In a lengthy interview with OTB Sports, Ireland captain Johnny Sexton explained how he uses mindfulness to his benefit on and off the field of play.
When Joe Schmidt introduced the concept of mindfulness to Ireland's players, Johnny Sexton resisted the notion that this could be of benefit to his life.
"When Joe was preaching about it at the start," he recalled in conversation with OTB Sports, "we used to go into the mindfulness sessions and I used to just plan my day.
"I wouldn't have been the most mindful person and I struggled with it. I didn't get it and it took probably a bad year, a stressful year for me to buy into it."
When the Irish out-half did recognise the value of Schmidt's recommendation, mindfulness, a meditative activity designed to focus the participant's mind on the present moment, became an important tool in Sexton's life on and off the field of play.
As susceptible to the challenges posed throughout the Covid-19 period as anyone, the Ireland captain has been afforded some respite by keeping up his mindfulness routine.
"I think it is even more important now because it is the uncertainty that gets to a lot of people," he reasoned. "I'd be the same worrying about the future, what's around the corner, whether we'll ever have crowds back.
"At my age, you don't know when your last game is going to be and the thought of not getting a chance to play in front of the supporters again, that plays strongly on your mind. I saw the way Rob Kearney and Fergus McFadden finished and your hoping things go back to normal.
"It is very selfish but with the uncertainty of not knowing what's ahead, you need to look after your mental health. If you get dragged into the future too much, that's where I get into trouble."
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After a long initial layoff from rugby, Sexton has been engaged in action for both Leinster and Ireland in recent months.
Six months before his 36th birthday, the sporting challenge posed by the upcoming Six Nations has generated some sense of normality in amongst all the uncertainty.
"We're incredibly lucky to have some kind of normality, being in camp together training and working toward one goal which is the Six Nations," he admitted. "That's as normal as thing have gotten for us.
"We are human beings and it is a big challenge for us. The days that I'm in good form, the days that I don't get dragged into those 'What if?' scenarios, they're the days where I'm trying to live in the moment and concentrate in what's in front of me.
"It is easier said than done at times."
Although his motivation for mindfulness and his willingness to make it a consistent feature of his life fluctuates from time to time, he remains unquestionably sold on its effectiveness.
"I wouldn't be amazing at it myself," he allowed. "At times I am very good and diligent with it, and then I can let it slip also.
"It is a good tool for life after rugby [though], even for teaching your kids."
In and out of the Irish Rugby bubble for as many weeks as the Six Nations will last, you can watch Johnny Sexton discuss the rugby side of life in his full interview with OTB Sports here.
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