The journey for me began many years ago when I started working at golf courses in the early 90’s. I had been a bartender for years and I was tired of listening to peoples problems. I decided I wanted to bartend at a place where people were happy. Naively, I thought golf clubs would be the place to be since people were there to play a GAME.... lol.
I was a little disappointed to find many golfers were as stressed out and miserable as my old customers and I couldn’t understand it. I used to think to myself, "Hey, they were not at work and they were playing in natural beautiful surroundings!" Whats the Problem" Then by becoming a golfer, I learned about the frustrations first hand. It was while working for three years at golf clubs that I learned how to play golf, and As it happened, into the second year working at the club, I began a Yoga Teacher Training course and I immediately saw how my game improved because of this.
This is how it first worked for me, before I went out to play I would do yoga in the ladies locker. At that time in 1994 I Didn’t notice anyone else stretching before games or stretching at the driving range and I used to get all kinds of funny looks. I didn’t care when I played at the course I worked at, but it made me feel too intimidated when I played golf at any other courses. So I wouldn’t warm up with Yoga Stretches. In those early days I discovered if I didn’t warm up it would take until the fifth hole to be performing at my best. Alternatively when I stretched and warmed up I was performing my best on the first tee. I also became aware that stretching before hand relieved my first tee jitters.
As time went by and I went deeper into the Yoga Teacher Training, we worked more on the mind and meditation and I learned first hand how amazing the yoga principles & Sutra's are to help the mind and emotions while playing golf. Having the discipline I learned through Yoga and transferring them to the game, I learned was even more significant than having all my shots perfected, to play an enjoyable game.
The Yoga Principles teach how to: be- in- the- Present Moment, Non- Attachment, a Positive Attitude, going with the flow, Tolerance, Discipline, Acceptance, Honesty and Humility. See a connection to how this might help in golf.... What I didn't expect was that I would become more spiritual by playing golf!!!! I realized the yoga concepts became deeper ingrained while I played, because golf brings instant results. The golf course honestly shows you, where your state of mind is. (Is it a battlefield, or is it a playground)? So by using the same virtues like having to be in the moment each time you come to the yoga mat, I tried to be present to each golf hole and not bring the past shots into the moment. This was a really hard concept to golfers to grasp when I first started teaching Yoga for Golf. I had the ide
a to start Yoga for Golf in 1995, after I continued to see the golf course was a battlefield for most golfers. More than anything, I knew the concepts I was learning could help golfers become more relaxed and happy because it worked for me. It wasn’t until 1997 that I finally taught my first session at a golf course. And to this day I have been helping golfers Be Happy while lowering their Handicap by working on their inner game and awakening to the mind/body connection.
What methods have you used to Evolve into an Enlightened Golfer? And to.....
Create Great Golf!
Margarit
-Amazon Best Selling Author of "How to Become a Golf Goddess", Connect to your Inner Core with Yoga for Golf and so much more!"
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