Ryan Stock was an amazing coach back in the day. He shifted what he knew about coaching, put it in to his company, and created something truly special. MindSport has a phenomenal product because it focuses on the most neglected part of training. The brain. Check out the wisdom Ryan drops.
Who are you?
Ryan Stock, the founder of MindSport, the #1 athlete meditation app available for free right now on both the iOS and Google Play markets. We help athletes and coaches improve their athletic performance through guided and movement meditations. I also wrote a book called Buddha Was A Baller and am a former NCAA athlete and basketball coach of over 15 years.
What is MindSport and why is it so important?
There are only three ways to improve as an athlete. Improve physically, through things like conditioning or lifting. Improve skill wise, through drills and individual work. And then improving your mind. Coaches and athletes spend an unbalanced amount of time on the first two areas of their game, but very rarely address the mental side of sports. Which, ironically, is the most important part of the game. Without the mental side of your game being balanced, the physical side will always be limited or even unsuccessful.
With MindSport we allow athletes and coaches to greatly improve their mental performance through our guided and movement meditations, while also helping them deal with some of the difficult parts of their lives, both on and off the floor. With sessions on topics varying from visualization and motivation, then others dealing with some of the tougher issues like learning to fail forward or deal with anxiety and stress, MindSport without a doubt has something within our app just for you.
If someone was starting their journey of meditation, what would you suggest them start with?
MindSport has two series in particular for the beginning meditator in our Starting Five series and Minute Meditations, and we're excited to announce we'll have a two week introductory course that will launch in September as well. Make sure you follow us on social media to see when that series is available @mymindsport.
MindSport also has sessions on a variety of topics that an athlete or coach may be struggling with so I'd encourage your followers to just explore the app a little bit and see what speaks to them. Then, if they still have questions they can actually chat with me within the app through our chat feature and I'll give them some more tips and feedback there too.
What have you recently learned?
I just finished up my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training through Lifetime fitness and that was really a transformative experience for me. One of the quotes that stood out to me the most, especially for those that are working of their own growth and development is that, "No amount of self-improvement can make up for a lack of self-acceptance."
That lesson in particular really hit home for me in that we first must practice that self-love, that self-acceptance, before we worry about the other areas of our lives. No amount of knowledge or growth will make us happy if we don't first love the person that we are, inside and out, with all our flaws and imperfections. It takes time, a lot of work, and it's an ongoing process no doubt, but to me that quote really helps to establish the foundation of who I am going to become as a person.
I will be now traveling around the country working with professional and college athletes, teaching them the basics of Yoga and athlete meditation, showing them how it will help them to perform at a higher level. If any of your readers have questions or would like to see about having a MindSport teacher come to their campus and work with their athletes feel free to have them reach out to me at ryan@mymindsport.com.
Coach JFry-
This is something I truly believe in. It is time for coaches, managers, and leaders to understand what the effects of improving this can do. The mind is the most powerful organ we have, takes the most calories/energy, and is the least talked about. We spend so much time talking about the physicality of everything BUT the brain. The brain is ALL PHYSICAL and we NEED to pay attention to it.