p.m. when you get out of bed!

But then, what happens if some of the residual stress from several days, weeks, months, or even years stays with you? You might begin the day at 3000, 4000, or even 5000r.p.m – the danger being here, is that even small stressful events can have a big impact on your stress level. Bigger stressful events, like auditions and competitions, can push you way up into the redline area of 6000, 7000, 8000 r.p.m. and beyond!

And this is FAR from ideal if you want to be performing in The Zone!

Well, enough about all that car talk, let’s get to some suggestions for lowering the stress you experience during the day, as well as residual stress built up over longer periods of time:

• Sleep – get to bed before midnight, and sleep 8 hours. Some people seem to function better on 7 hours sleep, whereas others need 9. This is very individual, and can vary a lot depending on a multitude of factors, including your age
• Exercise – make sure you move your body at least 30 minutes per day! Yes, I am talking about the “E” word here (exercise! )  A gentle walk as soon as you wake up in the morning can make a difference. Power walks, jogging, or regularly working out at a gym or playing sports  can be a great help!
• Diet – don’t put junk in your engine! Imagine a high-performance sports car (back to cars again, but just for a second). What happens if you put dirty cooking oil in the petrol tank of a car? It coughs, splutters, and breaks down! What happens if you put dirty cooking oil from fried foods, ready meals, and other takeaway or fast ‘foods’ in your engine! You cough, splutter, and break down too! And your ability to deal with stress and stressful situations gets worse!
• Meditate, practise yoga, qi gong, tai chi, or take up another soft-style martial art. The mind and body learns to work together as one when doing these activities, allowing your r.p.m. to drop right down, helping to keep your body and mind stress-free
• Laugh! As mentioned in the chapters Laughing Yoga and Learn to Laugh at Yourself, in the book Performing in The Zone, laughing has a whole host of medical benefits, including stress reduction.

Reduce your stress levels, and you can improve your chances of getting to The Zone in your field of performance, as well as increase the quality of your entire life

Disclaimer: The information given here is in now way intended to replace specialist medical advice from a health professional. Should you suspect that you have a health problem you should visit a health professional immediately)

But again, like the other performance videos on this blog, the performers are having a great time living in the moment – you might even say performing in The Zone!