Many experiences described by athletes share these qualities. The withdrawal of attention from distractions, the deliberate holding of a constant focus, the effortless absorption, the sense of unity and rightness of movement that Jacklin, King, and others describe are not unlike these stages of yogic meditation. The playing trance may not have the stability, penetration, and pervasiveness of the dedicated contemplative's realizations, but there are striking similarities between the two kinds of experience and between the stages in which they develop.

Michael Murphy, Rhea White, In the Zone