The meds that relieved the pain of his injuries also numbed him to the emptiness he felt without the game and eventually led him to heroin. After years as a functioning addict, Mumford made meditation the center of his life. Mumford went on to partner with coach Phil Jackson, a long-time mindfulness practitioner, working with him and each of the teams he coached to become NBA champions. His roster of champion clients now includes executives and Olympians. With a charismatic style that combines mindfulness with lessons from icons like Yoda and Bruce Lee, Mumford delivers an engrossing story and an invaluable resource.
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To ask other readers questions about The Mindful Athlete , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Dec 24, Leonidas Kaplan rated it it was amazing. Whatever your excuses, you NEED to meditate. With the Mindful Athlete, we learn how the TOP-level championship players in various sports use meditation to overcome str Full Review: With the Mindful Athlete, we learn how the TOP-level championship players in various sports use meditation to overcome stress during the game, after the game, and within their own ego.
The author taught the Chicago Bulls basketball team to meditate during their 3-year championship wins when Michael Jordan was still playing. He also took thousands of other high-level sports players into their top-level game. Honestly, if you want to be good at anything now, meditation is a must. Meditation allows you to get a clear picture of your own emotions, as they happen. It allows you to step outside of your ego, your fears, your addictions, your vices, your anger, and REALLY understand what is going on inside you. They are conditions of the mind. They come and go.
The author himself is a black male, raised in a very dangerous area of the United States, who had dreams of playing the in NBA. He was a top-level athlete in highschool, but eventually injured both of his legs, and could no longer play going into college. Instead he entered a mind-numbing job in finance, and became addicted to heroine — one of the worst drugs to be addicted to. Through meditation, he was able to control the addictive emotions, and eventually overcome them. This of course, takes months and years of practice. Finally, a simple exercise: Stop what you are doing, and return to your breath.
Stay in the calm center. Respond from the center of the hurricane, rather than reacting from the chaos of the storm. I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to get to their top-level innergame. I don't quite remember what drew me to the book other than the the connection to mindfulness. While I'm not an athlete at all I work out regularly and that's it , the book sounded intriguing if even an amateur like myself might gain some benefit. I like meditating after finishing my workouts so it seemed like this could be a good book.
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There isn't much here that I thought was new. As other reviews say, there are a lot of stories. His personal life wasn't all that interesting, desp Quite boring. His personal life wasn't all that interesting, despite the attempts to tie it all together into the mindfulness.
If you're already familiar with the concept there's probably not a lot here that would totally amaze you. As it was, it seemed like a book filled with a lot of empty platitudes or stuff that you could find elsewhere, and probably for cheaper too. I regret buying it as a bargain buy and would recommend library unless you're someone who might really fit the author's targeted audience.
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Jan 15, Heather rated it it was amazing Shelves: I found this to be an amazingly insightful book. While I'm firmly in the Christian faith mindset and this book is largely focused on a Buddhist faith, I found the entire thing easy to relate to and there were many takeaways that I know I will be using going forward. Jan 05, Daniel Smith rated it it was amazing.
The mindful athlete, by George Mumford, is a guide to mindfulness and how being mindful can help you as an individual and an athlete. He had to overcome addiction and substance abuse in his life, and he used mindfulness and meditation to get past that addiction He has worked with championship athletes, including Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Reggie Jackson. He uses a simple structure to his practice that involves five principles that help build mindfulness, which can lead to p The mindful athlete, by George Mumford, is a guide to mindfulness and how being mindful can help you as an individual and an athlete.
He uses a simple structure to his practice that involves five principles that help build mindfulness, which can lead to pure performance. He uses meditation and thinking techniques to help build mindfulness, concentration, and insight in himself and the people he works with. Some of the techniques he uses have been developed from his former teachers, and some have even been taken from the teachings of Buddha.
He mixes all of this to create an interesting book that gives insight into how to improve your thinking as an athlete and as a person. I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. As an athlete myself, this book gave me an idea on how to improve my own performance using mindfulness and meditation.
