Wellness Posts by Ruth Smith

Strengthen the Mind-Body-Spirit Connection: 5 Ways Athletes Use Mental Imagery for Bigger, Bolder Victories

2025-12-08T08:00:00Z

Wellness.com - Strengthen the Mind-Body-Spirit Connection: 5 Ways Athletes Use Mental Imagery for Bigger, Bolder Victories by Ruth Smith

Sport psychology has now been around for 100 years. Since 1925, the value of an athlete’s mental game has steadily intensified as more research validates how the mind influences physical performance. And not just for professional athletes - this trend has affected all levels of athletics, even youth recreational leagues. Over time, different strategies have been employed to address a variety of mental struggles. If the athlete’s mind wonders, they learn how to concentrate. If their commitment lags, they learn motivational skills. If their anxiety or nervousness is too high, they learn ways to calm their system. And then there’s mental imagery, the master of ceremonies, the empress of mind-body ideology in the sports world. This strategy utilizes the athlete’s imagination to develop the required skills and prepare for competition. According to imaging research, imagined movement produces the same brain activity as real-life movement. So, shooting a basketball or running hurdles in your mind is literally mental practice. Indeed, mental imagery can be a powerful game-changer. When the athlete’s imagination has created full-sensory software of the desired experience, the mind simply replays the program to produce the physical output. Over and over, the athlete imagines perfect performance down to the smallest detail, setting up the mental plan for physical performance at game time. Yet, mental imagery can be ramped up for bigger, bolder victories. Additional components can be included in the traditional practice for greater impact. Let’s align your mind, body, and spirit so all of you moves forward toward athletic excellence. Following are five ways to refine your imagery training. Each suggestion strengthens your mind-body-spirit connection and, in turn, drives physical gains. You can gradually weave them in one at a time or zealously dive-in headfirst with all five simultaneously. Your Intention. Before you begin your imagery session, determine your specific intention (aka performance goal). When too broad or undefined, your imagination installs sloppy neural rewiring. So, sharpen the focus and promote accuracy. Your Emotions. As you mentally practice, turn up your emotional volume. You play and compete for some super-charged emotional reason. Bring that reason – the thrill of the challenge, the inspiration of excellence, the pride of accomplishment - into your mental rehearsal and fully embrace it. Emotions are amazing change-agents. Your Beliefs. Mental imagery is all about possibilities, about courageously pushing beyond your present-day physical ability. However, you must believe your imaginary scenarios are achievable in the real world. Whether you want to break world or even personal records, first evaluate then modify your beliefs accordingly. Your Words.- Often, athletes say “next game” or “in the future” which inhibits wanted change in the now. Instead, use present-tense words as you talk to yourself throughout each imagery session. For example, start sentences with “I am” instead of “I will be” and notice the internal shift. For sure, all mantras must be structured this way. Your Spirit. Your spirit – your inner essence of love - benefits all aspects of your life, including your athletic aspirations. By integrating love into your imagery training, you deepen its positive energy on your performance. In your mind, create loving feelings toward yourself, your coach, your teammates, your fans, and even your opponents. Yes, loving competition is possible and facilitates your best flow-state. High performance athletes are especially eager to face the fringes, to push the existing limits of physicality. Even small tweaks in their game may make the winning difference at their level of competition. For this reason, mental imagery is a regular staple in their training program, and any effective upgrade is usually welcomed. However, recreational athletes also strive for better performance. If you want to elevate your stats, step up your mental game. Read and learn more about mental imagery and dedicate 10 minutes each day, in your own home, in your favorite chair. As the gold standard, this practice offers infinite opportunities and potential. As a very important sidenote, know that mental imagery, including these five suggestions, is relevant and practical for any kind of physical activity. Musicians, singers, dancers, and actors can absolutely tap into this mind-body-spirit advantage. As a physical therapist and certified clinical hypnotherapist, Ruth E. Smith offers a bold and intriguing mind-body-spirit approach for physical recovery. Her book, - Without Boundaries: Optimizing Physical Recovery with Self-Hypnosis - , and other writings connect and align with the powers of the mind: belief, language, mindfulness, and imagination. Her campaign, - “Be Aware and Power Up!” - enlightens and motivates healthcare consumers about hopeful perspectives and strategies for excellent results. Connect on - Facebook - and - Substack. For more information visit - www.ruthesmithauthor.com.

Pain is More Than a Body Issue: Five Ways to Reduce Pain with Your Mind

2025-11-19T08:00:00Z

Wellness.com - Pain is More Than a Body Issue: Five Ways to Reduce Pain with Your Mind by Ruth Smith

