Just when it looked like old age was finally starting to catch up with him, LA Lakers basketball hero Kobe Bryant went on a scoring spree last week, averaging 29 points in three games.

At 37 years old and with 19 years of professional experience, it’s not his youthful athleticism or explosiveness that carry him anymore.

Bryant attributes his focus and presence to his daily meditation practice.

“I have a calmness about whatever comes my way and a poise. And that comes from starting themorning off with meditation,” he said in a 2015 interview on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Bryant was introduced to meditation when he was 18, by Phil Jackson, his former coach who is nicknamed the “Zen Master.”

Bryant  has now been a regular practitioner for the last 16 years.

“It’s crazy to me that meditation is viewed as hokey,” he said recently. “Just look at the people who’ve done phenomenal things. Do they meditate? Absolutely.”

Recent studies confirm that mindfulness practice improves sports performance. It reduces neuronal activity in key brain regions where high activity triggers anxiety and negative moods, two factors linked to poor performance.

Sport psychologists add that mindfulness trains the brain to immerse itself in the moment, a state they call flow. When a person is in flow, they can master challenges that would normally overwhelm them.

But none of this comes as a surprise to Bryant.

“I always knew the game carried a deeper meaning, more than X’s and O’s and strategy,” he said. Bryce Arghiere

I am interested in learning more about Furthr’s mindfulness course.

Posted in: Infographic of the day, Mindfulness