nextSchoolTimes

CHANDIGARH,TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2010

Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If it's original, you'll have to ram it down their throats. ~ Howard Aiken

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Beat the EXAM Blues away!!

dous role in creating a harmony between the body and the mind thus leading to increased focus and concentration. When children sit down to study their mind is everywhere but in the books. There is lack of concentration, which makes them sit hours and hours on the same page. This also results in low retention power. This can improve if they inculcate the habit of closing their eyes and sitting silent for about 10 minutes everyday and meditate adds Reshma. The innumerable benefits of meditation have been proved to the world time and again. Besides having many health benefits, it helps in increasing focus and concentration and results in better retention and enhances memory power. It is equivalent to buying time. As time is very less and there is much to do, meditation makes you do 4 hours work in 2 hours time. she adds. Chanting a small mantra like Om is also very beneficial. Mantras help in reducing the anxiety levels and also play a subtle yet important part in increasing concentration among children. When one chants, the breath becomes deep, even and regular. This allows higher levels of oxygen to flood the body and as a result, the body begins to relax. Eventually, the childs emotional level becomes calmer and more centered, and the physical body follows. Chanting can also help comfort a child who is sad, afraid or angry, because he can learn to connect more deeply with his inner self. In this era of cut throat competition and a rat race to top the marking charts, the possibility of failing adds to their woes. When asked about the growing competition among children, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, spiritual and humanitarian leader said, Competition is good only when you compete with yourself. See how much effort you put last year and this year how much more you can put in. Do not look at others because then either you get depressed, jealous or arrogant. Parents are telling their children to study, but there has to be a balance! They have to celebrate too! Play a little, get an ice cream so that their minds can relax and regain energy .

| SPEAK YOUR MIND |

Time and a ray of hope

I started in disbelief as I saw this refined and cultured woman take that filthy wreck of a man and hold him in her arms like a baby." These are the words of a hard-core communist reporter, Pier re Girard who was convinced that the loving philanthropic work of the Roman Catholic Order of Nuns was a pretense for financial suppor t. He accompanied one of the nuns in her duty one day and what he saw was socking! In the midst of vermin and dirt a man lay frightened and the nun lovingly cradled him. Above all the dir t and stink was the pure, radiating beauty of love and compassion. Yes, it was love that changed the attitude of this ar ro g ant communist reporter and I strongly believe that the virtues of love ad compassion play a pivotal role as agents of change. In today's world we all are so engrossed in the hustle bustle of life that we do not have the time to pause and look at the beauty and intricacies of life, the joys, happiness, love and kindness. Man has lost his sense of humour and has become ignorant of the people around him. Yet there is a ray of hope and there is time- time to change, time to love, live and let live and this is the way we can stop ourselves from being dragged by the dark shadows of depression and anxiety. It truly makes a difference how you live your life. It does not matter how deep seated the trouble is, how hopeless the outlook, how muddled the tangle, how great the mistake may be. A sufficient realization of love dissolves all your troubles. If only we would learn to love, we could become the most powerful humans. Our weapon: Love. We can be free from the rut we have burrowed and the negative behaviour we have cultivated. Just a small deed- a smile, a respectful nod, a loving gesture or a compassionate hug could give a bolster to a shattered soul and bring out an enormous change in his/her life. Love is pure. It cannot be seen, it cannot be touched, and it can only be felt by the heart. It is beautiful. Emmet Fox said,

Shikha Grover Ask any school-going kid what his favourite month of the year is and chances are you will never get to hear the month March being mentioned! And you dont need to be an Einstein to fathom the reason why The month . of March tags along with it the most dreaded word called Exams accompanied with the most stressed out state of the mind for both the kid and the parents alike!. Says Poonam, a teacher, Exam stress accounts for 80 % of the stress in a teenagers life. The build-up to the exams and the constant pressure from teachers, parents, peers and self-inflicted too take a toll resulting in health problems like sleeping disorders, improper digestion, lack of concentration, hyper-activity restless, ness and loss of energy . Says Reshma, a faculty member of the Art of Living Foundation and a specialist on youth issues Children these days grow up indoctrinated that they have to compete; that unless they are #1, they are no good. This builds

up the mental pressure of competing with their classmates and keeping up with the high expectations from their parents and teachers. Due to this they are not able to enjoy, focus and retain what they are studying. A sense of insecurity builds in them where they are not able to share their real fear of exam with anyone. Exam stress isnt exactly a monster that students make it out to be and can be tackled with simple easy to practice everyday tips She emphasizes and lists down the importance of three simple tools, namely food, sound sleep and a bit of spiritual practices, specifically, prayanama, yoga, meditation, mantra chanting. Together, these are effective; time- tested and sure shot remedies to combat stress. A balanced diet plays a pivotal role in combating stress. Exam time is the time when stress is at its peak, and that is why the importance of good food cant be emphasized enough. Students should eat food, which has a calming effect on them. Foods like, soybeans and whole pulses are very

rich in proteins and should be consumed at this time in particular. These foods will help in increasing memory power and concentration. Glucose drinks, which contain Vitamin B and Vitamin B12, are very important. All forms of nicotine like coffee, which can disturb sleeping patterns, should be avoided. Junk food should be avoided and focus should be on eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Sound sleep, of at least 7-8 hours is important. In addition, some simple spiritual practices like pranayama, yoga, meditation and mantra chanting can go a long way in effectively tackling stress. Practices such as yoga and prayanama have a big impact on the mind. The focus on the breath during such practices leads to releasing of stress and creates a balance between the body and the mind. 10-20 minutes of practice everyday can increase focus and concentration among children. Yogic exercises such as Sun Salutations (surya namaskar) if done every day, plays a tremen-

Easy Tips to Beat the Stress

Wake up early in the morning. Try to do some light physical exercise for 10 min. Sit with your eyes closed for 10 minutes everyday. Try to take a short walk everyday as it relaxes the mind. Eat non-fried, non-oily food, which is light on the stomach. Chant a small mantra everyday for 5-10 minutes as this helps to focus the mind. Close our eyes before going to bed and revise what you have studied during the day. Drink lots of water Sleep for at least 8 hours in the night.

"There's no difficulty that love can't conquer, no disease that enough love will not heal, no doors that love can't open, no gulf that love won't bridge, no wall that love can't break down and no sin that love will not redeem." Many g reat saints and prophets have reformed sinners and hard-core criminals with the power of compassion and love. It is said that once a wild elephant was let loose in Amravati to trample Lord Buddha. But even the wild animal was changed by the mighty and loving Buddha. Love can tame the wild, break boundaries, traverse nations and yet be so mild, so tender and so graceful. Love fosters help, heals and nurtures the soul. It is a great doctor. It has often seen that autistic or handicapped children were able to recover gradually because if the love and support they often received from their families and friends. This divine power of love could even treat case where chances of recovery were bleak. The Bible says, "God loved the world so much that he gave his only son so that mankind could be saved from sin." The world is breaking and we need love to bind it together. It invites us to be living proof that we are created in the image of God and the name of that God is Rashita Singh, Stepping Stones Sec 28, Chd