“I ask a lot of my body, but lately I’m getting frustrated because it feels like I’m having this mental block in sports or a mind-body disconnect. Like, I go to do a squat—one I know I can do—but my body gets stuck. I have to dump the weight. What gives? Why is this mind-body disconnect happening?”

That question, from an athlete we worked with, is a good one—and likely one more of us are asking than we realize.

From twisties to the yips, here’s what happens when your mind and body feel disconnected, creating this mental block in sports—and what it takes to reconnect.

💪🏼Start Simple: Has the Body Been Exposed?

Before diving deep, start with the basics. If you’re asking your body to do something it hasn’t done recently, or ever, it’s going to push back. Not because it’s lazy or broken, but because it’s built to protect you.

Your nervous system is constantly scanning: “Have we been here before? Are we safe here?”

If the answer is “no,” your body will resist. Whether it’s running a marathon, pitching 90 balls, or hitting a heavy squat, capacity is built through exposure and repetition. Without those reps, the lines between safety and performance get crossed.

But what if you have done the reps, and your body still locks up?

👤Mental Block In Sports: Don’t Blame the Player, Blame the Command

The body has one job: to respond to the command it receives.

And that command? It comes from the brain.

But the brain doesn’t act alone. It’s influenced by both external input (your environment, feedback, circumstances) and internal influence—from your mind and spirit.

Let’s break that down:

A human being = soul + body

The soul is made up of mind and spirit.

The body is how the soul engages with the world.

The brain is part of the body—it’s not the same as the mind.

The mind is what allows us to understand truth.

🙌What Truth?

The truth is: you were created with unique gifts and purpose. That purpose likely fuels your passion, your drive, and your love for the game.

But over time, as you interact with the world, that truth can get “muddy.” You collect experiences that whisper lies: You’re not enough. You’re not capable. You’ve lost your edge.

That muddying of the mind—the distortion of truth—is often what causes the mind-body disconnect. Your body can’t trust a command that’s confused. So it hesitates. It locks up, creating what seems to be a mental block in sports.

🔗 How Do You Reconnect?

You un-muddy the mind, go back to what’s true. You spark the spirit and bring your body back into alignment with your soul.

To say there’s a “disconnect” implies something was once connected and now is not. That’s what happens in the yips, the twisties, or mental blocks: the body loses sync with the soul. The third player, your spirit, has gone quiet.

Three Parts, One Person

We often talk about the mind, body, and spirit like they’re separate compartments. But you’re not made in pieces. Think of it more like a Venn diagram—three overlapping circles, constantly communicating, influencing, and shaping each other.

So when your body feels off, even though your training is sound, it might not be the body that’s the problem. It might be the message it’s receiving.

In baseball, it’s the yips; in gymnastics, it’s the twisties; in everyday life, it’s that moment when what you know you can do suddenly doesn’t connect.

And that disconnect? It’s frustrating. It’s confusing. It can make you feel stuck.

🥴The Muddy Mind

When the mind forgets the truth, the body feels the fallout. What Helps?

This isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. But we’ve seen transformation happen when people stop trying to “push through” and start asking better questions:

Step 1: To un-muddy the mind, we have to return to our roots. Reflect & Answer the following:

• What is the sport that you are passionate about? 
• What’s your favorite memory of the sport?
• Why did you come to love it?
• When did the fire you had in your spirit for the sport start to fade or flicker a bit?

For steps 2 and 3, download our Free Thrive Guide [Here].

When athletes hit a wall, get the yips, the twisties, it’s rarely solved by more reps. The real shift happens when they reconnect with their why. Not the stats. Not the pressure. Just the love of the game, the simplicity of play.

That shift doesn’t make everything magically easy. But it clears space. It quiets the noise. And in that clarity, your mind starts to remember, and your body starts to listen.

💡Final Thoughts

You are not a machine. Not a list of symptoms. Not a single squat, put, serve, pitch, or swing gone wrong. You are a whole person, spirit, mind, and body, created with goodness and joyful purpose. So when something feels off, don’t just push harder. Pause. Ask. Reconnect. Because the answers are often already inside you, waiting to be remembered.

Author: 

Dr. Dillon Caswell, PT, DPT, SCS

Hope Evangelist | Top-Selling Author & Speaker | Human Performance Expert