19 Mar 2024
(Ep 28) Train Your Mind for Peak Performance w/ Neuroscientist & Certified Mental Performance Consultant, Dr. Daya Grant
In this week’s episode, I have special guest, Dr. Daya Grant on the pod to talk about how the brain works, what tools we can use to strengthen the efficiency of the brain, how those impact the way we perform, and so much more!
Dr. Daya Alexander Grant, Ph.D., CMPC, is a neuroscientist, certified mental performance consultant, and yoga/meditation teacher who specializes in helping elite athletes and high performers train their mind for peak performance. She has a Master’s degree in Kinesiology/Sport Psychology and a Doctorate in Neuroscience from UCLA, where her research focused on the long-term consequences of repeated concussions.
She served as a neuroscience consultant and helped launch the education curriculum for the LoveYourBrain Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to improving quality of life for people with traumatic brain injuries. Daya’s work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and she has contributed articles and expert opinions to The New York Times, Yoga Journal, Triathlete magazine, Yoga Medicine, Yogi Approved, and Stack. She's created courses for Yoga Medicine and Yoga International, and has been a guest expert on several podcasts, including Peloton’s Fitness Flipped, the YogiTriathlete podcast, and Yogaland. She’s a runner, triathlete, and beach-lover, who lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their two young sons.
If you enjoy today’s episode, please subscribe and leave a rating and review, as it helps me reach more people who can benefit from the inspirational messages shared on this podcast.
Today’s Topics
Dr. Daya Grant shares more about her story on how she went from wanting to become a professional dancer to becoming a Neuroscientist and Mental Performance Consultant (2:24)
How Daya successfully combines the process of neuroscience, sport psychology, meditation, and yoga into her private practice when she works with elite athletes and high performers (7:05)
What a Mental Performance Consultant is, why elite athletes and high performers go to Dr. Daya Grant in the first place, and the different problems she helps them overcome (11:09)
Daya discusses how important clear consistency is when you’re trying to improve on something; whether it be a sport, a hobby, or even a new profession (15:43)
The science behind the connection between neuroscience, breath work, and meditation (19:46)
Daya educates us on the 8 limbs of yoga - what they are, what they mean, and how she incorporates them in her practice (25:35)
How different structures in your brain change when you put more effort into training your mentality (32:07)
Although cognitive abilities do slowly decline as you get older, Daya busts the myth that your cognitive abilities halt once you reach 30 years old or so (she even shares tips on how to alter your lifestyle to improve cognition) (37:17)
Dr. Daya Grant shares some incredible tips on what methods you can use in your day to day life, that she, as a Mental Performance Consultant, uses with the athletes she works with (38:34)
Connect with Kaycee, Host of Hello Flow Podcast:
Website (https://www.hello-flow.co/ )
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/helloflowcollective/ )
Connect with Dr. Daya Grant, Ph.D., M.S., CMPC:
Website (https://www.dayagrant.com )
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/dr.dayagrant )
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In 2023, the beautiful island of Maui experienced devastating wildfires that is considered the most deadliest and destructive in modern US history. The entire town of Lahaina, a historic town and former capital of the Kingdom of Hawai’i, was completely destroyed. To support the relief efforts, see links below to donate:
Donate Directly to Families impacted (locally vetted) - Help Maui Rise
https://www.helpmauirise.org (https://www.helpmauirise.org)
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