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New York Knicks Being Put Through ‘Mindfulness Training’

By Michael Saenz

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Mar 19, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks new president

Phil Jackson

sits in the stands during the first quarter of a game against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Knicks will be put through ‘mindfulness training’ to begin the season thanks to Phil Jackson

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The New York Knicks will be mentally tougher than you this season. Let it be known.

The Knicks might not be good enough to, you know, actually win many games this season but their hope is that they’re going to definitely beat teams in the psychological battle every night.

New York Knicks president Phil Jackson is so determined to have this edge that he’s bringing in someone to put the team through “mindfulness training.” Whatever that means.

In essence, the New York Knicks will be mentally tough. After all, they’re going to have to be. By the looks of their roster, it’s going to be one mentally draining season.

"[via Phil Jackson has New York Knicks taking ‘mindfulness training’ — ESPN]“This is one of the things that they have to go through if they’re going to be part of the Knick organization,” Jackson said at the New Yorker Festival in Manhattan.Jackson’s affinity for Eastern philosophy is well-known. He earned the moniker “Zen Master” by instilling the principles of mindfulness, visualization and other techniques associated with Eastern religions in his teams in Chicago and Los Angeles.“There’s a mindfulness training program that’s very logical and very calm, quiet, and we’ve started the process with this team, and [first-year head coach] Derek [Fisher is] all for it. He’s a proponent of it,” Jackson said Sunday. “And yet I think that it’s kind of what I am inserting in here as part of what I think has to happen because I know what effect it [has]. I think it’s very difficult sometimes for a coach to do this because it’s so anti what we are as athletes.“We’re about action; we’re about this intense activity that we’ve got to get after. And this mindfulness is about sitting still and being quiet and controlling your breath and allowing you to be in the moment, and yet it’s so vital for a team to have this skill or players to have this skill. To be able to divorce themselves from what just happened that’s inherent to them — a referee’s bad call, or an issue that goes on individually or against your opponent. You’ve got to be able to come back to your center and center yourself again.”"

Jackson is trying to bring a breath of fresh air to the New York Knicks, and he’s done just that in his first few months on the job. He’s cleaned house a bit, brought back Carmelo Anthony, and is now trying to establish a new foundation to the team, revolving around mental toughness.

At this point, nothing will hurt the New York Knicks. He may as well try anything — and everything — in his repertoire.

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