Hello, I'm Ella Archamahi, and welcome to the conversation.
The program that amplifies women's voices, which is really just a fancy way of saying that we bring two women together from different parts of the world who share an expertise and see what happens with the Olympics just around the corner.
This week, we bring you two sports psychologists who are supporting elite athletes to reach their full potential.
Doctor Kakejo de Sabe is part of Team South Africa heading to the Olympic Games.
And doctor Kensa Gunter helps out athletes in all kinds of sports and works with the NFL and NBA.
Kokejo Kensa, welcome to the conversation.
Thank you.
It's a pleasure to be here.
Thank you, Ella.
It's a pleasure to be here.
So let's start with the big question.
How does a psychologist help improve an athlete's performance?
KENSA I think quite simply, if we think about the body and the mind and body being connected, then it becomes almost a very clear understanding of how thinking about the ways in which we feel, behave, think, which is what psychology is, really does impact the way we show up, right?
Which is performance.
And so when we think about making sure that our mind, that our thoughts are in line with what it is that we're trying to do physically, that's where you get that connection between your mind, your body to create and hopefully produce optimal performance.
So, ladies, we're all familiar with the stereotype of stress getting the better of someone's performance and your mind getting in your own way, getting choked up, losing confidence, especially when people are watching.
It happens in so many walks of life.
I know it as a stand up comic.
It can definitely affect me.
How do you help athletes who are going through that, that kind of feeling of stress and choked upness just absolutely affecting their performance?