I am sure you have heard this phrase before during a Dodgers broadcast – a batter is “in the zone.”  Everything that comes across the plate seems to find the fat part of the bat.  Time slows down and the ball looks like a big cantaloupe.  As a coach or player, you desperately want to discover this Holy Grail and replicate it as much as possible.  And here comes the kicker … scientists have discovered a part of the brain that controls “the zone” and it may not be what you think.  It is a realm of geniuses, artists, jazz musicians and athletes.

I recently read an article by Claudia Kalb in the May 2017 edition of National Geographic entitled “What Makes a Genius?” I had one of those parting-of-the-cloud moments when things connected and made sense.  I was particularly pleased at the possibility of connecting in a meaningful way my two passions – baseball and jazz.  A small part of that article tackled the topic of how jazz musicians can improvise.  Pianist Keith Jarrett is well-known for his long improvisational flourishes lasting up to 45 minutes – a constant flow of notes making the connection between fingers, memory, ears, and creativity coming together in a split second to create music.

Famed pianist Keith Jarrett
(Photo credit – Henry Leutwyler)

Jarrett explains how he gets into the zone, “I’m bypassing the brain completely” he says.  “I am being pulled by a force that I can only be thankful for.”  His artistry is fostered by hours of practice much like an athlete – repetition, muscle memory, listening, implementing, perfecting.  Then putting everything together in a way that is not rote or repetitious.  This emerges when he is least in control.  “It is a vast space in which I TRUST there will be music.”  Notice he said, “I trust” and not “I hope.”  If you hope, you still have some doubt or self-awareness.  He doesn’t.  He is taking a full backflip into a vast realm of his mind where he TRUSTS that things will turn out right.

To go further into this topic, a study was recently done by Charles Limb, a hearing specialist and auditory surgeon at UC San Francisco on jazz musicians to see what part of the brain is engaged and disengaged when improvising.  An MRI was done on the brains of musicians while improvising.  The study found that the parts of the brain that involve self-expression and creativity were blazing and the outer network of the brain linked to attention and self-censorship were vastly silent.  This part of the brain is called the “default mode network” and it synthesizes criticism and self-awareness.  It also plays a direct role in stress levels, blood pressure, and anxiety.

Ok, so how does this apply to baseball?  I believe that being “in the zone” in baseball is related to controlling your default mode network and suspending self-criticism and self-awareness.  This should not be a new concept.  It is what all great athletes do.  When it is game time, they turn off their inhibitions, self-critique, self-analysis and TRUST their ability will manifest itself.  As a batter, if you are ruminating over what your manager may think of you, your teammates, your wife, the opposing fan on the first baseline that seems to know your mother very well, you are quite frankly up a creek without a paddle.  If you are tinkering with your mechanics at the plate, you are not shutting down that important part of the brain.  A simple distraction in a split second against a 95-mph fastball and your timing is impaired.  You don’t hit a pitch that you should and you start to press.  Maybe you get angry.  Stress levels rise, BP is up and the next thing you know you are swinging at a curve ball in the dirt for strike three.  Do this three or four times in a row and you are spiraling in self-doubt and potentially on your way towards the dreaded slump, OKC, Tulsa or worse.  You start to question your ability.

How can you silence your mind and get in the zone? What can an athlete do to disengage the default mode network?  Should you take a backflip into the deep pool of your mind after all the hours of practice and TRUST that baseball will be there?  The experts say yes.   A player should develop techniques to “cleanse the mind” and silence self-criticism.  One of the best ways to do this is to practice meditation even for very short periods during the day to build up your ability to create a clean slate in your mind.

I recently started to participate in yoga (ok, ok, I can see your eyes rolling) and the ability to corral your mind I have learned is an acquired skill.  It is not easy in this age of iPhones, constant information, and never-ending distraction of blips, bleeps, and vibrations.  In class, we start with 20 minutes of guided meditation before the actual yoga begins.  I freely admit that my mind used to jump like an angry spider monkey from tree to tree.  Thinking about a phone call, what I was going to eat for lunch, something I did poorly, worrying about the kids – it was an exercise in anything but calm tranquility.  Twenty minutes seemed like an eternity to keep my eyes closed, let alone concentrate.  Our yogi, Lulu, would explain that it is okay that your monkey jumps from tree to tree but to accept it and bring it back.  Don´t judge yourself, just bring it back.  Concentrate on your breathing, relax, slow things down, and focus. Eventually, I could make it for 20 minutes with my eyes closed and sometimes it didn’t even feel like 20 minutes had passed.  This is the practice of clearing your mind and it is a true skill – disengaging the default mode network.

Yours truly getting into “the zone.”
(Photo credit – Robb Anderson)

Once you develop this ability to calm, focus, and slow yourself down, it can be used in daily life.  In baseball, I try to foster in my sons the ability to control their young rabbit minds in moments of stress, disappointment, and worry.  Trust me, this is more of a work in progress than an achievement, but I have the hope that they will eventually get it and burn some new neural pathways.  Kids need this mechanism more than anyone as they quickly get angry, frustrated, lose their temper, and tumble.

So how does it work in real life? If you can control your breathing that is the best way to start with long deep breaths.   Close your eyes for a second and listen to your breath.  Relax your head, jaw, neck, shoulders, and arms.  Even a little phrase or personal “mantra” according to Elizabeth Bernstein of the Wall Street Journal can make you smile and bring you out of self-criticism.  Studies suggest that repeating a positive personal mantra carves neural pathways that condition you to be calmer and healthier.   This practice reduces cortisol levels (the stress hormone), enhances endurance, and reduces the perception of effort during physical activity.  One of my sons on the mound likes to use the phrase “mighty, mighty.”  It makes him laugh, gets him out of a funk and allows him to refocus.  Learn to recognize and release self-criticism.  If you can truly say, “I don’t care what anyone else thinks” you can lift a weight off your shoulders and take the dive that Keith Jarrett talked about, disengaging the brain, believing in your skills and TRUSTING that there will be baseball or something else in that vast expanse, breaking your fall.