Fun-in Fitness Art of Athletic Bliss Conditioning

AABC blog post Inspired Sports and Fitness Revolution started to define Freedom in the Integrated Bliss Zone by referring to Bhagavad-Gita Chapter 2, verse 48: “Established in Yoga, O winner of wealth, perform actions having abandoned attachment and having become balanced in success and failure, for balance of mind is called Yoga.”

And from that verse, in terms of the Art Athletic Bliss Conditioning, we stated: Established in the 100% Integrated Bliss Zone, a champion athlete maintains a balanced mind and thereby spontaneously abandons the anxiety of winning or losing during conditioning and competition.

Thus the 100% IBZ is the experience of balance of mind with which an athlete enjoys freedom from the anxiety of winning and losing, which in turn allows him or her to focus on performing with the most dynamic athletic beauty and purpose.

That’s good, but how exactly can balance of mind be maintained during contentious championship competition?

It plays out in the same fashion as a wealthy individual easily paying hundreds of thousands of dollars on a debt while having a billion dollar bank balance. Like that an athlete established in the 100% IBZ, would see competition and scoring as insignificant in the context of total engagement with 100% blissful athletic beauty and purpose for peak elite sports performance. Although click this link for a video of Michael Jordan expressing his love for competition and other competitive players.

Kobe Bryant’s NBA Championship Performance

Kobe Bryant just won his 5th NBA championship and is one title closer to Michael Jordan’s 6, but it proved to be his most difficult so far. “The more I tried to push,” he said, “the more it kept getting away from me.” He said, “I wanted it so bad.” And it was like he got down on his knees and started praying during NBA Championship action. Bryant finished by shooting only 6-of-24 from the floor and missed four key free throws.

Kobe’s mind was tortured, NOT balanced for the 7th game of the 2010 NBA Championship. He was overshadowed with wanting to win to the extent that the Celtics defense held his scoring to 25%. He had twice as much scoring freedom during the season with an average of 50% and he was 52% against the Suns in the Western Conference finals!

If Michael Jordan was playing for the Celtics in the 7th game of the 2010 NBA Championship, instead of a 83 to 79 LA victory it would have been more like a 83 to 120 LA loss.

Michael Jordan’s NBA Championship Performance

Michael Jordan displayed championship athletic beauty and purpose throughout his NBA career with close to a 50% scoring average during the regular season and the championship playoffs.

“Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time — although a summary of his basketball career and influence on the game inevitably fails to do justice to the man. A phenomenal athlete with a unique combination of fundamental soundness, grace, speed, power, artistry, improvisational ability and an unquenchable competitive desire, Jordan single-handedly redefined the NBA superstar.

However, his impact is far greater than awards and championships. He burst into the league as a rookie sensation scoring in droves with an unmatchable first step and acrobatic drives and dunks and concluded his career as a cultural icon. Along the way, he became a true champion who spearheaded the globalization of the NBA with his dynamic on court abilities and personal sense of style that was marketed to the masses.”

When asked what he would say to players going to the NBA finals for the first time he said, “I would tell players to relax and never think about what’s at stake. Just think about the basketball game. If you start to think about who is going to win the championship, you’ve lost your focus.”