Your intuition is real and so you can strengthen it

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Editor's note:

Dana Santas, known as "Mobility Maker," is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and mind-body coach in professional sports, and is the author of "Practical Solutions for Back Pain Relief."

(CNN) --

Many high-performance athletes in sports, business and the arts will tell you that they trust their intuitive sense.

It allows them to make decisions, often in a split second, without overthinking or missing opportunities.

Look at the baseball players.

With the average fastball in Major League Baseball thrown at speeds in excess of 90 mph (145 km/h), a batter has no more than 150 milliseconds, which is literally the blink of an eye, to decide if he hits.

Additionally, the ball is effectively invisible to the batter for the last 3 meters of its travel and at batting range for only 10 milliseconds.

Never mind the added complexity of hitting a round ball with a round bat with just the right amount of power and accuracy.

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However, New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge recently broke the American League baseball record for a single season with an impressive 62 home runs.

Sure, there's preparation and skill involved, but without a bit of intuitive sense, how else did Judge seemingly defy physics in this complex, lightning-quick set of steps?

For athletes like Judge, knowing when and how to make the right moves seems second nature, and to some extent, science bears this out.

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But science also confirms that intuition isn't just a special sense possessed by special people, like record-breaking athletes, according to a 2016 study.

Intuition is something we all possess and can strengthen to inform daily decision making.

Read on to find out why and how to do it.

Intuitive thinking has its roots in neuroscience

According to Max Newlon, president of the BrainCo company, incubated by the Harvard Innovation Lab, which develops products based on brain-machine interface technology, the human brain possesses two distinct modes of thought: analytical and intuitive.

These are often referred to as left-brain and right-brain thinking, respectively, because that's where research has shown the different thinking styles take place, he said.

“Depending on the task, different thinking systems work more effectively.

Right-brain intuitive thinking is characterized as more feeling-oriented, creative, and broader thinking,” she added.

Newlon shared the example of someone deciding to buy a home: “A person who acts intuitively will confirm their decision with statements that they like the feel of the space, imagine living there, and imagine that their extended family will feel at home when they visit. .

In contrast, an analytical decision maker will focus on things like the quality of schools, commute time and distance to work, and the overall financial deal.”

But what about those on-the-ground business decisions made by CEOs on the sidelines, or the split-second moves of professional athletes?

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“The ability to make quick, intuitive decisions is based on building and cultivating self-confidence,” said Dr. Dehra Harris, deputy director of applied performance research for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Harris noted that developing your inner voice is an ongoing process that requires two steps:

1. Learn to listen to yourself.

2. Participate in a regular reflection process.

Start with a moment of silence and notice the different voices in your head, advised Harris, a former assistant professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

“Usually you will hear two voices.

One is fear-based, associated with racing and looping thoughts, while the other is calmer and more true to nature," Harris explained.

“The best way to identify them is to notice how they make you feel.

Your inner voice will always calm you down, even in the face of big tasks, while your fear-based voice will add to the stress.”

Second, Harris pointed out that listening to your inner voice is not a perfect system.

He suggested a weekly reflection on the results.

“It may seem counterintuitive to review intuitive decision making, but if some of the results were not successful, there must be a change in strategy.

Remember that intuition is drawn from a well of accumulated experience and knowledge.”

Allowing your imaginative right brain to flow during meditation could help improve the accuracy of your intuition, according to mind-body coach Dana Santas.

(Credit: Daisy Daisy/Adobe Stock)

Albert Einstein once remarked: "Intuition is nothing more than the result of a prior intellectual experience."

Newlon agreed, but went a step further, suggesting that intuition is not just the pattern recognition result of the accumulation of his experiences, but potentially "of millennia of evolution."

Practice makes progress

Actively working on your intuition and having the daily practice of trusting it will strengthen it, even in the face of stress.

"Stress depletes the brain's decision-making resources, so it's helpful to fall back on a skill that you've already actively applied and been working on to get a more reliable result," Harris said.

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As we consider the ability to strengthen intuitive decision making with practice, let's take another look at Aaron Judge.

He not only broke the home run record, but also stole 16 bases in the same season, breaking his personal record.

In fact, through Aug. 9, he was 100% on target, shooting 13 of 13 stolen bases, which is another unlikely feat.

Was it a coincidence that Judge's success in home runs and stolen bases increased simultaneously?

Or was it due in part to regular practice and confidence in his ability to make precise, intuitive split-second decisions?

As your analytical mind ponders this, consider that there is very little physical correlation between hitting and stealing bases.

To see if regular practice can improve the strength and accuracy of your own intuitive "punches," try these three exercises:

1. Breathe in presence

As a professional sports mind-body coach, I have had the privilege of working with Judge on his breathing and helping him integrate this practice into his training regimen.

Because your breath always occurs in the present moment, it is your strongest connection to the here and now, freeing you from thoughts of the past or future.

In a present state, it is easier to listen to your inner voice.

Try this 5-7-3 breathing practice to quiet your own mind, so you can better listen to your intuition.

Learn to meditate with Dr. Azaret 1:03

2. Practice Right Brain Meditations

Instead of trying to keep your mind blank during meditation, try to focus your attention on allowing your imaginative right brain to flow without the judgment of your analytical mind.

A good exercise for this would be to consider a question or choice and let your meditative imagination lead you through a possible positive outcome.

If making a decision is too hard to do without your analytical mind getting in the way, Harris suggested focusing on a favorite song and letting his imagination take him through whatever experience that song conjures up for him.

3. Play with creative tools

Don't be afraid to be creative in your attempts to be more creative.

You don't have to be an artist, writer or psychic to play with the tools that allow you to tap into your intuitive right brain.

You can try free-form sketches, use story cards as creative writing prompts, or affirmation cards to set intentions.

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“Working with any practice that helps you actively use your intuitive brain can be very valuable, and sometimes even more so, when we strip away the mystique and look at it rationally,” Newlon said.

Now that you are empowered with the understanding and means to strengthen your intuition, why not begin to see where your inner voice takes you?

MindNeuroscience