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Three exercises that will help schoolchildren and students to pass the exam more successfully. Simple yet effective, they reduce anxiety, increase concentration, and help mobilize.
A minute to tune in to mental work
Do this exercise for at least one minute before the exam.
Place your open palms on the table. At the same time, the legs are firmly planted on the floor. If circumstances permit, close your eyes. However, if you think you will look stupid, don’t do it.
Direct your attention to the palms. Feel all the subtleties: how the fingertips, knuckles and palms touch the table, with what force each finger presses on its surface – the thumb of the left hand, the ring finger of the right … What is the temperature of the palm, what is the fingertips. Think only of these sensations in your hands.
Remember that thoughts – including negative ones – will try to break into your consciousness. “What if I get a question that I don’t know?” “What if I can’t answer?”… Every time fear kicks in, just let it come and go, continuing to focus on the hands – fingers, the strength of their pressure on the table, their temperature.
This simple technique reduces stress by stimulating the release of endorphins, the feel-good hormones, resulting in a much more relaxed exam experience.
Read more:
- 5 meditations for the senses
Stay in the present
A thread tied around the wrist or finger, a small cross drawn with a felt-tip pen or a pen on the palm of your hand … No matter which sign you choose, the idea is to always have some kind of memo that is noticeable to you. Every time you look at her, ask yourself: “What am I doing now? What do I feel? Am I paying attention to what I see?
The purpose of this practice is to stay focused on what you are doing throughout the exam without letting your mind wander.
Visualization, an exercise of champions
This exercise before the competition is performed by professional athletes. Through visualization, the brain is tuned for success. Faced with an obstacle, he “remembers” joyful emotions, and you feel a surge of strength, even if you don’t realize why this is happening.
Be as clear as possible about the good grade you received for your work. Or your name in the list of those who passed the exam perfectly. Visualize (imagine) this picture until the colors become bright and saturated and you feel joy and satisfaction from the fact that you did a great job and passed the test with honor. Remember these emotions, let them remain in your soul.
The exercises were developed by psychologist Jeanne Sioud-Facchin. For more information, see Mindfulness Meditation for Children and Adolescents (Tout est la, juste la, Meditation de pleine conscience pour les enfants et les ados aussi, Odile Jacob, 2014).