Can meditation help you become a better athlete? In this post, 6 professional athletes talk about meditation and the power of mindfulness.
Meditation is a powerful practice. It increases our focus, reduces stress and anxiety, lowers blood pressure and improves quality of sleep. It’s extensively researched and widely recognised as a boon to long-term health.
Then there’s the spiritual side. Difficult to measure but many people view meditation as a gateway to self-realisation. By learning to observe our thoughts and feelings, without reaction or judgement, we develop inner peace and reveal our true selves.
But what about sports? Does meditation have a role in the competitive arena? Is it useful for athletes who are looking for the edge?
If you’re an athlete who meditates regularly you’ll already know the answer to these questions, but if you’re skeptical, I’ve pulled together some powerful examples of how meditation and mindfulness can impact sports performance – in the athletes own words.
Here, 6 professional athletes talk about meditation and the power of mindfulness:
1. Rickson Gracie (BJJ and MMA legend) via the Jocko Podcast. “Breathing became my best friend. Not only to control my emotions, to keep my heart rate in the best performance, to recoup, to be controlling panic, controlling emotions, become calm, to strategise. Everything coming from this capacity within to control yourself by breathing. I felt that was a great addition to my (Martial Arts) practice and made a huge change in my life.”
2. Kobe Bryant (NBA great) via Thrive. “I meditate every day. I do it in the mornings and I do it for about 10-15 minutes. I think it’s important because it sets me up for the rest of the day. It’s like having an anchor. If I don’t do it I feel like I’m constantly chasing the day, as opposed to being able to be controlled and dictate the day. Not that you’re calling the shots in what comes forward but the fact that I am set and ready for whatever may come my way.”
4. Erling Haaland (Man City top scorer) via Sky Sports Premier League. “For me as a striker, this (scoring goals) is something I cannot stress about, I cannot think about because if you think too much, you might end up doing things you don’t want to do. In the end it’s all about trying to enjoy and live in the moment and to not think about this. Football in general is today, it’s not yesterday, it’s not tomorrow, it’s right now.”
5. Novak Djokovic (Serbian tennis star) via Amuse. “I do [meditation and yoga] out of a need to have an optimal state of mind and peace and calm, and at the same time happiness and joy. Everybody has their ways to reach that state of consciousness where you’re in a good mood and you feel love towards yourself, towards people around you, towards the planet.”
6. Lebron James (NBA great) via Calm (ad). “We’ve always thought of the greatest athletes as the strongest, the fittest, chiselled to perfection. What’s a strong body without a sound mind? We’re so focussed on strength that we forget to strengthen our focus. The mind is like a muscle, the more you train it, the stronger it becomes. And while the greats master the body, the greatest master the mind.”
Athletes have long been skeptical about meditation and mindful practices. If they don’t see the benefits right away, they don’t want to give it a second thought.
But the ones who do get it and build their practice, elevate their performance to a higher level.
Meditation can help athletes during training, competition and on the recovery side. It increases focus, quiets the mind, improves emotional control and helps keep calm under pressure. When the clock is ticking, a few deep breaths can make or break the game.
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