Keerthana Swaminathan

About me-keerthana swaminathan

Hi, I am
Keerthana Swaminathan,
and here is my story

Empower performance-oriented individuals to discover themselves so that they can feel complete, perform in every aspect, and thrive.

As a Sports and Performance Psychologist, Behavioural Transformation Coach, and Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Coach, it is my daily honour and pleasure to enable and empower performance-oriented individuals to discover themselves so that they can feel complete, perform in every aspect, and thrive.
 
My quest to help people and myself began in 2011, when my parents ordered me to take up running to address my weight problem. Being active, healthy people, they insisted I had to be in their league. From getting the luxury to sleep in, I now had to wake up at 4 am, study, run, go to school, and then dance as well. The first few days, I came home with gritted teeth, gasping breath, and bubbling anger
However, I pushed through the pain, and in a few days, I began observing changes of another kind. My time management skills and confidence had slowly started to establish themselves due to my intense schedule. Decision by decision, I was living life for myself and not other people. This year was highly transformative for me. It took everything I had not to give up, but it turned out to be the best time of my life.
Joining a college for psychology further transformed my life, starting with making me independent and giving me my new philosophy. For the next three years, I spent my time studying and even took up a specialization in sports psychology. Sport had transformed my life, and now I wanted to help people within the same field feel the same way as me.

I wanted to create an environment for athletes to not only achieve more than they ever thought, but to thrive and enjoy their lives throughout it all, just like me with running. To supplement my skills, I also did courses in Applied Behavioural Analysis and became a certified neuro-linguistic programming coach.
In my journey so far, I had observed that, to the world, performance was often just the technical or physical aspect that could be visible (such as training, nutrition, exercise) and not the mental aspect. No one would give time for a competitive athlete to go blank or be nervous before a meet. However, whenever athletes train and go into the competitive space, they also need to master the mental aspect to perform their best.
 
As a sports psychologist, I spent time around several athletes and their support systems of parents and coaches, helping them get to this realization through tools such as visualization. When I started working with them, I observed that the relationship between my client and their parent very often improved in the process, and this led to better performances and greater happiness for both. Then it hit me – I was not just teaching these individuals tricks to perform better; I was transforming their environment. That’s what I always want to do.

My vision is to impart a lifelong culture of high performance and thriving wherever I go. I want to do this for individuals or organizations, athletes, or other people for any goal they want to achieve. I want to create a happier, more productive you and an environment where you can accomplish everything you want and more.

About My Research

With research, I am able to broaden my understanding of the world of sports and performance psychology, which helps me become a better trainer and person. Currently, I am working on the first phase of an ongoing research on psychological safety, in collaboration with Netrin, the incubator cell of IIT-Madras.

Psychological safety is that factor that enables an individual to feel safe in order to learn new things, engage in risk taking behaviours and also be psychologically resilient. This is often characterised by the trust developed by the individual with his surroundings. The environment or surroundings we are currently looking at are family dynamics and academy environment (includes peers/teammates and coaches). Performance and well-being are equally important for an athlete in order to not burnout.
athlete mindset coaching

Certifications

keerthana swaminathan-neuro-linguistic-programming
keerthana swaminathan-Distance Learning
Keerthana swaminathan -concordia college
keerthana swaminathan-IN VIVO
keerthana swaminathan school of excellence
keerthana swaminathan- psychology of sports and exercise

I'm incredibly passionate about what I do. But I'm equally passionate about what I do in my downtime! When I am not working, here is what I'm up to.

dancing

Dancing

I have always been a fan of the movement and grace that only dance can bring. Throughout my life, I have learned and performed classical dances such as Bharatanatyam. Even today, you can find me relaxing into the rhythm, toes pointed or tapping!
working out

Working Out

Since my late teens, I have been on a fitness streak. Yoga is my preferred way of working out, and I love to be in nature! 
 
music

Music

Music has always had a powerful effect on my fitness evolution and training techniques. The roots go back in time to my childhood. I was trained in both Western and Classical keyboard, and regularly practice it to maintain my flow and notes. I also enjoy classical music concerts, and always have music playing throughout my house
gardening

Gardening

Sometimes I feel when I am gardening, I feel at one with nature, and at one with the world. Each plant, flower, and fruit that I grow teaches me something new about the world. 
 
Empowering Athletes

Other Sports

While running will always be my first love, there are other sports that will always hold a special place in my heart. I fell in love with Ultimate Frisbee the minute I was introduced to it! I went on to represent my university in the same sport. Later, I picked up cycling as cross training for long-distance running, and quickly got addicted to it too! The rush of the wind through my hair is a powerful feeling that I will always cherish.