The Role of the Body in Flow: Trusting Physical Feel to Find the Zone

We often think of being in the zone or being in flow as a mental state—a place where focus and clarity combine for optimal performance. But athletes know that the body plays a crucial role in performance, too. By shifting their attention to their body, it allows them to tap into their intuitive expertise. Let’s take a closer look at how trusting your body can help you access the zone more consistently.

The Body’s Role in the Zone

Traditionally, being in the zone has been thought of as a mental state of focus. But psychologists Jay Kimiecik and Doug Newburg, in their paper The Elephant in the Room, argue that physical sensations are critical to high performance. They describe athletes’ and performers’ best performances as happening when they “feel” their way through an experience, relying more on sensory information from the body rather than on conscious thought. Athletes often call this state nothingness—a place where the body takes over, and the mind steps aside.

This idea of “feel” is different from “feelings” - Feel stems from the body and is the direct, unfiltered connection with the environment. It’s the body’s intelligence speaking, an embodied awareness that guides athletes through a constant stream of sensory information and feedback—what some might call “embodied awareness”. Feelings are mental constructs shaped by thoughts, beliefs, and past experiences. While not inherently unhelpful, feelings can interfere with performance when they distract from the present moment.

Kimiecik and Newburg explain that when athletes are overly focused on their thoughts, emotions, or the need for control, they are less likely to enter the zone for optimal performance. Instead, it’s the physical feel of performance, the unfiltered connection between a performer and their environment—breathing, rhythm, and muscle movement—that keeps athletes in the present and allows their performance to flow. This doesn’t mean that we don’t think at all, rather we see a shift in thinking which is less reliant on language, and more grounded in our sensory experience, and “feel”.

Feel vs. Thought: Why Trusting Your Body Matters

One of the key elements of being in the zone is letting go of thinking and trusting your body to do what it has been trained to do. Experienced performers often describe their best performances as automatic or effortless, where they are no longer consciously directing every movement. This is because they’ve learned to trust their physical sensations—relying on feel rather than thought or feelings.

When athletes focus too much on the outcome or their emotions, they lose connection with their bodies, which disrupts performance. But by paying attention to the body’s signals—such as the rhythm of their breathing or the flow of their movement—they can stay grounded in the present moment, which is one way of allowing a ‘flow’ state to occur.

How to Synchronise Mind and Body

To consistently perform well, athletes need to work on training their mind and body to work together. This requires a blend of mental focus and physical awareness. Here are a few tips for synchronizing your mind and body to improve your chances of entering the flow state:

• Use Physical Cues: Pay attention to the subtle sensations, feelings, and impulses arising from your body during an activity. This might involve noticing your breath, muscle tension, changes in heart rate, or the way your body moves in space.
• Learn to recognize the difference between “feel” (a direct sensory experience of your body) and “feelings” ( cognitive interpretations or judgments of those sensations): Practice observing these sensations without judgment, simply noticing what arises without getting carried away by thoughts or stories.
• Let Go of Perfectionism: Trying to perform perfectly is a quick way to get stuck in thinking. Instead, focus on moving fluidly and functionally, trusting that your body knows what to do.
• Embrace a Mindset of Curiosity and Openness: Cultivating embodied awareness is a continuous journey of self-discovery, not a destination. Be patient with yourself, and approach the process with a sense of curiosity and playfulness. Remember that the goal is not to eliminate thinking altogether, but rather to achieve a more harmonious relationship between your mind and body, where both systems work together in a complementary way.

Integrating Mind and Body

Flow state is not just about mental focus—it’s about how your mind and body work together to create an effortless performance. By developing the ability to trust your body and listen to its signals, athletes can more easily enter the zone and stay there longer. When mind and body are in sync, performance feels natural, smooth, and even enjoyable. The more you train both your mental and physical systems, the more likely you are to consistently reach your peak performance.