When I used to figure skate,
my coach would tell me to visualize
over and over again
the jump being completed.
She was certain it helped her students
learn a new jump quicker.
Turns out,
she was right.
In a study by Harvard University,
students who visualized
learning to play new piano music
had the same expansion
in their motor cortex
as those who had practiced the music.
“When we repeat a skill
that we are trying to master,
we strengthen the neural networks
that represent that action.
The same happens physically
in the brain
whether we perform the action,
or simply visualize it—
Your brain cannot tell the difference
between an action you performed
and an action you visualized.”
Visualize new skills
when you aren’t able
to practice them.