Abstract
Research into the lived experiences of how Indian athletes feel and make sense of the scared sources such as prayers, rituals and chanting in their sporting context is sparse. The present study therefore investigates how budding athlete’s experience and apply prayers and rituals in conjunction with their training sessions. Six Indian track and field athletes were interviewed twice using semi-structured guides. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed to budding athletes’ lived experiences and four superordinate themes were identified: alliance of mind-body connection, sense of empowerment, breath awareness, pre-performance routine and clarity in sense of purpose and direction. Collectively, the findings highlight the important role that prayers play for Indian athletes, and how it can benefit them holistically, particularly in dealing with the demanding nature of the profession. The use of spiritual practices such as meditation, mindfulness, prayer, and spiritual rituals is encouraged for budding athletes, which aligns with the goals of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Furthermore, based on the ameliorating effects of these practices, a psychosocial module can be developed that would tailor the requirements of the athletes.
Presenters
Kashish PandeyPh.D Scholar, Applied Psychology, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, Haryana, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Scared, Sources, Indian, Athletes, IPA, Themes, Psycho-social, Module
