Mindful walking practice

After a long day sitting in an office, seated meditation might seem unappealing. On days when you want to get out into nature, try walking meditation instead.

Walking meditation, also known as mindful walking, is an active practice that requires you to be consciously aware and moving in the environment rather than sitting down with your eyes closed. The practice brings you closer to nature and your body. It also helps strengthen your concentration, makes you more aware, and connects you to the present moment.

Try to wear comfortable clothing and shoes, if possible. Begin by standing still and becoming aware of your body and how it feels. Notice your posture, feel the weight of your body pressing down toward the ground, and your heels pushing into your shoes; become aware of all the subtle movements that are keeping you balanced and upright.

Allow your knees to bend very slightly and feel your hips as your center of gravity. Take a few deep belly breaths and bring your awareness into the present moment.

Now begin to walk slightly slower than normal pace, maintaining an almost imperceptible bend in the knees. With each step, be aware of the gentle heel-to-toe rhythm as each foot makes contact with the ground. 

Breathe naturally and fully, deeply filling your lungs with each inhalation, but being careful not to strain or struggle in any way. Allow your eyes to focus softly ahead of you, taking in as much of the periphery as comfortable. Try to maintain a soft body and breathing awareness as you walk naturally and easily.

When your attention drifts away from the sensations of walking and breathing, take notice of those thoughts, moods, or emotions without judgment and gently guide your awareness back to the present moment, back to the walking. 

Continue this mindful walking for anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes or longer if comfortable.

When it’s time to end the meditation, allow yourself to come to a gentle halt. Pause—once again experiencing yourself standing still—as you feel the earth beneath your feet. Take a few deep breaths as this session comes to close. Slowly return to your regular activity.

Hopefully the benefits will whet your appetite for mindful walking. Explore the steps listed above and experience some of the benefits firsthand. 

THE MOTION OFFENSE

A motion offense is a category of offensive scheme used in basketball. Motion offenses use player movement, often as a strategy to exploit quickness of the offensive team or to neutralize a size advantage of the defense.

Motion offenses are different from continuity offenses in that they follow no fixed repeating pattern. Instead a motion offense is free-flowing and unrestricted, following a set of rules. Some examples of basic rules that are commonly used are:

• Pass and screen away: Players pass to one side of the court and seek to screen for players on the opposite side of the court. The hope is to create spacing and driving lanes to basket.
• Back screen: Players in the key seek to screen players on the wing and open them up for basket cuts.
• Flare screen: Player without the ball on the perimeter seeks to set a screen (usually near the elbow area of the lane) for another player without the ball at the top of the key area.

  History

  The origin of the motion offense has been disputed. Though credit is often given to Hank Iba, the former head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys men's basketball team, there are many who believe that the motion offense was developed earlier by coaches of the New York Renaissance, an all-African American team who played during the 1920s and 30s. In fact, the Rens were the first team—black or white—to win the World Championship Professional Basketball Tournament, held in 1939, by using the motion offense.

  Hank Iba's version

  Hank Iba's teams were methodical, ball-controlling units who featured weaving patterns and low-scoring games. A major contributor to the motion offense run at OSU was through the methodical mind of Bloomer Sullivan, Hank Iba's assistant early on who implemented his own version of the motion offense at Southeastern Oklahoma State College for 31 years.

  Bob Knight's version

  Another prominent head coach who was influential in the development of the motion offense is Bob Knight. Knight enjoyed great success for over 40 years as the head coach of the United States Military Academy, Indiana University, and Texas Tech University, recording 902 total victories. Knight's motion offense didn't truly come to fruition until his time at Indiana. Prior to that, as head coach of Army, he ran a "reverse action" offense. This offense involved reversing the ball from one side of the floor to the other, and screening along with it. According to Knight, it was a "West Coast offense" that Pete Newell used during his coaching career. After watching the Princeton offense for years while still at West Point, Knight went to the Olympic trials in 1972 to learn about the passing game. With Newell's help, he was able to further develop his offense.
  Bob Knight's motion offense emphasized post players setting screens and perimeter players passing the ball until a teammate becomes open for an uncontested lay-up or jump shot. Players are also required to be unselfish and disciplined, and must be effective in setting and using screens to get open. Plus, instead of relying on set plays, Knight's offense is designed to react according to the defense. As he continued developing his offense, he instituted different cuts and would put his players in different scenarios. During his time at Indiana University, the Hoosiers won 3 NCAA Championships; in 1976, 1981, and 1987. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991.

  CSKA Moscow

  CSKA Moscow under Ettore Messina, had implemented a sophisticated version of the motion offense in Euroleague, combining it with half court sets for great success.

  Modern usage

  The motion offense is not used by a vast majority of high school, college, and professional basketball teams. It is hard to teach, so many coaches shy away from it. However, many basketball teams have continued to use the offense to great success on all levels of the game.

Bob Knight: 'I'd have gotten rid of' Kaepernick

Anybody who knows Bobby Knight isn't going to be surprised by his thoughts on Colin Kaepernick.

"Were I a teammate, were I the coach, were I the owner, in a situation like that, I'd have gotten rid of the guy," Knight said. "That's a distraction, we don't need a distraction like that. We've got to have our team play and now we've got a terrible distraction, a tremendous distraction. And it really has nothing to do with the competition there. It's hard for me to imagine anybody that can fault the opportunities one has in this country. No country in the world provides better opportunities for people that are willing to work, willing to sacrifice and I would've had a very difficult time playing with a guy like that, coaching a guy like that, or having him as a teammate."