Pre-game ritual

Mass meditation at arena may chill out Heat fans.

Namaste, Miami Heat fans.

A mass meditation will take place before the tipoff of the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics game Dec. 18 at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami.

The “Heat Nation Meditation” is part of the Mindfulness Festival & Meditation Workshop that will feature vendors, practitioners and meditation experts on game day in the Xfinity East Plaza of the arena, 601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. The festival runs from 1 to 3:30 p.m. The game starts at 5.

The spiritual event will be led by Davidji, a stress management expert, and Shelly Tygielski, a South Florida meditation leader. They will conduct breathing exercises that will help people learn to still their mind while becoming energized for the game. And perhaps that will help translate into a Heat win.

Davidji, who has apprenticed under spiritual leader Deepak Chopra, was the inaugural dean of Chopra Center University in California.

Tygielski, a Lighthouse Point resident, organizes free weekly meditation sessions on Hollywood Beach. She said the idea for a meditation for Heat fans came from those beach gatherings, which have drawn hundreds of people.

Meditation and sports have gone hand in hand. Whether individually or with their team, some professional and amateur athletes have practiced mindfulness to help boost their performance. The Seattle Seahawks have used meditation in their training. Remember in 2012 when LeBron James openly meditated while taking a break during a Miami Heat game? And athletes such as former Miami Heat player Shaquille O’Neal and former Los Angeles Lakers champ Kobe Bryant have also been known to meditate.

Tickets to the mindful festival are $30, which includes admission to the Heat game. The festival is open to all ages.

Tickets are available at heatnationmeditation.com.

BARBARA CORBELLINI DUARTE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Shelly Tygielski meditates every morning in the backyard of her house in Lighthouse Point.