Learn How To Visualize
Some of you have reached out about Chevreul’s Pendulum. I think it is a great exercise to develop improved visualization skills for mental recall and mental rehearsal. This practice can have a dramatic effect on improving your overall bowling performance. It was a game changer in my career!
Sit in a chair and grasp the pendulum between your thumb and forefinger of your dominant hand. Rest your elbow on your leg with the pendulum handing down about ten inches from your hand. See Figure 2-1. (You can make your own pendulum by tying a ring to a string.)
While keeping your eyes open and watching the pendulum, focus your attention on the exhalation phase of your breathing rhythm and allow your body to relax…
Watch the pendulum closely and remain relaxed, but picture in your own mind the pendulum swinging freely toward you and away from you (Figure 2-2). After 10 to 20 seconds the pendulum will begin to swing in this direction without you consciously moving it.
Now imagine or visualize the pendulum changing directions and swinging from side to side (from C to D in Figure 2-2). Visualize this in your mind (with the eyes open and watching the pendulum) until the pendulum begins moving in this direction.
After it’s swinging freely in this direction, imagine it moving in a circle in a clockwise direction until the pendulum moves in the circle. Then take a deep breath, and flex and stretch as you complete the exercise.
When doing Chevreul’s pendulum, the pendulum changes directions as you visualize the change yet you are not consciously making it move. What is actually taking place is an unconscious response which is called subliminal motor movement. The muscles of the arm are contracting in the same sequence as if you are consciously moving the pendulum. But what is actually happening is happening on a subconscious level. You are thinking about the movement – and visualizing it – but the movements are taking place on a subliminal level which is too minor to perceive. The hand and fingers may not be moving enough to be seen. However, the length of the pendulum chain magnifies the movement so we can see it.
When doing mental practice to improve a specific bowling skill such as your swing, footwork, release, you are imprinting your mind, the nervous system and the muscular system with the proper blueprint of how to do the skill. As long as you visualize the movement from your own eyes – from within – and feel what is taking place within the body as well as visualize the end result such as the bowling ball following the perfect ball path down the lane, the body will actually perform the exact motions needed to achieve the end result; but the body will do so on a subliminal level.
