In the Zone: Transcendent Experience in Sports

 

Athletes and coaches often say they feel “in the zone” while participating in sports or other endeavors, and Esalen Institute cofounder Michael Murphy carefully documents this phenomenon in one of the most comprehensive works of its kind. Murphy and coauthor Rhea A. White categorize twenty types of extraordinary athletic feats, exalted states of consciousness, and altered perceptions that, they say, evoke the richness of a spiritual practice.

 

This wide-ranging compendium includes insights from amateur, Olympic, and professional athletes, such as Michael Jordan, Mario Andretti, Jack Nicklaus, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.