Got pain? Ongoing pain (aka chronic pain) that impedes your work and fun? If so, you are not alone. Nearly one in five Americans is living this same desperation and blues. Unfortunately, our pain epidemic continues to destroy millions of lives - According to -The Impact of Pain in America - U.S. Pain Foundation-, there are reasons to talk about the new hope in pain management. As researchers learn more, new evidence is debunking much of the current understanding about pain. Whether you stub your toe or crush your kneecap, your experience is way more complex than you ever realized. You’ve known about the bleeding and swelling and other tissue damage. However, there is much more to your pain story. Not every deranged, degenerating joint hurts and not every needle stick is dreaded. Yet, on the flip side, some debilitating pain conditions such as fibromyalgia show up without any good reason, no traumatic injury, no germ of any kind. Setting the research studies aside, personal experiences definitely deepen the complexity of pain. To better understand the nature of pain, we must give more credit to the mental factors. Across the board, whether you know the cause of your pain or not, your mind contributes to its frequency, duration, and intensity. Below are five ways to use your mind for pain relief. You may already employ these strategies to some extent through natural learning. Even so, giving credit where credit is due will acknowledge the power of your mind. 1. Correct Your Beliefs. Since beliefs subconsciously affect your pain perception, take an inventory of your beliefs. Three (mis)beliefs commonly worsen pain symptoms. First, pain is bad and should be avoided at all costs. Correction: pain is your body’s natural alarm system and should always be heeded. Second, physical activity worsens pain. Correction: appropriate physical activity alleviates pain. Third, pain medicine is the only effective treatment. Correction: many non-drug treatments are effective pain treatments. 2. Minimize Your Mental Stress. Worrying about your marriage or kids or pets ramps up your pain. Similarly, beating yourself up about past regrets or creating fear around upcoming events also over activates your pain system. Generally, any kind of obsessive, torturous thought must be minimized. You choose how to make this happen. Professional counseling is advised for thoughts that are difficult to shake off. 3. Practice Mindfulness. Paying attention to your body’s sensations facilitates wise decision-making. When slight discomfort first shows up, mindfulness allows you to prevent escalation. For example, if your hip begins to hurt after one mile of walking, you may decide to slow down the pace. If the pain continues, your awareness may advise you to stop completely. As you routinely tune into your body, your mind is more willing and able to make relief-producing adjustments in your behavior. 4. Choose Happy Emotions. Although your emotions reside in your subconscious mind, you can consciously choose happy states. And happy emotions automatically make your body feel better. Better means less pain. So, find excitement and inspiration in the world around you. Smile and laugh frequently. Intentionally expand your happiness and feel the relief! - 5. Remember Your Spiritual Essence. When you remember your spiritual essence, your body lightens and rejuvenates. Breathe in love, peace, and joy and notice your pain fade. Use techniques like focused meditation at first but eventually strive for moment-by-moment engagement. Even a simple self-mantra like, “I am love, I am peace, I am joy” invites your true nature to rebalance the inflamed condition. The new hope for pain relief stems from a revived sense of self-empowerment. All mind strategies reclaim your personal locus of control. You either opt in or opt out, then you implement and advance your choices as you see fit. Mediocre pain management leads to mediocre living. Let’s move forward toward excellence instead! - As a physical therapist and certified clinical hypnotherapist, Ruth E. Smith offers a bold and intriguing mind-body-spirit approach for physical recovery. Her book, - Without Boundaries: Optimizing Physical Recovery with Self-Hypnosis - , and other writings connect and align with the powers of the mind: belief, language, mindfulness, and imagination. Her campaign, - “Be Aware and Power Up!” - enlightens and motivates healthcare consumers about hopeful perspectives and strategies for excellent results. Connect on - Facebook - and - Substack. For more resources visit - https://www.ruthesmithauthor.com.

Building Trust for Better Healing: 3 Ways to Increase Trust with Your Physical Therapist

2025-10-01T07:00:00Z

Wellness.com - Building Trust for Better Healing: 3 Ways to Increase Trust with Your Physical Therapist by Ruth Smith

A trusting relationship with your physical therapist (PT) is essential to healing. Trust is a matter of the mind and ample research indicates that the mind-body connection is real. So, bumping up the trust level directly improves your healing potential. Trust reassures and steadies your emotional mind. You can think freely, breathe easily, and respond courageously. Your mind relaxes, your heart rate lightens, and you move with eager purpose. Your mind opens, your immune system strengthens, and your body's tissues heal. Building and maintaining trust requires cooperation and merging of expectations and responsibilities. In the PT-patient relationship, the PT serves as the guide, mentor, and cheerleader while the patient makes the critical leadership decisions. To be clear, you – as the patient – are the boss of your healing experience. Sometimes, the PT may forget and become a bit “bossy.” And sometimes, you may forget to take the lead. As a physical therapist, I want to help you remain at the helm, holding the reigns, directing the show, and steering the ship. You need to know what to expect from your PT to avoid this role confusion. Following are three essential expectations that your physical therapist must value and routinely practice. As their execution improves, your trust will automatically expand. In turn, your body will heal faster and better. 1.Careful Language: - Your PT must choose words that encourage healing. Words create images in your mind and if these images stimulate fear or doubt, your body’s healing will be stifled. Instead, uplifting words that support hope and possibilities motivate the natural healing process. 2.Careful Listening: - Your PT must intensely listen to your full story, including current life stressors. They must hear the authentic emotions of your situation. You must feel understood when sharing your “gut” instincts and intuition. Your goals – what matters most to you – should always clearly lead the treatment plan. 3.Careful Planning: - Your PT must proceed humbly as you progress in therapy. After the initial evaluation, the first step is taken and then more evaluation is needed before the next step. In other words, no one can predict the exact step-by-step timeline. The plan must be continually modified according to your body’s response to the previous step. For sure, the PT’s humility is required to allow for not knowing and to suggest any necessary pivots. If your physical therapist appreciates the mind-body connection, they will already be prioritizing these expectations. However, if your PT is not seemingly tuned into this reality, then they may be inadvertently disabling your progress and recovery. Since you are your healing boss, you have two choices, either express your concern and request a change in their approach or shop around and find a different therapist. In case you are wondering, these same expectations apply to other healthcare professionals – your doctor, your nurse, your chiropractor, your occupational therapist, your speech therapist, and all others. Whoever is a member of your healthcare team must respect the mind-body connection. Remember, you are the leader responsible for making decisions about your team’s membership. From my professional experience, I have observed patients who assumed the leadership position and those who did not. By far, the most successful outcomes occurred when the patient ignored the naysayers, attended to their emotional needs, and adapted throughout their healing journey. These patients broke glass ceilings and dismantled boxes. In a nutshell, it’s all about upgrading your mind, consciously and subconsciously. Do it boldly, with passion and confidence! - As a physical therapist and certified clinical hypnotherapist, Ruth E. Smith offers a bold and intriguing mind-body-spirit approach for physical recovery. Her book, - Without Boundaries: Optimizing Physical Recovery with Self-Hypnosis - , and other writings connect and align with the powers of the mind: belief, language, mindfulness, and imagination. Her campaign, - “Be Aware and Power Up!” - enlightens and motivates healthcare consumers about hopeful perspectives and strategies for excellent results. Connect on - Facebook - and - Substack.

