EPISODE 112: Phil Jackson Insights and the Magic of the Now

Episode 112: Erwin Benedicto

Remember, in my previous podcasts, I often mention the Default Mode Network (DMN), which is the brain’s autopilot survival mode that constantly looks for what’s wrong. This makes you constantly react to what’s outside—with elevated cortisol, inflammation, and a lower immune system. This even slows down healing, which makes a lot of sense for athletes, for example.

But when you work on awareness and practice gratitude, you can walk out of this autopilot mode. You are able to slow things down and be in the NOW, tapping into your flow state better. It’s like living life with the breaks on!

All these—and how you can start practicing mindfulness and gratitude in your mission to make an impact—is what I’m chatting about with one of the most respected performance hackers in the sports industry, Erwin Benedict Valencia.

He currently serves as the Team Physical Therapist and Assistant Athletic Trainer, as well as the Wellness Lead for the NY Knicks. He initiated the team’s Mindfulness Program in the 2015-2016 and started the first-ever In-Season Daily Breathwork and Intention Setting Program in NBA—and the first Filipino to be hired full-time on a medical staff of any major sports team at the highest level. He was also the first to collaborate with the meditation app Headspace in order for it to be used as a recovery strategy and Co-Founder of the sports medicine-focused company KINETIQ.

Inspired and mentored by Phil Jackson, Erwin continuously works to make mindfulness an integral part of the overall fitness and wellness strategy for these super high-performing people. He’s also multiplying the impact he’s making in the sports industry to other spaces, especially young people, through the Grasshopper Project and Gratitude Gang.

Want to start your own mindfulness practice and discover the magic of the NOW? Don’t miss out on the gold Coach Erwin is sharing with us, only at the Thrive State Podcast!

Find out more @erwinbvalencia on IG
grasshopperproject.org
gratitudegang.io

Show notes

• It’s taken time. It in itself was a journey for me.
• Meditation has been in the world of basketball since Phil Jackson introduced it. But this generation has changed from that generation. They need to trust me more than anything else. I had to be what I want to present myself as. And it really takes time.
• When we want to do something that represents us, all we can do is plan the seed. We can’t force the seed to grow. Let it grow on its own. When the time comes, it will ask for more sunshine and water.
• Patience plays a role in trying to really show who you are.

• Challenges make us re-evaluate our lives but also new beginnings.

• This anchor phrase signals to begin with the mindfulness practice.
• But what does the NOW mean? Being present. Just notice. The court or NBA space is madness, so it is really important to be able to find peace and time for stillness. This allows one to remember where you are and to be grounded.
• How to Welcome the NOW: Find that sliver of space and stillness of time by focusing on one thing. Capture this moment from whatever things that get jarry and hold it.

• The Default Mode Network is the brain’s autopilot survival mode that constantly looks for what’s wrong. When you’re not paying attention, you are constantly reacting to what’s outside. But when you work on awareness, you can walk out of this autopilot mode.
• People who are always in autopilot mode are in a stress state, which increases cortisol and inflammation and lowers the immune system. This slows down healing. But people who can turn off their DMN can slow things down and be in the NOW can tap into their flow state better. It’s like living life with the breaks on.
• The beautiful thing about stepping back and finding that space of groundedness is that it allows you to remember where and who you are despite whatever’s around you.
• Some additional hacks for grounding: associating smell, mantra
• Erwin’s ultimate favorite: Be like water. (by Bruce Lee)

• I think I grew up with already a sense of gratitude because, being raised up in the Philippines, you get to see the difference between what it is like to have and not have. Empathy can be powered by a sense of gratitude.
• Asking WHY you are grateful is a way to hold yourself accountable for the gratitude you have.
• Gratitude in the longevity space has been seen to lead to lower markers of inflammation.
• Gratitude is a state, and they are energetically connected to your other states. It also helps quiet down the DMN.
• There is no other negative polarity within the gratitude state—you can’t be grateful and ungrateful simultaneously.

• Gratitude letter
• Before fully waking up, put your right hand over your heart and your left hand over your right and do some deep breathing. Take a moment to say how grateful you are to have another day to wake up, breathe and have the chance to make an impact.

Gratitude Gang was initially a pub house club that was turned into an NFT and now into a 501(c)3 to help rebuild schools in the Philippines and provide mental health services for kids affected by the typhoon.

Grasshopper Project helps mentor next-generation leaders and changemakers.

Erwin’s Best Medicine: Gratitude.

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