When it comes to preparing for the big game or even a math test, this book helps find ways for you to perform at your highest ability and focus. Nov 27, Naessens rated it it was ok. I read this book because it is very popular among athletes especially NBA players. The author, George Mumford, worked with several professional players, but is most prestigious association was the one with famous coach Phil Jackson. In the first part, Mumford described his early life which lead him to drug addiction and afterwards meditation when he started to recover.
I wish he had stopped giving examples of his life at this point in the book, because I felt the further references were disgressi I read this book because it is very popular among athletes especially NBA players. I wish he had stopped giving examples of his life at this point in the book, because I felt the further references were disgressions. This is one of the things I dislike the most when reading this book, Mumford takes too many words to state simple things and a few times I couldn't help but thinking "cut the crape and get to the point!
I was a little familiar with basic meditation technique before reading this book, so I didn't learn a lot or as much as I hoped. Basically, Mumford's main concept is th "Awareness of Breath" which leads to focus and after one masters it one can enter the Zone.
Left and Right Hemispheres
As the book progresses, Mumford gives us a few more advice to succeed in life, such as being dedicated to one's goal, finding one's purpose through meditation and sticking to it, getting out of your comfort zone. Several times, the author draws conclusion, but I don't follow his argumentation. I mean, to prove something, one cannot simply start a sentence with "if There are a few errors such as Zinedine Zidane being a 3-time World champion soccer.
Except for the famous people Mumford have worked with, I don't understand why his book is so popular among athletes. One more remark about living the present moment and not dwelling on the past. I am totally for enjoying the present moment from time to time without worrying about other stuffs and I am totally convinced of the benefit of being in "The Zone" when the situation requires us to perform to the best of our capabilities. But shouldn't we save time to learn from our past mistakes or to anticipate future problems?
Jan 30, Marcia Chocinsky rated it it was amazing. I am engaged in a sport as a hobby since I retired, and want to improve my performance. Amazingly I did know and experience some of what is discussed in the book in my own life. And getting into a good place prior to making an important presentation at work I would take deep slow breaths to take me to a place where things would slow and the mind monkeys would clear out.
I did these things instinctively not knowing what to call them. I have targeted some of this learning to my sports experience but not enough of it. I hope this book helps me to improve. To that end I have just ordered the CD that includes meditations. My husband and I can listen to it on our way to events. Nov 28, Henry Lee rated it really liked it. This book is one which explains many concepts on and off the court, field, ice rink, or any other sports venue.
I was quite impressed with the amount of explanation and simplification in this book which really allowed me to understand each topic described in this book. This book also contained some effective exercises and tips to develop a critical mindset, but that was still something that could be improved on. I think you could've discussed more habits in order to really accelerate our lifestyl This book is one which explains many concepts on and off the court, field, ice rink, or any other sports venue.
I think you could've discussed more habits in order to really accelerate our lifestyles in all areas. What a great book in general. If you take the time to digest this information, it'll take a while to finish this book, but I found these topics certainly worth it. This book is one of only a few books which I've ever re-read. An interesting book by the man who helped Phil Jackson to give the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers their mental strength during their championship runs. George Mumford makes use of examples and a few simple exercises to make Zen-practise easy and accessible for everyone.
This book is by no means only useful for athletes, but can be a live changer for everyone. There might be better books about mindfulness, but I definitely recommend this book for starters, due to the simplicity and practical examp An interesting book by the man who helped Phil Jackson to give the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers their mental strength during their championship runs. There might be better books about mindfulness, but I definitely recommend this book for starters, due to the simplicity and practical examples. Nov 28, Adam Bridgeo rated it really liked it.
The electrical activity in your muscles mirrors actual performance. Your emotional state is firmly rooted to the imagery you are producing. To your subconscious mind, there is virtually no difference between the imaging of the experience and the actual experience. You are totally immersed in seeing, feeling, smelling, even tasting the activity in your mind. The true power of imaging provides you with a key to open your full potential. At the subconscious level, when you begin to see and live the person you are capable of being, you will become that person.
