Exam is stressful! Exam brings tension! Exam creates anxiety!
- Acharya Prathistha
Exam is stressful! Exam brings tension! Exam creates anxiety! – These are very common sayings you all must have heard but have you ever heard Exam is fun ! Exam is just a normal routine ! Exam is a part of life ???
Well we all are what we ‘think’, What we ‘Say’, what we ‘hear’, and above all what we ‘believe’ ! And that’s the power of positive thinking, that’s the power of self talk, that’s the power of yog (which is not at all a mere set of physical excercises) !
We all are blessed with tremendous power of creating whatever we want inside as well as around us, to create what we think, to achieve what we want! But there is no magic, all what is required is discipline, motivation & sadhna .
Here are few tips to deal with exams without any stress of fear :
Bharat Yoga Self Talk Therapy
Very first thing is ‘Believe’… Believe in yourself and believe that ‘you can’. Once you believe ‘ You can’ You definitely can. And best way to ‘believe’ is to practice this very simple ‘Bharat Yoga Self Talk Therapy’:
Moment you wake up either you sit silent with erect spine and closed eyes or stand in front of the mirror and look into your eyes. Take three deep breaths and repeat each statement thrice:
I am the best
I am going to clear my exams successfully
Param pita parmeshwar is always with me
Nothing wrong can ever happen with me.
I will win… I will win… I will win.
Diet
Diet plays most important role in our life. We become what we eat. Prefer taking ‘satwik bhojan’ during exams and stay away from junk, stale & Tamasik food. Stop intake of garlic during exam days and eat maximum fresh fruits , salads and green leafy vegetables.
Keep chewing ‘Bach’ (An ayurvedic food) or Cardomom (ilaichi) during studying as well as during exams.
A spoon of honey everyday provides ample energy.
Water
Water is a big healer hence its very important to keep yourself hydrated to stay moving at the level of body and mind.
Take ample water during studying as well as during examination.
Caffeine should be replaced by undermentioned drinks :
Cinnamon kaada
Fennel (Saunf) Kaada
Lemon Tea
Breathing
Breathing is the ‘most important’ gift of Parmatma but unfortunately most under rated by humans without which life can’t exist. It is best tool of self-healing and for exams it can be used wisely during studies as well as during examination:
Take Break every half an hour from studies and practice Nadhi Shodhan (anulom vilom) pranayama or just deep breathing for 7-8 times.
At Examination hall during exam if you feel hopeless or whenever you are not able to remember anything close your eyes and take 8 deep breaths.
Bharat Yoga Sleep
You must have heard and read that 7 hour sleep is must during exams but at the practical level it is observed that despite being sleepy students still can’t sleep due to exam anxiety! At such level Bharat Yoga Sleep is required known as special Yoga Nidra. 20 minutes of this Bharat Yog Nidra is equal to 7 hours of sound sleep. This guided technique relaxes each and every part of our body as well as mind.
Nature Break
Generally students confine themselves to a room or house and keep studying. Even the breaks they take gain takes them back to gadgets resulting into no relaxation of mind. It is very important to take ‘nature breaks’ i.e. to spend few minutes a day in lap of mother nature under the sky and near trees without gadgets as trees not only provides fresh air but also emit oils as protection from germs and insects, it also has physical and psychological benefits to relax body , lungs as well as mind.
Rule of 20
Blinking is an easy Bharat yoga practice to relax eyes. Make ‘rule of 20’ i.e. after every 20 minutes remove your gaze from book or screen and look as far as possible and blink your eyes for 20 seconds continuously. It will help you divert and relax your mind along with creating enough lubricant for further studies and eye focus.
Bharat Yoga
Certain Bharat Yoga Practices other than the above mentioned ‘Self talk therapy’ , ‘Blinking’, ‘Bharat Yog Nidra’ etc are also required such as Pawan Mukta Kriyas from top to toe which can be done sitting on chair as well – this tightening and relaxing of all body parts helps in relieving tension from each and every body part and prepare us for further sitting.
Undermentioned practices should be done every day which will take hardly 10 minutes but will give amply supply of blood and oxygen to brain :
Vibhakta Hasta Padasana
Ushtra asana
Shashank asana
Sarvanga asana
Ardha Sheersha asana
Stretch
While studying and even during Exam either stand or while sitting just raise your both arms, take a deep breath, inhale and stretch your entire body ! This is a great stress buster and can be done as many times as needed.
Post exams
‘After exam’ period is equally important as ‘before and during exam. Just remember three things after exam and tell this to your self same like point 1 mentioned above. Repeat these statements to yourself thrice everyday:
Exam is over and now nothing can be changed now.
Life is much more than just this exam.
My parents love me and I can do much more other than this exam.
Above mentioned easy tips can for sure change your vision towards exams. Always remember its ONLY an exam which will come and go but life is much more than this, life is most precious. Embrace your life, compete only with yourself and remember life open other doors once the present one closes.
Love & Light !
Acharya Pratishtha, Director
Mokshayatan Yog Sansthan
