Congruence: Merging Mind, Body & Emotions to Find the Spirit in Sport, Workand LIFEBy Julio TafforelliIn this day and age there are countless approaches to high achievement infitness, wellness, nutrition and sports performance and LIFE. In the fitness realm we have access to many effective training modalities (cardio, strength, power, endurance, etc.), sub-modalities (free weights, functional training, stability ball, plyometrics, pilates, etc.), and cross-pollinations (yoga-lates, Tae-Bo, weights on stability balls, etc.). Thousands of dollars are spent each year researching tiny muscle fibres of the abdominals to determine the relevance of the core in movement. Millions of dollars are spent each year researching and promoting miracle nutrition and dietary supplement approaches.It is indeed exciting to have access to such a myriad of advanced approaches totraining the body, but in our efforts to achieve the physique or athleticperformance we desire, it is quite easy to forget that we are in fact far more thanjust a physical body. In our mad dash to learn the latest training techniques and to discover the perfect diet and fitness program to fit our specific body type, it is very easy to overlook the overriding power of THOUGHT and FEELING in our sport, vitality and life. In his book Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, Dr. Deepak Chopra tells us that, We are the only creatures on earth who can change our biology by what we think and feel. 1 Indeed science and philosophy together are steadily proving that our thoughts and feelings have a huge effect upon and in many ways create our reality.Our physical body does play a vital role in our life and sport performance, but ittruly is only one spoke in the wheel. The real key to achieving extraordinaryresults in any endeavour comes in our ability to powerfully align the energies ofour mind, body and emotions toward a common goal. This convergence createsa fourth entity, which in my experience is far greater than any of the individual oreven two elements combined.The following article will explore the three-way partnership between the body,mind and emotions, and the importance of their alignment to creating the true spirit of sport, vitality and life.The Fastest Doesnt Always Win the RaceIf the physically fastest person always won the race there would be no reason torace at all. There would in fact be no such thing as sport. In my experience withworld-class athletes I have found that at the elite level, where the majority ofathletes are close to their physical peak, and many are actually capable ofachieving a winning performance on any given day, the biggest challenge isntraising their physical ability to win, but raising their mental and emotional ability to guide their body to perform at its best when it matters most. Those whoexperience extraordinary performances are sometimes but certainly not always the strongest, fastest or best physically prepared. The best performances come from those who most powerfully combine adequate physical preparation with a clear and focused mind, and positively empowered emotions. In my experience, the winner is almost always the one who FEELS best on the day, and this sense of feeling