This is actually an ancient concept, in some philosophies this has been described for eons as a state of beingness. Internal imagery is most effective. Here is another way to look at it. Either way, deep down inside, you knew you had what it takes to make it. Champions are made from the inside, out. He was a master imager and visualizer.
He not only saw himself as the greatest of all time, he lived it even before becoming it. His vision was clear. He shared his vision with all who would listen from the start and never wavered. He was able to create the reality he envisioned. Losing a match later in his career did not take away anything from his greatness. This is because he knew, and those around him intuitively knew, that his greatness was tied to something far deeper within himself. Winning was not his first goal, it was a result of his goal to be the greatest. Ali took it all the way by allowing his opponents to beat themselves.
He helped them create an internal emotional image of losing to him. Just watch his old fight and pre-fight films and see. During the majority of his career he won before he ever got in the ring, and his opponents lost before the first punch was ever thrown. Their goals were primarily tied to two things: This prevented them from going within, like he did, to create a state where they knew they were better and could win. As mentioned, imaging takes place at a deeper level then visualization.
The more deeply relaxed you allow yourself to become, the more vivid the imagery. Use a relaxation session of 30 minutes or more and allow a few minutes to relax into the session. Start by visualizing a picture of your performance. Once it is clear, enter the picture, become fully part of it.
Become aware of how you and your muscles are feeling, your energy level, your surroundings, other participants, the sounds, the smells, the temperature, the light. While you are deeply relaxed, use this time to make it even more real, notice little things that pass you by when you are performing. Observe everything to its fullest. Now you have choices. You can go directly into your performance, work through the various aspects of your performance, do it perfectly and see yourself succeed. Or, you can go through all the activity leading up to your performance, notice everything that goes on around you, and then enter your performance.
You can perform your entire activity or just a part of it, this is your choice. You will start to develop an inner sense of timing. As the session near the end, slowly allow yourself to drift back into waking consciousness. As you are finishing, give yourself a little praise. Let your inner self know you can succeed at any level you choose. Tell yourself you are capable, deserving and worthy of success.
You can rise to new, higher performance levels. Always believe in yourself! It is when you are in these deep states that your subconscious mind is open to suggestion. It is at this level, beyond your normal ego, where you meet your true confidence. This is where your true intent speaks to you with honesty. If you are having performance blocks of any kind, it is here where you may find they are self-imposed, caused by influences that you can change. You are ultimately in command of your life! Visualization is another equally important form of mental practice.
It is not all-immersive where all your senses become totally involved as in imaging. Still, it is very effective in helping improve performance. The deeper theta sessions are excellent for assisting in visualization exercises. Before you begin, pick one part of your skill that needs improving.
Start out on something small and workable, save the big things for when you really start to build your confidence and ability with this skill. Take your time with the session. Allow it to release you to a point where your mind is clear and empty of daily thoughts. When you are really feeling relaxed, bring a picture into focus.
Do you have it? Now, make that picture larger, make it more colorful. Now make it brighter. Go back again; make it even larger and more colorful and brighter in your mind until it starts to become real. Center that picture; fine tune it in your mind. Just let it happen naturally. Just go with whatever is happening.
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It will all come with time. Enjoy it, make it fun. Ok, now you have a fairly clear picture, if it is not a clear picture, you may have a fairly clear feeling of being in the activity. Your normal thinking is slowing way down. You are there; you are part of it now. Move into the activity, immerse yourself into the picture. Can you feel or see success? What is your body telling you? Listen to it as it translates your subconscious, turning into feelings in your body. Just observe your feelings without trying to change them.
Allow the entire picture flow through and around you. Go back and practice this day after day. See yourself in the same situation overcoming blocks and reaching new levels of performance. Give yourself the opportunity to allow it to work for you. One note of reminder: You have to set realistic parameters. Set your goals as high as you want, but make them attainable goals, goals that your subconscious will accept. That is the key; to see yourself as what you truly are capable of being.
