Sometimes the road to success can be a mysterious one, no one would think that meditation could help one be successful, or even win a game, but it does. Just ask sports psychologist and meditation teacher George Mumford.
For five years, George Mumford worked with NBA Championship team the Chicago Bulls, during the Michael Jordan years. He’s also been involved with the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s currently a sports psychologist and meditation teacher to many athletes and sports teams.
Soren Gordhamer: “When you teach mindfulness to the Chicago Bulls or the Los Angeles Lakers, what do you feel that you are offering?”
George Mumford says, “The opportunity to be in the moment. In sports, what gets people’s attention is this idea of being in the zone, or playing in the zone. When they are playing their best, they can do no wrong, and no matter what happens they are always a step quicker, a step ahead. That happens when we are in the moment, when we are mindful of what is going on. There’s a lack of self-consciousness, there’s a relaxed concentration, and there’s this sense of effortlessness, of being in the flow. We have that experience in other parts of our life, but we equate it with sports because there are rules and guidelines, and it is a situation where you get immediate feedback. When we are in the moment and absorbed with the activity, we play our best. That happens once and awhile, but it happens more often if we learn how to be more mindful. By mindful, I mean being aware, being engaged with the present moment. Mindfulness is useful because it is through this that we can see what is going on. It means knowing what needs to happen and doing it.
