Rugby star Charlie Hodgson brings Mind5 M.E.T.H.O.D. to the UK
January 2020
Former England Rugby International On a Mission
Determined to tackle the ever-growing issues of stress and wellbeing, ex-international rugby player Charlie Hodgson has become the first person in the UK licensed to work with the new and unique Mind5 M.E.T.H.O.D. He will be among the first to offer a refreshing experiential learning programme which combines sports and mental training and is designed to get access to the unconscious mind - the aim of which being to change limiting beliefs and behavioral patterns.
“I know from [my own] experience of elite sport that stress can be hugely debilitating and it is clear that it will only get worse in the UK unless something is done about it. That is why I want to help people manage their levels of stress in order to become better leaders and better people,” said Charlie, who retired in 2016 but still holds the record for highest Premiership points scorer of all time.
1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year and in England 1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem (such as anxiety and depression) in any given week.* Charlie’s new expertise enables him to guide those he works with towards a greater understanding of their unconscious reactions to stress.
As a result, they will be better able to identify their limiting beliefs and patterns of behaviour and make small mindset changes which will have great impact in the longer term. While the topic of mental health and wellbeing is being more openly discussed, little is being done to address these issues before they arise. The Mind5 M.E.T.H.O.D. will allow Charlie’s participants to change the way they view stress and mental wellbeing, equipping them for when pressures and difficult situations do arise.
Throughout his rugby career, Charlie had many ups and downs and admits that managing his emotions through those sticky periods could sometimes be difficult. Despite his experience of training executives, it was the Mind5 M.E.T.H.O.D. which allowed Charlie to make sense of the connection between physical self-awareness, stress, and optimal performance.
Developed in the Netherlands by ex elite athlete and business woman, Roelien Piron, the Mind5 M.E.T.H.O.D. uses experiential learning to create experiences that are attached to an emotion in order to create long-lasting learning effects. Mind5 is setting a new standard for leadership, with emotional intelligence at its heart.
In his training sessions, Charlie’s participants will use sports or physical challenges to get access to their unconscious mind, using the sport as a metaphor for them to finally understand how they react in different situations. This can be incredibly powerful, even after only a single session. Imagine, your partner has been telling you for years that you behave differently when you are under pressure. You know this, but you have never consciously experienced it.
During a Mind5 training session the trainer simulates your stress response; with martial arts, self-defense, fitness exercises or endurance training, for example. You experience how you react under pressure, how to take a mental break in the heat of the moment, and how to consciously make decisions that will allow you to utilise stress to perform your task as well as possible and achieve optimal performance levels.
Mind5 Founder & Managing Director Roelien Piron: “It’s about training self-awareness, assertives and taking control at the right moment. The Mind5 sessions have proven to be very successful with many different target groups. On several occasions people have told us that they now finally understand what their partner or colleague was trying to tell them about their behavior - after only one session! Once we really understand ourselves and our reactions to stress, we are then in a better position to understand others.”
Roelien says: “I am really pleased to see the Mind5 M.E.T.H.O.D. taking off around the world and am hopeful about the impact it can have. We have trainers, teachers, coaches, leaders and managers from all over the world in our Mind5 Optimal Performance Leader Programme. Right now the UK is going through something of a mental health revolution. The need for mental wellbeing is becoming clear, but little is known about how to tackle and hopefully solve some of these issues. I am incredibly proud that Charlie and our other Optimal Performance Leaders in the UK will be at the forefront of this change.”
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Notes:
Charlie Hodgson has brought Mind5 training into his business, Charlie Hodgson Performance, which was founded with a simple objective: to inspire the next generation of leaders to embrace stress for optimal performance and better living.
Mind5 Training’s mission is to change the world by bringing greater emotional intelligence into modern life, and help people spark fundamental change, using a combination of mental and physical self-awareness training.
The Mind5 Optimal Performance Leader Program
At the moment there are nearly 100 changemakers from all over the world in the Optimal Performance Leader programme. These include: teachers, coaches, therapists, doctors, ex athletes, police officers, corporate leaders, trainers, and many more. The movement is growing, particularly within the UK. In fact it is the second largest Mind5 nation, after The Netherlands, where Mind5 was founded in 2016.
For more information, including comments from Charlie Hodgson and Roelien Piron, photos and images, please contact Emily English (Communications Manager) emily@mind5training.com
Want to experience Mind5 as a journalist? Contact Mind5 and they will put you in touch with an Optimal Performance Leader in the UK.