Take the first few minutes to allow adequate time to reach that state. Start a video tape of either yourself performing at your peak, or of someone else you admire performing at their peak. Watch the tape with a non-critical mind. Be a disinterested observer.
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Just stay in your relaxed state and allow your inner mind to absorb. You can also use this with a tape of a performance you are not happy with. Watching the tape with a non-critical mind is the key. Just accept the performance for what it was. If your intent is to use past performances to create a higher level, then it all becomes part of one positive experience. To enhance your confidence, see and feel yourself achieving your goals and performing at your top level.
Proper mental preparation before a major event is very important. Mentally familiarize yourself with the environment you are about to enter. Rehearse your performance or key elements of your performance in your mind in the place you are about to enter. Focus on your ultimate goal.
Knowing exactly what you intend to accomplish is a powerful motivator to success. Stay fixed on your goal. Keep it near to you at all times. Know your reasons for doing what it is you are doing. Imagery and visualization of past and upcoming events, going over what you have done well or not so well can help maintain your persistence and intensity level while preparing.
Move into your performance. Notice when you commonly become distracted and identify the underlying cause. Tell yourself to remain on focus. Practice this until it becomes second nature. Use imagery and visualization to reinvigorate or take your drive to new levels. Move yourself into your activity and let yourself know that you are special and you are gifted with skill. Offer thanks for those skills and find your own purpose in life for being handed those gifts. Great performance and great performers develop by internally saying the right things in the right way.
Knowing how to use and create positive affirmations — self talk — will have a profound influence on your success. It is important to become fully aware of what you say to yourself and, just as important, how you say it. Every word you say to yourself has meaning to the subconscious mind.
Throughout your waking hours, consciously or subconsciously, you are constantly running scripts and subscripts in your mind that are both positive and negative in nature. Becoming aware of the correct way to run these scripts is a tremendous tool for performance enhancement and creating the outcome you consciously seek.
The subconscious part of the brain receives communication in a very simple, straightforward manner. It feels emotional content and sees the image attached to a thought. This can then re-register in the conscious, left side of the brain as a troublesome, underlying feeling of failure without being able to put your finger on its source. Positive and negative affirmations can have an equally powerful influence on your performance. This is why it is important to be aware of the ways in which you communicate with yourself. You are your own author of your own internal script!
You decide at each moment what is going to be imprinted on your brain. You may notice that this is written in a positive style to provide you with a sense of the greater possibilities of positive affirmations. Affirmations are best absorbed under circumstances where your mind is still.
The best affirmations are short, clearly defined and positive. We offer some simple, but powerful lessons on creating and constructing affirmations properly. Correct construction techniques will have broad positive impact. It is a form of mental practice worth developing that can change your entire outlook on life and produce remarkable results. Keep affirmations short Short, simple statements work best. Make them clear Clarity is important: They need to be specific in nature and easily understood so the content fixes itself in your subconscious.
Focus on the positive Be aware of the words you use and the power they carry. Keep negative words out even when trying to use them in a positive way. Make them realistic You have to be able to believe in what you are saying to yourself for affirmations to be effective. Construct them in the present tense Stay in the present moment.
It also helps you avoid constructing negative statements based on past performance. Say your affirmations out loud to yourself Bring your auditory processes into this activity to help make affirmations more effective. Write them out This simple, physical act helps fix them in your mind. Writing them out is an important exercise because it brings not only visual and auditory, but the kinesthetic into the activity as well. The more senses you bring into the process, the more effective this exercise will be. Review Often Place your list where you will see it and read it every day.
In addition, update and review your affirmations on a regular basis so they stay fresh and current. Affirmations should be with you always. Share them with others When you are part of a team, work with your group or teammates to create a set of shared goals. Shared goals create greater results.
Use your most important affirmations several times a day Repeat your affirmations quietly to yourself throughout the day, especially when going to sleep or waking up in the morning and when doing sessions. When self-talking, watch out for words like: These are self-limiting terms and place the focus in the wrong area — on the negative.
