Many kids (and grown-ups) care a lot about sports.  When I tell kids about how more and more professional athletes are using mindfulness to help them succeed, it’s a great motivator for them to learn and practice the same skills.

Phil Jackson, coach of the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers, is a great example.  He taught both his teams how to use mindfulness and meditation to help them succeed in basketball.  In this video he describes how mindfulness was a way of helping his athletes build mental strength, the same way he taught them how to improve their physical skills.  Interestingly, he also tried Tai Chi and Yoga with his teams but those practices didn’t ‘stick’ the way meditation did.  The players were often tired or injured after practice, making the positions necessary for the practices challenging.  The simplicity and power of mindfulness practice was an important part of these professional players’ toolkit.

To learn more, check out his recent book:
Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success