To be on top form in exams, you need to learn how to switch off when not revising. Simple meditation techniques can help. By Jackie Durham, education and training consultant, CIMA, and qualified yoga instructor.
For CIMA students, stress busting is about making sure you're on top of your studies and ready for your next exams. That way, you can fall sleep at night with a clear conscience.
Sometimes, no matter how prepared we are, our minds can play tricks on us, especially if we've been studying a lot. One tool that can help control this is meditation.
According to Wendy Dashwood-Quick of Resolution Coaching, meditation is essentially about giving your mind a chance to take a break and switch off. She says: 'Top athletes train, but they need to rest in order for their muscles to recover and recuperate ready for their next training session. Meditation does the same thing for your brain.'
There is plenty of anecdotal evidence of students finding that meditation helps their concentration during study and exams. And even if you don't practice it every day, recalling some simple breathing techniques can be very useful when facing moments of extreme stress.
Make it part of your study plan
So long as you are mentally fit*, there are great benefits to be gained from learning the basic tools of meditation and making it a regular, integral part of your study plan. It need only be for five minutes a day.
You can meditate anywhere and at any time. Some people meditate on the train going to work. Others meditate in their lunch hour, in the park.
All you need to do it is a point of focus. Different focus points work better for different people.
Some find gazing at a physical object works well for them ' like a flower, a pebble, a patterned symbol such as a mandala, or a candle. If you respond well to aural stimuli, meditation on a sound might suit you better - like a mantra, which is a short phrase that is repeated many times. If you are religious, focusing on a symbol or sound from your spiritual tradition, may work best for you.
Positive affirmations are also very useful for teaching your body how to behave and also for developing confidence. As you breathe in, think: 'breathing in, I calm my body' and as you breathe out: 'breathing out, I calm my mind'. You'd be surprised how effective just a few minutes a day practice can be. Any affirmation is helpful, for example: 'I am a confident person.' You could even try 'May I pass my CIMA exams well'.
12-step meditation plan
Just follow these simple steps to meditation heaven!
- Find a quiet and comfortable spot for practice, close the door and dim the lights
- Get yourself into a comfortable seated position, and relax but keep your spine erect
- Put one palm on top of the other, thumbs just touching and resting together
- Close your eyes, or gaze softly at a spot on the floor in front of you, keeping your chin parallel with the floor
- Visualise your body and its position with the spine erect, eyes closed, and a calm expression on your face
- Focus on your breath. Don't change your rhythm of breathing, but just tune in and listen to it
- Concentrate on your heart rate and notice that it has become slow and regular
- Begin to focus on your chosen object, sound or breath
- If your mind wanders or thoughts intrude, don't get cross or be distracted. Just acknowledge the thought, then let it go and bring your attention back to your chosen object
- Remain this way for five to 20 minutes (aim to build up over a period of time)
- Slowly bring your awareness back to your body and then to the room, sights, noises etc within the room
- Try to retain any sense of peace and calm you have generated as you go back to normal life.
*People suffering from clinical depression, serious anxiety or mental ill health should only embark on a course of meditation under the guidance of a qualified practitioner.
If you find that meditation causes you to feel emotional, this is probably quite normal but do not continue if it makes you feel anxious, agitated, breathless or dizzy.