Negative self-talk is fear-based and a very common and efficient way to move into a defeatist mode. It creates emotional anxiety because you are focusing on not doing something. It is an attempt to move away from possible failure instead of towards success. Keep your intent on the positive. Feel good about what you are doing and who you are!
Anxiety causes a loss of focus and a loss of concentration. If you make a mistake during an important event, immediately place your focus back on what you want to accomplish. Take a slow, thoughtful breath, release the previous moment and immediately move back into performance mode. It is easy to focus on the negative we perceive in ourselves. It is also easy to look for weakness in others as a way to try to bolster our own self-image through comparison, but it takes the focus off our own strengths and subconsciously makes us focus on our own weaknesses.
It is through the power of positive thinking that each of us can fully open to our true potential. Learn to focus on the positive and release the negative. Use what you already possess within towards its best and highest purpose. If you are part of a team, your coaches will spend a lot of time working on team dynamics. You are well aware of all the fundamentals of working as a unit. You know the success of a team starts with you. However, there is more to the equation. You have within you the power to be a leader. You have the power within you to carry the team to higher levels of performance.
As you become more skilled at mastering peak performance states, the other members of your team intuitively recognize and feed on your positive energy. Use it to help them rise to higher levels as well. Anchoring is the recall of a previous experience by using one element of that experience to bring back the entire experience. The purpose of anchors is to recall and place oneself in the same peak performance state that led to previous success.
The use of anchors can help improve performance and consistency. Many athletes unconsciously use anchors without realizing it. For example, often athletes repeat the exact same physical motion, like shaking their arms and hands in a specific manner before each competition. It is a common anchor preparing the athlete to perform. There are endless anchoring examples; they can be some small physical movement, or some possession that is touched right before the start of each competition, like a ring or part of a uniform.
It can be a certain phrase a coach may use, or a touch by a coach on the shoulder that sets the anchor. It could even be a certain ritual that is followed before each competition, like the tying of shoes in a specific manner and order that sets the anchor. General examples of anchors are music and smells, which can provide powerful recall.
It could be a song heard for the first time you were with someone you cared about. This can instantly take you back to that experience. Or, it could be walking through a county fair and smelling something that instantly takes you back to your childhood. The anchor signals the body and mind to re-experience a previous event. Now that you have successfully created an anchor, you can create additional ones, if you so please. Also, begin to become aware of the anchors you are already using and continue to develop from there. You are going to find that this simple tool is very powerful once you begin to consciously use it for performance.
We communicate subconsciously to others through our posture. Our posture reflects our inner thinking. Any inner turmoil affecting confidence is reflected through posture. You can have an immediate and profound effect on your state of mind by shifting your posture, even slightly. Try this simple exercise and experience right now how effective correct posture can be.
Pick up your shoulders and raise them up and back. Lift your chest up and forward. If your legs are crossed, uncross them and place your feet flat on the floor, pointed at a slight angle out from each other.
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Now take a couple of slow, deep breaths. You will notice an almost immediate effect in the way you feel. This is also a good standing posture to assume.
Use this exercise the next time you are feeling a little anxious, excited and uptight, or a little down. Posture is very powerful when it is done with conviction. Because that type of posturing is fear-based instead of success-based. As you begin to feel confident, your posture reflects that. As you become more aware of the positive and sometimes negative ways in which you carry your body, you can begin to learn how to carry yourself in a more positive fashion.
As you practice, this will become second nature to you. In other words, you have to look at all aspects of yourself. It could be as simple as a chemical imbalance due to ingesting the wrong foods and fuels. Our bodies are tuned towards receiving proper nutrition. Feed them the right things and our bodies and minds will respond in a positive manner. Invest time to learn about proper nutrition and develop a balanced diet. Working on your body and developing correct nutritional needs is the easy part. The next is working on your mind to correct sleep imbalances.
The challenge is to release the inner material that is preventing you from proper rest. When you learn to release it, it allows you to create a balance.