The Zen Master is at it again.

Phil Jackson, who introduced his players to tai chi, yoga and meditation while coaching the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers to a National Basketball Association-record 11 titles, is bringing some of those techniques to the New York Knicks.

Jackson, 69, who became president of the Knicks in March, has changed coaches and traded away two starting players from the team that finished 37-45 last season and missed the playoffs by one game.

Now hes working on his players mental strength, hiring a mindfulness trainer to work with team members.

Mindfulness is the intention to pay attention to each and every moment of our life, non-judgmentally, according to the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.

It is one of the central practices of Buddhism, though the mindfulness preached by Jackson is more secular in nature. He explained its value to NBA players in a television interview with Oprah Winfrey in June 2013.

As much as we pump iron, and we run and build our strength up, we need to build our mental strength up, Jackson said. We need to build our mental strength so we can focus, so that we can be in concert with one another in times of need.

Jackson told Winfrey that he taught his players how to hold their hands properly while meditating, and how to sit upright so they wont fall asleep.

When you come off the court, you had a bad call, things going wrong for you, you sit on the bench, he said. You take a breath and you reset yourself, and you do that through this mindfulness, you just come right back in and collect yourself.

Lets see if mindfulness brings out the mellow in Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks scoring leader.

Originally posted here:
Zen Master Phil Jackson Brings Mindfulness to NBA Knicks