Language that Heals: Three Storytelling Tips for Better, Faster Results

2025-09-10T07:00:00Z

Wellness.com - Language that Heals: Three Storytelling Tips for Better, Faster Results by Ruth Smith

Be aware when telling your healing story about your recent knee surgery or back injury or other physical troubles. Of course, people want to know because they value and support you and your success. So, it’s inevitable that your story will be relevant in various conversations. As a physical therapist, or PT, I always ask a patient about their present state, their story about how they are feeling, how their body is performing, and how life is affecting their recovery. And with family and friends, I express my concern by acknowledging and inquiring about their physical struggle. In this way, storytelling about one’s physical ailment is common throughout our culture. Unfortunately, most people tell their story in ways that inhibit their healing connection. What you say and how you say it affect your emotions, and your emotions affect your body. Strong evidence of this mind-body connection has been available and understood in past and ongoing research. To be clear, language that pumps up energy and hope also pumps up tissue healing. In contrast, language that causes fear, doubt, or frustration debilitates the mending process. Since your story can be shared in different ways, choose a strategy that mobilizes your healing power. Allow your storytelling to inspire your physical recovery. Following are three tips that will align your mind and body for better, faster results. Start them now, and over time these tips will automatically bolster your conversations. Strong Commitment. Tell them about your strong commitment to cooperate with the restoration of your body’s tissues. Maybe assure them about getting adequate sleep and nutrition or performing PT-prescribed exercises. For example, you might say, “My healing is going well because I enjoy eight hours of quality sleep every night” or “I am happy to report that I consistently perform the exercises that my PT has prescribed.” - Clear Understanding.- Tell them about your clear understanding of the healing details that your tissues are experiencing at that moment. Possibly inform them about your need for rest or your readiness of flexibility training. For example, you might say, “Right now, I must rest and relieve my tissues in order to expedite their healing” or “According to my PT, increasing my flexibility is most important at this time.” - Renewed Gratitude. Tell them about your renewed gratitude of your innate, subconscious intelligence that eagerly enlightens the entire healing process. Express your amazement about its ramped-up healing effort during sleep or its unrelenting resilience under nonideal healing circumstances. For example, you might say, “I am amazed that my body feels and performs much better today than yesterday” or “Even though I was unable to attend physical therapy this week, my body is still making great improvements.” - When you tell your story to others out loud, you also tell your story to yourself. Naturally, the more your ears and mind hear your story, the greater your physical healing is enhanced. Similarly, when you tell your story silently to yourself, your body responds. So, talk to yourself often and passionately. Feed your mind with bold, gutsy, and courageous healing stories. Even though these stories are creatively uplifting, they also must be factual and real. Mostly importantly, you must enthusiastically believe your own story. Your words can’t fool the mind-body relationship, so Pollyanna-style storytelling is not advised. There’s just one prerequisite: you must have the desire to take the first step. Then once you taste the sweet impact of self-empowerment, your desire will inherently expand and drive you to the next level. So go forth, looking forward to unknown and undefined healing possibilities! - As a physical therapist and certified clinical hypnotherapist, Ruth E. Smith offers a bold and intriguing mind-body-spirit approach for physical recovery. Her book, - Without Boundaries: Optimizing Physical Recovery with Self-Hypnosis - , and other writings connect and align with the powers of the mind: belief, language, mindfulness, and imagination. Her campaign, - “Be Aware and Power Up!” - enlightens and motivates healthcare consumers about hopeful perspectives and strategies for excellent results. Connect on - Facebook - and - Substack.