Meditation & Yoga? The Seahawks’ Superbowl Advantage

Recently, a friend asked me if I thought the Seattle Seahawks had a leg up on their Superbowl competition because coach Pete Carroll encourages his team to meditate and do Yoga as part of their routine.

Although the news media have responded with curiosity to the Seahawks meditating as part of their Superbowl preparation, emphasizing how strange and novel it seems… It actually makes a tremendous amount of sense.

The general concept of meditation is that it makes you kinder, sweeter, softer — mushy even. How does this correspond to the Titanic — even aggressive — efforts needed to win a hugely prized contest? In fact, there is no paradox at all. I have worked extensively with people at the highest levels of achievement, including athletes, corporate tycoons, and CEO’s who can be tough as nails and more than a match for any competitor. In most if not all instances I have recommended transcendental meditation (TM) as a means of maximizing their potential. TM has been shown to improve brain coherence. Simply put, that means that brain waves in different parts of the brain correlate with one another more highly, indicating that these different regions are collaborating more efficiently. In fact, one study of Norwegian competitive athletes showed that the more successful the athlete, the higher the level of brain coherence as measured by electro-encephalogram (EEG).

When one meditates, extraneous information falls by the wayside putting you in a better position to focus on the essentials of the matter at hand, whatever that happens to be — for example, the Superbowl. As one hedge fund owner who has been practicing TM for decades said to me, “Thanks to meditation when I am in the throws of negotiating a deal, I feel like a ninja. It feels as though things come at me in slow motion and I am able to respond more effectively. It is just that kind of ninja sensibility that the Seahawks will be looking for during Sunday’s Superbowl and maybe their meditation practice will give them the edge over their competitors in a battle royal — where even the slightest advantage can make the difference between winning and losing.

Wishing you Light and Transcendence,

Norman

Additional Articles:

ABC News: Seattle Seahawks Will Have ‘Ohm’ Team Advantage

ESPN.com: Lotus Pose on Two

Elite Daily: So That’s Their Secret: Pete Carroll Makes All Seahawks Players Take Yoga And Meditate