Yoga for Exam Stress

EXAM STRESS?

Exam stress can be calmed with Yoga. How about some extra sessions of yoga for the students? Students can learn all important calming techniques to cope with any exam! Yogakidz works with students in yoga to enable them to cope with exam stresses, home life, peer pressure etc….

PLEASE WATCH THIS SHORT FILM ON MEDITATION IN SCHOOLS….This is one of the many reasons we teach our yoga to Teens and Children…

 

Yoga for exam stress & Anxiety

Most people have taken tests or examinations in their life, at one point or another. Hence, you should know that feeling you have right before starting your examination, most especially if you crammed and are not too confident in your preparation.

Good thing is that yoga can help you cope with any feeling of anxiety or tension that might build up in anticipation for this exam. After undergoing a Yoga program a stressed-out student said that it was “nice to relax for a little while.”

Janine Wilton-Daley, a school’s sports co-ordinator, said that yoga provided the girls with a chance to “empty their minds”. “You get very centred and can’t think of anything for the amount of time you’re in the pose. The only thing they are concentrating on is their breathing. They’ve been thrilled, really excited,” she said. (ANI)

You could probably think of many more questions to ask about these important exam years. Do you feel that whatever the pupils try to do and however much you try to help they seem to be stuck in negative mode, “It’s all too much.”, “I’ve had enough.”, “It’s doing my head in!.”
It’s time to look at some tried and tested stress busters from the world of yoga.

• breath work to calm
• gentle stretches to increase energy
• simple visualisation techniques
• seated relaxation

Yoga is for anyone studying for exams and feeling stressed out.

 The Solution?

Yogakidz offers classes geared towards coping with exams!

Before school, at lunchtime or after school.

If you would like YOGA FOR EXAM STRESS please do contact Sarah for an informal discussion and/or to book some sessions. Sessions can be booked as one off classes to learn a few techniques or as a course of four- ten week blocks.

Here are some yoga techniques to get you started….

Besides the fact that no board exam is the end of life or is in any way solely responsible for shaping someone’s future, its so called stress has become an inevitable part of the entire system. The trick is to give it just enough importance it requires and treat it like any other exam one appears for.  Unnecessary hype and phobia can make even a tiny insect seem like a deadly venomous ugly reptile. So I am going to replace the word stress here, because many a times it’s the word itself that creates the hype. Rather I would like to deal with it as just any other normal nervousness and anxiety before a test or an exam. So here are a few yogic techniques to help you stay in control.

1. Deep breathing– Nothing works better than this. You can carry this technique even inside the examination hall. Whenever anxiety strikes you, just sit straight, see if you can close your eyes, and slowly begin to breathe deeply. Not just superficial breathing, but deep enough to make your lungs and stomach completely inflated when inhaling. While exhaling the lungs and stomach must deflate. This should be done slowly, while focusing on the breathe itself. Try doing it for 10 rounds to start with and find the difference yourself.

2. Bhramari Pranayama  – Sit comfortably with eyes closed and the whole body relaxed. Now close each ear with each of your thumbs. Place the index fingers on top of your eyebrows, close your eyes with the second fingers, place the ring fingers on the sides of your nose and the small fingers on the corners of your lips. Press all these points softly. Inhale deeply through the nose. Keeping the mouth closed begin to breathe out slowly producing a long continuous humming sound. Hum loud enough like a bee so you can feel the vibration on your face. Exhalation should be slow. Relax and repeat a couple of times. This can be done even in times when you find yourself unable to concentrate or focus on your studies. It should bring the focus back.

3. Grivasana/ Neck roll – Sit straight and place your hands in a comfortable position with arms straight. Do not move the shoulders. Now slowly drop the neck to the front. Then roll the head to the right very slowly. The right ear has to come above the right shoulder. The face is front. Now roll the neck back. Let the head drop back. Then roll the neck to the left bringing the left ear over the left shoulder. Finally roll the neck to the front. Continue then, to move in the reverse direction. Repeat rolling in both directions two more times. This is a slow neck roll and keeps the face close or touching to the body while rolling.

4. Chanting ‘Om’: For non-believers, don’t take this chanting like a religious mantra, rather believe in it strongly as being the universal sound and the spiritual elevator. Cross legged, eyes closed, back straight with no distraction, breathe 2-3 times slowly to gather yourself together. Then initiate the OM dhwani from your tummy. A deep, long, continuous and steady sound which should vibrate all over your body. Don’t push your breathe beyond the comfort point. Inhale deeply and repeat twice more. Great for concentration too.