The mindful athlete Secrets to pure performance

George Mumford

Book - 2015

When injuries forced Mumford out of the game he loved, the meds that relieved the pain of his injuries also numbed him to the emptiness he felt without the game and eventually led him to heroin. After making meditation the center of his life he kicked drugs, earned a master's degree, and began teaching meditation to inmates and others. Now he shares proven mindfulness techniques that can transform the performance of anyone with a goal, be they an Olympian, weekend warrior, executive, hacker, or artist.

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796.019/Mumford
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2nd Floor 796.019/Mumford Due Jan 7, 2025
Subjects
Published
Berkeley, California : Parallax Press [2015]
Language
English
Main Author
George Mumford (-)
Physical Description
234, 14 pages ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical (references.
ISBN
9781941529065
  • Foreword / Phil Jackson
  • Introduction: The zone.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Debut author Mumford teaches mindfulness techniques to champion athletes, including Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. But the advice he packs into this book isn't just for athletes: his tips will come in handy for anyone's performance. After an opening testimonial from Phil Jackson, Mumford lays out his five "superpowers": mindfulness, concentration, insight, right effort, and trust. "These spiritual superpowers are interconnected and they work together," he counsels. In fact, he points out, the first three are grouped together in Buddhism as "the threefold training." Mumford soon delves into specifics, explaining, for instance, that mindfulness promotes concentration and insight, right effort helps create a positive mindset, and trust makes the other powers possible. Mumford emphasizes the importance of stepping out of one's comfort zone, but in a slow and steady way to avoid burnout. It's understandable to be afraid of taking a leap of faith, he writes, but the alternative can be unhappiness and spiritual demise. Mumford outlines how he's lived all these principles and applied them to the teams with which he's worked. He doesn't shrink from the grittier parts of his own story, including a serious heroin habit that these principles helped him overcome. This straight-talking, practical guide will earn a keeper spot on many bookshelves. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.