Gregory Strong,The Canadian Press: Canadian women’s hockey captain Hayley Wickenheiser has tinkered with preparation techniques over the years to keep her game at the highest possible level.

Now 34 and a veteran of five Winter Olympics, Wickenheiser has shifted away from the heavier weights she lifted in her younger days. She focuses more on functional strength training now, still does regular yoga sessions and has kept making improvements to adjust to the more speed-focused style on the ice.

Wickenheiser also recently added meditation into the mix and it has made an immediate impact.

“I’m a little bit more centred and I feel less anxious …

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DNA: A meditation and relaxation class to help Liverpool players “deal with the stresses of club football” is one of the new methods introduced under the tenure of Brendan Rodgers, a new fly-on-the-wall documentary capturing life behind the scenes at Anfield has revealed.

The six-part series, due to be aired in the United States later this month (September), documents the arrival of Rodgers and sheds light on his methods. They include the manager talking about the importance of developing players as people as well as footballers.

One of the methods is a meditation and relaxation class, which is taken by -’exercise physiologist’ Molly …

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The monk in charge of the Buddhist shrine inside the Olympic Village says it is a privilege to look after the psychological well-being of more than 500 Buddhists in the Village.

It is, however, not only the Buddhists who seek his spiritual guidance, says the Most Ven Bogoda Seelawimala Thera.

As well as the athletes from Buddhist countries such as China, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Sri Lanka, there are others also who regularly visit the shrine.

“And there are non-Buddhists in the delegations of those Buddhist countries,” he told BBC Sinhala service.

“When whoever comes to my shrine first of all I welcome …

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Set to return to the Olympic stage after eight years, the Indian hockey team is working hard on being a mentally strong unit by practicing yoga and meditation before the London Games.

“Olympics is the topmost event and we are playing there after eight years. So, naturally there is pressure to perform. We are practicing Yoga daily for 40 minutes to enhance mental strength,” said Indian captain Bharat Chetri.

“We also have an interactive sessions with coach Micheal Nobbs and Trainer David John daily in which they share their good experiences. John has also started an innovative mental visualisation session on a daily basis which is a sort of meditation,” he …

Learning to meditate seems to be paying off for India’s Shiv Kapur as he prepares for the upcoming Ballantine’s Championship in Korea.
The talented Indian will head to Korea, sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and Korean Golf Tour, with his confidence sky high after finishing joint third at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters presented by PNTS on Sunday.

It was Kapur’s best finish on the Asian Tour in nearly 18 months and his cheque of US$41,362 has pushed him up to 16th place on the latest Order of Merit, which is led by South African Jbe Kruger.

“I just want to build …

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Indian star Anirban Lahiri will be banking on meditation to guide him to a successful title defence at the Panasonic Open India which starts on Thursday.

The in-form Lahiri will lead an international cast of Asian Tour stars at the Delhi Golf Club which includes Ben Fox of the United States, Prom Meesawat of Thailand, the highest ranked player this week, Siddikur of Bangladesh and Indian-specialist Rikard Karlberg of Sweden.

Lahiri credited his meditation for his superb form this year where he won his second Asian Tour title at the SAIL-SBI Open at the same venue last month and qualified for his maiden …

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The Michigan basketball team has battled its share of shooting slumps this season.

Consider:

• Sophomore guard Tim Hardaway Jr. has made 13 of his last 47 shots (27.7 percent).
• Junior guard Matt Vogrich’s shooting percentage of 37.0 is the lowest of his career.
• Sophomore forward Evan Smotrycz went 4-for-25 in a four-game stretch in January.

Michigan coach John Beilein’s best solution for each slump has been continued repetition, forcing each player to shoot his way out of a funk. His secondary solution?

That’d be meditation.

“We (meditate) throughout the year, and we try to teach them some things about how to relax,” Beilein said Friday. “A lot …

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Before facing and defeating Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida in the mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones spent some time meditating at a scenic waterfall on the Ball’s Falls conservation area on the Niagara Peninsula.

“It was really beautiful but it was so cold out there I could only meditate for about maybe 15 minutes because I didn’t want to get sick,” Jones said Saturday night after defeating Machida.

“I got a good 12 minutes in but the job was done,” he added. “We felt really refreshed and our spirits were lifted on the ride back to the hotel. So mission complete.”

Both …

US Open champion Kim Clijsters will learn some meditation and Thai cooking during her visit to Hua Hin where she will meet Caroline Wozniacki in an exhibition match on New Year’s Day.

The 84 World Tennis Invitation will be held at the Intercontinentatl Hua Hin Resort and is part of the celebrations of His Majesty the King’s 84th birthday.

In an interview with the organisers, Clijsters said this would be her first visit to Thailand and she wanted to learn about Thai culture.

“I am looking forward to it. An exhibition game gives us a little more opportunity to enjoy the country or city where you are,” said the Belgian.

“I really like to know more about your culture and I’m interested in the …

A rugby club is calling on the skills of a Buddhist monk to help improve their game. Read more