Athletes who meditateThey might be different, but all these top performance athletes have one thing in common: they meditate. “I try to do a silent meditation every day, either first thing in the morning or right before bed. If I head into a meditation with my mind a little scattered, I always come out of it feeling more clear and calm.” - LeBron James “Any professional athlete will tell you that the mind is everything. For me, there is no shame in saying that I visualize and I meditate, because it really works.” - Carli Lloyd "I meditate every day and I usually do it for ten or fifteen minutes in the morning, as that prepares me to face whatever comes next." - Michael Jordan “I’ve done so much mindful meditation that now my brain functions better automatically, even when I’m not meditating. Mindfulness helps me process pain and emotions. It helps me turn down the volume in my brain.” - Novak Djokovic “Meditation is the ultimate game changer in so many ways. Meditation has allowed me to live more deliberately and less reactively. I will never stop and I will always strive for 15 minutes a day of stillness.” - Kerri Walsh Jennings Many Seattle Seahawks players ascribed their Super Bowl success in 2013 to their meditation training. Head coach Pete Carroll introduced mindfulness meditation two years prior, in 2011. “I meditate two times per day—once before morning practice and once after my afternoon nap.” - Alexi Pappas “I feel like the quarantine was good for me because I was able to meditate. I was able to think a lot about what I wanted to do and I was able to come here with a clear mind.” - Naomi Osaka “My mother's a Buddhist. In Buddhism, if you want to achieve enlightenment, you have to do it through meditation and self-improvement through the mind. That's something she's passed on to me: to be able to calm myself down and use my mind as my main asset.” - Tiger Woods “I meditate every day. I do it in the mornings for about 10-15 minutes. It's like having an anchor. If I don't do it, it's like I'm constantly chasing the day.” - Kobe Bryant "Meditation has changed my life. Meditating every single day has been crucial for me - on the days when I don't do it, I don't feel well, and I think that taking that time is really important." - Aly Raisman Phil Jackson is a Zen Buddhist and the most winningest coach in NBA history. He has introduced meditation to all of his players including Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Shaquille O'Neale. “I tried it (meditation), 15 to 20 minutes, it really works. It calms and brings me a lot of serenity. I meditate almost every day.” - Christiano Ronaldo "Our mantra is ‘head first.’ For years we’ve been working on mental conditioning with mindfulness and meditation. Both attributes help the players make the right decisions on the field and off.”” - James Bunce, USWNST Director of High Performance The Chicago Cubs incorporated a meditation and mindfulness training program in 2014. Two years later they credited this program as an integral part of their 2016 World Series victory.