June 30, 2021 - Tyler Downs, a 17-year old, won the 3-meter springboard completion at the US Olympic Trials to qualify for the Olympics. He wasn’t expected to win, and the Olympics will be only his 2nd international competition. In fact, he beat out his 32-year old idol and two-time Olymipan, David Boudi, who ended up placing third, one spot short of making the Olympics.

When asked about the victory after the competition, Downs said, “A lot of mental training from my coach.” That really struck me. Instead of talking about his physical training and learning all these dives, the thing he said about his coach is that his coached help him train his mind.

The more I do yoga, the more I think that is really the key. We can do lots of postures and physical practices, but in the end, it’s the mind that matters. A practice I like, and we do in class today, is to find a target for the mind. Anything to settle the mind on…choosing one of the senses can be a good option. And then keep the mind on that target. You can think of it like when you take a walk. You have done it so many times, you don’t have to worry about the body doing it, it just does it, and you are free to let the body do it’s thing and center the mind. It’s fun to try the yoga practice in the same way. Let the body do the practice, and make the practice about focusing the mind on a target.

I hope you enjoy it…and then...on to the Olympics!