With midterms week in full swing, it’s easy to let the stress of studying for multiple exams get to you. With meditation becoming a more common practice, meditating during midterms week not only reduces the stress you’re facing, but also helps you prepare and be more mindful of your exams. For those who do not practice the art of meditating, it might be easy to put it off as just breathing exercises or sitting still — but there’s more to meditation than just that. Here are some meditations to help you conquer midterms week.
Why should I meditate?
If you don’t think meditation is for you, The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health supports the numerous benefits that come from meditation: lower blood pressure, reduced anxiety, decreased pain, eased symptoms of depression and even improved sleep. Whether looking to reduce stress for an exam — or just the stress of everyday life — meditation has been scientifically proven to help. It might take some trial and error, but at the end of the day, with some meditation, you’ll be feeling more empowered.
Focused meditation
What it is:
Focused meditation, also known as concentration meditation, involves using your senses to focus on a single point. While this practice is simple in theory, don’t stress if you find yourself getting distracted — or bored. If that’s the case, simply regain focus and try again.
What to do:
An internal focus point to try is counting your breaths. According to UCHealth, taking deep breaths allows your body to fully exchange incoming oxygen with outgoing carbon dioxide, thus slowing your heartbeat, lowering or stabilizing your blood pressure and lowering stress levels. Other external examples of focused meditation can include counting mala beads, using essential oils or listening to a gong or the sounds of rain.
Movement meditation
What it is:
While many people think practicing meditation requires stillness, movement meditation is good for those who find peace in action. It is also a good way to raise your awareness of your surroundings and feel at peace.
What to do:
Sometimes referred to as walking meditation, this practice can involve walking through the woods, walking by the sea or any other calming environment. Yoga, gardening or any gentle form of motion can boost your productivity and creativity as you focus on the nature surrounding you, relieving tension. A walk through NSU’s Medicinal Garden is a good way to clear your mind before an exam.
Mantra meditation
What it is:
Mantra meditation is a type of meditation that uses a repetitive sound to clear the mind. For those who do not enjoy sitting in silence or like repetition, this practice allows you to focus and feel empowered, all the while helping to improve critical thinking and problem solving. It also helps to soothe anxiety.
What to do:
Practiced in Hindu and Buddhist teachings, a popular mantra meditation is that of “Om.” For this form of meditation, it is important to be somewhere you won’t be disturbed — nor will you disturb others if you decide to say your mantras aloud. Your mantra could be a word, phrase or even a sound. After chanting the mantra for some time, you will notice yourself more alert and in tune with your mind, body, soul and environment. Chanting positive words of affirmation before an exam can not only boost your confidence, but perhaps, through the law of attraction, attract a good score.
Guided meditation
What it is:
Guided meditation is the practice of being guided through your meditation, making it easier to stay focused and be less distracted.
What to do:
Apps like Headspace and YouTube channels like that of Jason Stephenson are a great way to begin meditating if it’s something you have never really done before. Guided meditations take the stress out of not necessarily knowing what to do when meditating and there are different guides for a variety of things including exam stress and exam success.
Photo: S. Migaj
