We don’t view mindful performance as a single event or a future outcome, we hold it as a present moment experience of the performer at their authentic best: in flow, at choice, and navigating with grace and grit. – mPEAK
Mindfulness, Performance, Enhancement and Knowledge (mPEAK) is an eight-week program for leaders, executives, athletes, law enforcement and first responders, performing artists, or anyone who pushes themselves toward excellence.
It was developed in conjunction with the US National BMX cycling Team in 2014 as a collaboration between the team’s coaches, UC San Diego neuroscientists Drs. Lori Haase, Martin Paulus, and the UCSD Center for Mindfulness leaders Executive Director Dr. Steven Hickman and Managing Director Allan Goldstein. It was designed to support high-level athletes in becoming more resilient to high demands and pressure in competitive sports and ultimately optimize sports performance (see Haase et al., 2015). A mindfulness-based intervention that today is applied to many areas of performance.
The foundation of this program is drawn from the empirically supported Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. It includes specific practices, exercises and themes built on the latest brain research on peak performance, resilience, focus, and “flow.”
The four key pillars of mPEAK are interoception (sensitivity to body experience); intentional versus default mode of thinking and acting; orientation toward pain and difficulty (versus avoidance); and rejection of perfectionism (acceptance or tolerance of what is).
This program is an intensive course in mindfulness training for those who seek to draw upon this evidence-based practice to achieve goals and discover, expand or redefine what is possible in life, both personally and professionally.
As with physical training, this mental-emotional training is based on the understanding that optimal outcomes occur when participants engage in the practices and use these skills regularly.
Some of the themes covered during mPEAK include:
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