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Dr. Justin Ternes is a world expert on breathwork, physical therapy, and the connection of mind and body.
I wanted to have Justin on because there’s so much pseudoscience out there about breathwork, meditation, and emotional awareness. But Justin sets us straight and teaches us that what we’ve heard and learned might actually be doing us more harm than good.
Allostasis Performance
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Timestamps and Topics:
00:00 - Intro: Listen to this Episode Ad-Free!
2:21 - Good Stress: How to Find the Sweet Spot of Growth
8:40 - Pushing Yourself Physically to Train Psychologically
12:49 - 🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
14:38 - Stress on the Golf Course: Should We Go Mentally Blank Over the Ball?
23:42 - 🏌️♂️ Basic Practice Plan - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
24:45 - Is Being “Even-Keeled” Actually Helpful?
35:49 - Can We Be TOO Aware of Ourselves?
38:43 - 🎯 Shot Pattern - The Golf GPS App Designed to Help You Play Smarter Golf - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
40:42 - Confidence and Flow: Being Ok with Reality As It Is
55:42 - Golf Breathing: How Should a Golfer Be Thinking About Breath Through An Entire Day of Golf?
1:07:24 - Dr. Justin Ternes: Allostasis Performance
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Mentioned in this episode:
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
🏌️♂️ Basic Practice Plan - Practice made simple, intentional, and accountable.
🎯 Shot Pattern - The Golf GPS App Designed to Help You Play Smarter Golf - Start a free trial and get 20% off by using the discount code 'MENTALGOLFSHOW' or click this link to go straight there.
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Josh's stuff:
📊 FREE Mental Game Assessment: app.joshnicholsgolf.com/assessment - identify your mental strengths and areas for mental game improvement.
👨🏻🏫 1-on-1 Mental Coaching with Josh: Visit joshnicholsgolf.com/coaching to see plans and pricing to work with Josh on your mental game. Or send an email to
[email protected].
🎓 The Perfect Pre-Shot Routine digital course - Dial in your pre-shot routine, play your best golf.
📧 The Mental Re-Grip Newsletter: Sign up for weekly mental game tips at joshnicholsgolf.com/newsletter.
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Other podcast partners:
⛳️ The Divot Board: Get 10% off at divotboard.com/mentalgolfshow using code 'MentalGolf10'.
🏋️♂️ FREE Golf Workout - Nerd Fitness - Get the Free MVP Golf Workout from Nerd Fitness here!
🍀 Fairways & Fundays - Ireland Golf Tours - Named World’s Best Golf Tour Operator at the World Golf Awards in 2024 and 2025! If you’re interested in going on a golf trip to Ireland, send me an email and I’ll get you set up with them -
[email protected]-----
🔥 🧈 Special thanks to Titleist for their support of The Mental Golf Show. Join Team Titleist here.
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Key Takeaways:
Hormesis is the "sweet spot of stress" where the right dose of discomfort, like cold exposure or an ice bath, drives adaptation, recovery, and resilience.
Cold plunge benefits depend on a time-to-temperature ratio: the more extreme the cold, the less time you need to get a meaningful dose.
Effective self-affirmations must be grounded in truth—saying "it's cold, but I got this" works because it pairs the reality of the situation with genuine confidence.
Top-down and bottom-up communication between brain and body lets you regulate your nervous system, calming the stress response rather than faking your way through it.
The breath is the bridge between mind and body, acting as a nervous system toggle switch where the inhale activates and the exhale relaxes.
Mindfulness for athletes isn't about emptying the mind but filling it with sensation—getting into the physical body to reach a neutral, present state.
Respiratory heart rate variability (RHRV) syncs the heart and lungs through slow breathing, which is the physiological foundation of being "even keeled."
Peak performance comes from expecting and training fluctuation, not suppressing emotion, since the best athletes feel and process emotion before returning to a neutral mind.
Allostasis—"stability through change"—closes the gap between what your brain predicts and what reality delivers, and chronic allostatic overload calls for physical resets like the gym, sauna, or a long run instead of more mental analysis.
Breath training builds real capacity through the "ceiling, attic, floor, basement" model, so practiced mechanics let you use your breath under pressure on the first tee, between shots, and after a bad round.
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Top 5 episodes of The Mental Golf Show:
Mike & Eli of Chasing Scratch - Letting Scratch Happen
How to Trust Your Swing even when things are Going Wrong
Golf Thought Thursday: The Easiest (and Hardest) Way to Play Better Golf
Lean Into Your Golf Personality with John Weir (creator of Mental Golf Type)
How to Juggle Golf and Life with Andy Walker and Steve Hinks
Colombia