The Zone is the holy grail of sport. Athletes who experience it describe it as the ultimate state, a sort of nirvana, a pinnacle of achievement to reach and enjoy. It is often portrayed as a mysterious, altered state where performance is effortless, trouble-free and near to perfection. Many feel they can anticipate events, permitting them to take action before their opponent. The stress and anxiety of performing vanishes leaving them free to function without fear of consequences.

Another commonly reported phenomenon is the nature in which The Zone is experienced: usually, it occurs unexpectedly. Athletes will suddenly find themselves in it. Then as soon as they acknowledge it, they lose it. Those who do feel able to enter it at will are generally elite athletes and even in these cases it occurs more often during training than in competition.

Michael Jordan, one of basketball’s greatest talents, described one particular game where everything he attempted worked; it was too easy and felt he could do no wrong. But as soon as he thought to himself, ‘I must be in The Zone,’ it was gone.

So what is this state? What is this ability that allows us to function beyond our normal everyday capacity? What evolutionary purpose does it serve? Is it a primitive ability? Have the comforts of modern civilisation rendered it obsolete, or does The Zone represent the next stage in our evolution - a sort of higher state of consciousness?

I believe The Zone is a primitive ability and therefore an automatic function triggered by circumstances. It’s a place we arrive at when we let go and allow it to happen. We cannot get there directly by deliberately trying, any more than we can get to sleep quicker by shutting our eyes tighter. If we are concerned about getting there we introduce an element of effort that I believe is the opposite of what is required. Even elite athletes often experience The Zone by ‘accident’ - they didn’t deliberately try to get there. One moment they are performing, the next it’s just happening.

A physiological description of what happens when we lift an arm appears complicated when all the electrical, chemical and mechanical processes are considered. In reality we don’t need to know any of this because we just lift our arm. The complexities of The Zone are therefore in its definition. To enter it is far easier if we keep it simple and learn to get out of the way. The challenge of sport provides the means for our in-built ‘survival’ mechanisms to kick in and take us there - if we let it happen. What we feel in The Zone is our organism operating at its optimum, with every part of our body performing its function to full capacity; our thought processes call up the most appropriate learnt skill pattern aided by our inbuilt coordination reflexes. All components of the movement are fully integrated, working as nature intended.

Training methods that aim to improve specific skills and sensations associated with The Zone are, I believe, misguided. Whilst they may lead to some improvements, they will not deliver a true Zone performance. This approach can see only the destination and ignores the journey required to take us there. For example, it is not necessary to train in order to improve how quickly we can shift attention from one thing to another, because the ability is already there. Playing your sport with the right approach will help to sharpen these abilities. Smiling is associated with happiness; but it would be madness to strengthen the facial muscles used to smile in order to become more content. I believe we all have the ability to switch on and perform - we just have to learn to allow the process to work.

Roy Palmer is a teacher of The Alexander Technique and has studied performance enhancement in sport and running for the last 10 years. Roy believes that modern training methods are leading to injury and limited development in sports people. More information about his unique training techniques can be found by clicking Zone Mind or in his new book Zone Mind, Zone Body available worldwide from Amazon and Barnes & Noble..