Phil Jackson Takes Over NY Knicks: Zen Buddhism In The Future Of Madison Square Garden

Will Phil Jackson Bring Zen Buddhism To The NY Knicks?

Phil Jackson is one of the most famous people in basketball. He is a former NBA player and former coach of the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers who lead his teams in 11 NBA championships. On March 18, Phil Jackson became the president of the New York Knicks, signing on for a 5-year contract.

High-profile success aside, Jackson is also known for his Zen Buddhism, which he famously incorporated into his coaching. As meditation and Zen practices worked for previous teams, some wonder if Jackson will implement the same practices to help revitalize the Knicks.

Many of the valuable lessons learned through meditation and Zen Buddhism can be applicable to success in sports. As Jackson said in an interview with Oprah in 2013, "As much as we pump iron and we run to build our strength up, we need to build our mental strength up... so we can focus... so we can be in concert with one another."

How do you get a group of basketball players to sit still and meditate? Jackson explained how he "taught them how to hold their hands, where their shoulders had to be, the whole process of being in an upright situation so you're not slouched... and they bought into it."

HuffPost Live considers the question of whether Jackson will implement these tactics with the New York Knicks in a roundtable discussion hosted by Josh Zepps. Weighing in on the topic is HuffPost Sports Columnist Jordan Schultz, Ziva Meditation founder Emily Fletcher and Olivia Rosewood, author of 'Please Meditate: It's Good for You'. Check out the video above.

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