There are two different mental exercises recorded here. The first set of exercises are word based exercises. The second set of exercises are visual. They form the second part of this page.
Word Exercises
A True Story
Word Exercises
A True Story
I have a friend who had failed her driving test four times. She failed because every time she took it she was very anxious and nervous. It got so bad that she became anxious and nervous every time she thought about learning to drive.
I met her around this time and we talked about driving. We agreed that driving wasn't a difficult thing to do. Driving does not take up much mental activity. And we realised that while she was driving her imagination and her spare mental capacity, not needed for actually driving, was trying to find something to think about, but as she was concentrating so hard on driving well, all this mental capacity had nothing to do except it began to worry and get agitated.
Together we put together a series of breathing exercises that she could use while she was taking her test. The breathing exercises would 'soak up' all her spare thoughts that were causing her the problem. She would be controlling what she was thinking about through an act of the will.
She passed her driving test on the fifth attempt.
I've thought a lot about that episode over the years and read a little about it. And I've realised that she was not only controlling her thoughts and stopping herself from getting agitated. But she was also putting her mind into a self hypnotic state where she was completely focused on passing her driving test.
I also think she was breathing in such a way that she was in fact physiologically slowing down her heart beat and becoming physically very relaxed.
And at the same time she was also pumping the right amount of air into her brain to enable it to function at its very best. Her mind was alert, highly sensitive and responsive.
In fact she was in the perfect mental state to take an exam.
The Techniques
Only breathe through your nose
For the word exercise keep your breath as normal as possible - your breath should determine the pace of each word unit
For the counting exercise your counting will determine the length of time for each breath.
The counting exercise is based upon one inhale and one exhale.
The word exercise is based upon one inhale, one exhale, a second inhale and a second exhale. A single phrase divided into four units. Then the phrase is repeated a further 9 times.
When To Use Them
I suggest you use some of these exercises:
- whenever you feel anxious about the exams
- commuting to and from college
- just before you begin an intensive revision session
- during a revision session - as a 5 minute break
- in the exam room before you begin an exam
Counting Exercises
Exercise 1
Inhale - count 4
Exhale - count 4
Repeat 9 times
Exercise 2
Inhale - count 4
Exhale - count 8
Repeat 9 times
Exercise 3
Inhale - count 4
Exhale - count 12
Repeat 9 times
Exercise 4
Inhale - count 4
Exhale - count 16
Repeat 9 times
To maintain the exhale we have to control the amount of air released in the exhale. The longer exhale requires us to reduce the air released from the lungs.
Word Exercises
The phrases below are based on or taken directly from the bible.
Exercise 1
Inhale - Lord Jesus Christ
Exhale - son of God
Inhale - have mercy on me
Exhale - a sinner
Repeat 9 times
adapted from Luke 18:10 - 14
It is an ancient Christian prayer. Click here for some background to it. John Tavener has put the prayer to a musical setting - click here to listen to it.
Luke 18:10 - 14
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Over the years I've noticed verses of scripture that can be divided up and used in a similar way as The Jesus Prayer.
The exercises that follow are verses of scripture I have found that fit this breathing pattern.
Exercise 2
Inhale - in him
Exhale - I live
Inhale - and have
Exhale - my being
Repeat 9 times
adapted from Acts 17:28
28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
I substitute the words of the second unit. I mainly use the above unit 'I live' but substitute it sometimes with 'I breathe' and occasionally use 'I move'.
I love this simple declarative statement. I think it encapsulates the essence of what I am trying to do with the breathing exercises. And I think that is to be aware of myself and my relationship with God at the moment of the exercise.
Exercise 3
inhale - Come [David]
exhale - let us walk
inhale - in the light
exhale - of the Lord
repeat 9 times
this is adapted from Isaiah 2:5
Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Here I've substituted the second unit, 'descendants of Jacob' for my own name.
Visual Exercises
