Mantra meditation in sport: a scoping review of its use as a mental training and coping strategy for psychological well-being.

A scoping review mapped the existing literature on mantra meditation in sport contexts, clarifying its conceptual distinctions from self-talk. Six articles were included after screening 17,670 records. Athletes reported using mantras to regulate attention, maintain pace or rhythm, cope with fatigue and psychological stress, and support spiritual meaning and mental well-being. The limited number of studies highlights the early stage of research; further high-quality empirical work is needed to clarify mechanisms and effectiveness of mantra meditation as both a mental training and coping strategy in sport.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to conduct a scoping review to map the existing literature on the use of mantra meditation in sport contexts, clarify its conceptual distinctions from related constructs such as self-talk, and identify directions for future research. This study employed a comprehensive literature search, combining electronic database searches (including Web of Science, Psychology & Behavioural Sciences Collection, PubMed, SPORTDiscus, and Scopus) with manual searches, following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews. The search initially identified 17,346 articles electronically and 324 articles manually. After a four-step screening process - duplicate removal, primary screening, secondary screening, and expert consensus - a total of four articles were initially included, with two additional articles added through a manual search by the first author, resulting in six articles for review. These studies were categorised into two main domains: mantra meditation as a mental training strategy and mantra meditation as a coping strategy. The findings provide preliminary insights into how athletes describe using mantra meditation in sport contexts. Across the included studies, athletes reported using mantras to regulate attention, maintain pace or rhythm, cope with fatigue and psychological stress, and support their sense of spiritual meaning and mental well-being. However, the limited number of available studies highlights the early stage of research in this area. Further high-quality empirical and intervention-based research is needed to clarify the mechanisms and potential effectiveness of mantra meditation when applied as a mental training strategy and as a coping strategy in sport contexts.