With all the scientific evidence coming out in the past several years, meditation is becoming something that can't be overlooked. As anyone who's ever played a sport knows, the biggest opponent is always inside. Meditation gives you ways to come to terms with this opponent.

It doesn't matter what sport you play, any athlete can benefit from the positive benefits of meditation. Meditation research on athletic performance is still very much in its infancy. However, meditation has been shown to help in other areas that could relate to athletic performance.

Every professional coach in the world should be looking at the thousands of studies that have shown the effectiveness of meditation. Phil Jackson, one of the all-time winning coaches in the NBA, has been using meditation for years with his players -- he won 11 NBA championships.

Here are a few reasons why every athlete should consider the practice…

Meditation has been a core part of my life for over 19 years. It's part of my daily routine and for years I just took it for granted that it helped my work as a 'career creative,' but new studies have been emerging which show how and why my mindful practice actually innovated my thinking and made me more creative.

When I get handed a new project brief, one that can make a big impact, I can often get all twisted up in my mental thoughts, and I really push myself to 'nail it' which only ends up with lame ideas and performance pressure. As all creatives know there is a quiet thrill in the challenge of solving 'the answer' to the puzzle a design brief poses. But in the 'trying' it can become frustrating if the answer doesn't arrive, and sometimes we can get stuck in cycling through thought patterns when there is zero creative flow and it ultimately becomes a painful way to work!

So with applying meditation to my creative process I found it is a perfect and fast way out of these creative binds, and here is an overview of the brain science behind WHY meditation activates our creative juices…

North Americans have adopted meditation and mindfulness because it can improve work performance, personal relationships, and health. In an average 9-to-5 work day, just 5 minutes of deep breathing, reflection, and tension release can work to decrease stress levels and increase overall productivity.

The implementation of a daily practice has helped many working adults, says Yunha Kim, Founder and CEO of Simple Habit. After discovering the benefits of mindfulness, Kim created an app for working people to listen to on-the-go 5-minute meditations. Even just one week of brief daily mindfulness meditation practice has been found to produce significant benefits.

She openly shared her benefits and recommendations…

What sets elite performers apart is not necessarily the skill level, but their mentality, attitude and thought processes. A musical or an athletic performance is a manifestation of one’s mental state and when an ideal ‘zone’ mindset is obtained, musicians and athletes refer to this experience as being ‘in the moment,’ as if all activity is executed effortlessly, without the need for analysis. In this ‘zone' state, concentration, focus and mental anticipation are so intense that all action is mentally visualized before it actually occurs. Many describe this sensation as experiencing the performance in slow motion. The ability to engage and activate this heightened performance mode can be learned, trained, and refined as a skill.

In the ‘zone,’ the human body experiences peak performance related symptoms1 that are often described as follows…

Artists and art lovers alike have gathered the evidence to support their belief that unless you are filled with angst like Bob Dylan, Alanis Morissette, or Ernest Hemingway, you might not be able to tap into your creativity. Even Socrates and Plato historically took “melancholic habitus” (a sulking holiday) in order to fan the flames of their creative minds. It’s understandable how in today's analytical world you might think that this evidence proves angst and unhappiness are the fuel required to create. I'm excited to share with you that meditation actually provides the same opportunities to boost and fuel your creativity without the downside of angst, such as stress and unhappiness which often lead to poor health, both mentally and physically.

Creativity is multifaceted; we have the brain level, as well as the creative process itself. The process usually involves inspiration followed by action. Where does the inspiration come from? If I was able to look into the brain, I would not find a storage space filled with poems waiting to be written or art bursting to be put on canvas. Where do the ideas form? How do they get manifested? Creativity looks different for each individual…

Coaches, athletes, and commentators often attribute episodes of excellent performance to athletes being in a psychological state known as the ‘zone’. Professor Adam Nicholls , explains what this psychological state is, and provides proven techniques for accessing the zone

Being in the zone is an extremely positive mental state, in which an athlete is completely and totally connected to his or her performance, and perceives that all challenges can be overcome during a particular competition or on a particular day. Being in the zone is particularly desirable for endurance athletes, because it represents a mindset that is associated with superior performance. There are a number of terms that are also used to describe being in the zone, which include: ‘being in a bubble’, ‘performing on autopilot’, or ‘being in complete control’.

THE NINE DIMENSIONS OF FLOW

Sport psychology researchers have studied the zone for over 30 years, in an attempt to understand more about the workings of this construct. These studies have revealed and confirmed that flow consists of nine dimensions (see Figure 1)2 3. It is important to note that not every athlete will experience each dimension of the zone, as there is often individual variation…