The Yoga of Studying
FROM THE SPRING 2019 "IF I COULD TEACH YOU ANYTHING" SESSION WITH LRC DIRECTOR BROOKE HESSLER
Handout for The Yoga of Studying - Hessler SP2019
7 STRATEGIES & RELATED SOURCES
1 | Recognize that you learn with your whole self: body, mind, spirit--and notice how that is true, without judgment, but with curiosity.
- To learn more about the relationship between yoga and mindful learning, consider exploring Niroga Institute's Dynamic Mindfulness research and curriculum.
2 | Be here now: Practice taking a moment to arrive, then focus on one thing at a time.
3 | Become an expert at your own learning process.
- Exploring Universal Design for Learning principles and practices can help.
4 | Discover and construct your niche environment for learning.
- A fascinating source on niche construction and cognitive variability is Thomas Armstrong's book The Power of Neurodiversity .
5 | Use a simple mindfulness meditation to retain what you’re studying: Count your breath.
- Here are detailed and accessible instructions for this practice by Hwansan Sunim.
- The method described above was cited in a research study on how meditation training improved memory retention during lectures.
- For more research and media coverage on this basic strategy, check out this article on how even brief meditation sessions can improve cognition and another one and another one and another one.
6 | Practice feeling unattached to the outcome--panic and fear don’t help you learn.
- Because anxiety about test scores, grades, and other such "performances" decreases our performance and self-efficacy.
7 | Make time to integrate what you’ve learned through conversation, reflection, and physical stillness.
- Our favorite pose for stress reduction, physical relaxation, and integration: lying on the floor in a safe space with legs up the wall.