Peter Connolly
Occupational Therapist and founder of FITMINDS
I have worked as a Mental Health Occupational Therapist for 23 yrs. Mid way through my career I started to struggle initially with stress & then insomnia. I got to the point where exercise & holidays no longer was enough and a bigger change was needed.
Although I studied and was qualified to do my job I wasn’t equipped with the skills of how to manage my own mind when under pressure in very challenging and emotionally demanding environments.
Over the next 10 years I pursued & studied skillsets designed to support professionals preform, recover & stay well in high pressured roles.
This included additional training in Breathwork with Oxygen Advantage. Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Functional Imagery Training (FIT) Mindfulness Sports Performance Enhancement (MSPE).
These are all helpful skills that start with the basics e. g. breathing & focus as a way of getting to know our minds, how we relate to our work and being human.
I would love to help you build Breathwork into your daily practice to support you do what matters with less stress.
Areas of Expertise
MSPE is a cutting-edge mental training program for athletes, coaches, and other performers.
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Drawing on research from the sports sciences, psychology, and neuroscience, it provides specific guidance in building mindfulness skills essential to consistent, optimal performance.
The training focuses on key skills to enhance well-being & performance, build tolerance and presence for pressure moments and manage distractions and setbacks.
- The sessions are delivered over 6-8 sessions and usually take about 6 hrs.
- MSPE is applied to each sport, providing sport-specific practices and cues that can be applied to individual and team training sessions and match day.
- Once these foundational skills have been developed, we can add top-up booster sessions.
We have trained with the MSPE founders Keith Kaufman & Timothy Pineau.
Breathwork with Oxygen Advantage
Oxygen Advantage is a breathing method developed by Patrick McKeown that aims to improve health, sports performance, and focus by training functional breathing.
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It emphasises breathing lightly through the nose, reducing over-breathing, and increasing tolerance to carbon dioxide to improve oxygen delivery in the body. Techniques include breath-hold exercises and slow nasal breathing to enhance endurance, sleep quality, and stress resilience.
The method is based on principles of functional breathing and the Bohr effect, aiming to optimise how your body uses oxygen rather than simply increasing how much you take in.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an educational program that teaches mindfulness techniques to help individuals manage stress and improve well-being.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a type of psychotherapy that helps individuals manage difficult thoughts and feelings by accepting them, rather than trying to control or eliminate them.
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It focuses on building psychological flexibility, which allows people to make meaningful choices aligned with their values, even when experiencing uncomfortable emotions.
ACT is not about feeling good, but rather about living a rich and meaningful life by accepting what is outside of your control and committing to actions that align with your values.
Functional Imagery Training (FIT)
Functional Imagery Training (FIT) is a technique that combines motivational interviewing with imagery exercises to enhance motivation and support behavior change. It helps individuals achieve goals by tapping into their intrinsic motivation through vivid, goal-centered imagery practices.
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Core Components:
- Motivational Interviewing:FIT incorporates the principles of motivational interviewing, which is a collaborative, goal-oriented style of communication that helps people explore and resolve ambivalence to change.
- Imagery Training:FIT utilizes mental imagery to strengthen motivation and build confidence. It involves creating vivid, multisensory, and personalized images of goal achievement, as well as potential obstacles and how to overcome them.
Podcasts
