The Flow Zone

You ignore everything and just concentrate. You forget about the rest of the world and become part of the car and the track. It's a very special feeling. You're completely out of this world and completely into it.
Jochen Rindt

The flow state, sometimes called the peak performance state, or the zone, is that state of awareness when you are totally absorbed in what you are doing, where body and mind are working together effortlessly and when everything just seems to 'click'. Here's how a swimmer, interviewed by flow researcher Susan Jackson, describes this kind of experience:

'When I've been happiest with my performance, I've sort of felt one with the water and my stroke and everything I was really tuned into what I was doing. I knew exactly how I was going to swim the race, and I just knew I had it all under control... I was just totally absorbed in my stroke... And I just swam and won, and I was totally in control of the situation. It felt really cool.'

In sport, the flow state is often linked not only with heightened enjoyment but with the achievement of peak performance. Flow researcher Csikszentmihalyi has identified nine components to the flow state:

1. 1. A balance between the challenge and the skills you have
2. 2. Total absorption in the experience
3. 3. Clear goals
4. 4. Unambiguous feedback on your performance
5. 5. Concentration on the task at hand
6. 6.A sense of control (self-confidence)
7. 7.Loss of self-consciousness
8. 8.Transformation of time
9. 9.Pure enjoyment of the experience

Developing your ability in these areas can help you access the flow state more consistently. Hypnosis has been shown to be one of the best methods for accessing and intensifying the flow experience.