More Freedom With Your Golf Club

By Author: Stephen Ladd
Total Articles: 20
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Believe it or not, the simple act of a deep breath - when done properly - instantly releases tension from your body and allows you to achieve the fluid and effortless swing of the top tour players, with any golf club in your bag.

Most golfers know that there is a calming benefit to breathing deeply, and many attempt to do so during stressful situations on the course.

The problem is that almost nobody knows how to take a deep breath.

Most people have learned to breathe in a shallow and ineffective way, and can gain significant benefits from practicing what is called "diaphragmatic breathing".

First, a quick test to find out your current situation:

While standing, place your right hand on your chest and your left hand on your stomach.

Next take a deep breath and notice which direction each of your hands move.

It is most common to find that your right hand (the one on your chest) moves upwards, while your left hand (on your stomach) moves inwards towards your spine,

If this happened to you, it means that you are actually taking a shallow "chest breath", and only using one-third ...
... of your potential breathing capacity. This can actually increase tension and stress in your body, especially in the small muscles of the neck, shoulders and hands. This can cause you to grip your golf club too tightly and over-swing.

The solution - diaphragmatic breathing.

It's actually quite easy.

Once again, place your right hand on your chest and your left hand on your stomach.

Now this time as you inhale, keep your right (chest) hand still, and allow the air to fill up and expand in your stomach (left hand moving away from the spine).

It is sometimes helpful to imagine your stomach as a balloon, and as you inhale the air inflates the balloon.

Only after the "abdomen balloon" is filled do you allow the chest to expand and fill with air.

Hint: Watch small children, as they have not yet "unlearned" this natural breathing process and can be excellent role models for you.

As you exhale simply allow all tension to release from your body and mind.

Although it may take a small bit of conscious effort in the beginning to re-learn this breathing pattern, it is well worth it to have this simple tool at your disposal to instantly alleviate stress and create more freedom in your swing with every golf club.
Stephen Ladd is a Golf Performance Coach pioneering breakthrough energy psychology techniques, and the creator of Renegade Mindset Techniques for Golf. Visit http://www.RenegadeMentalGolf.com for free reports, videos, newsletters and an 8 part email mini-tutorial!