‘I think about what I can hear, what I can feel’: The meditation techniques that helped Edwards to the top

4 hours ago 3

Dylan Edwards looked to be a world away when he sat by himself on a white plastic chair inside Optus Stadium during NSW’s captain’s run before Origin II.

The four-time premiership-winning Penrith fullback and Blues No.1 has made a point of completing short breathing exercises with his eyes closed and shoes off the day before every club and representative game in recent years.

He will do it again inside Accor Stadium on Tuesday, more than 24 hours before the sold-out blockbuster decider against Queensland.

So what is it that Edwards thinks about in those moments, and how does it benefit him?

“I’ve been doing it a few years now,” he said. “I just get out there and do a bit of breathing, and try not to think about anything.

“I think about the breath, or what I can hear, or what I can feel.

“I try to do it at every captain’s run. If we’re training at a different ground, I’ll go to the ground and meditate.

“I do it most days. There’s no certain time of day I do it, and every day is different, especially when you have kids. I mainly pay attention to breathing in and then out.

NSW fullback Dylan Edwards takes a minute to reflect at the captain’s run before Origin II.

“Carl Jennings talked to me about the visualisation side of things. He’s worked at a few clubs. I took what he spoke about, started reading up on some more stuff and how to meditate.”

The low-key workhorse has often spoken about a horror night he had against Melbourne in Bathurst in 2019, when he made some key errors, somehow survived the axe to play the following weekend, before then being relegated to reserve grade.

It was around that time Edwards reached out to Jennings, who had worked as head of strength and conditioning at Penrith, as well as stints at the Raiders and Super Rugby team the Canterbury Crusaders.

While working with the Warriors, Jennings was awarded a New Zealand Bravery Medal when he ran into a burning house and rescued his neighbour, a traumatic incident that made him explore the power of the brain through breathing, and devise his own program, which Edwards has embraced.

Liam Martin celebrates with Dylan Edwards after the fullback’s late try all but sealed victory for NSW in game one.

“Dylan has been practising how to clear his mind for a long time now, and it allows him to be in the moment,” said Jennings, who is now the national athletic performance director for American Football Australia.

“It’s about understanding the biology of the brain, not the psychology of the brain.

“Breathing can be very powerful for an individual, but extremely powerful for an athlete because it allows you to be clear, to live in the moment, and to make the right decisions during a game on a consistent basis.

“The mind can get busy. We’re all human. But Dylan has done a lot of work on himself.”

The military introduced “box breathing”, where a soldier would breathe in and out for four seconds, in a bid to calm the brain, while NRL teams are often seen huddling in a circle and completing breathing exercises during breaks in play.

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