BSSS Journal of Education: ISSN-2320-1258(Print) Vol.
VIII, Issue -I (2019)
IMPORTANCE OF MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION FOR STUDENTS
Ankita Gour
Teacher
Holy Family Convent School, Khurai (Sagar) MP
[email protected]ABSTRACT
Research on mindfulness and meditation has already attained the enormous prominence and is
the most favored subfield of brain research. This paper attempts to summarize the significance of
practicing mindfulness and meditation in the student’s life. Cultivation of mindfulness, the
nonjudgmental awareness of experiences in the present moment has a great impact on the well-
being of mind and therefore reduces stress and anxiety. In many researches it has shown that the
students those who meditate have performed better than others in exams. Meditation and
mindfulness increase the creativity of students, enhance the IQ level, and improve the emotional
balance of their mind. For students it is quite beneficial to practice mindfulness and meditation,
as it increases concentration level, lowers the academic stress, improves the better focus,
enhance brain integrity and efficiency. Therefore, students should practice the meditation and
mindfulness for their better academic achievements as well as for their better real-life
experiences. The present paper addresses the relevance of Mindfulness and Meditation in the
student’s life.
Keywords - Meditation, Mindfulness, Students
INTRODUCTION
Mindfulness and meditation play a significant role in our lives. The ancient roots of
mindfulness can be traced across the world, mostly found with the religious beginnings.
Mindfulness as a form of meditation has been drawn back to Hinduism, which basically is a part
of yoga. However, there are ample references in Hindu scriptures and Upanishads which gives
insistence on meditation, silence, and acceptance, and this is what mindfulness is all
about(Saeed,S. 2016). Some of the meditation practices include Mantra or chants while others
not including chant. Buddha insisted that to reach a suffering-free stage of life we should practice
meditation and mindfulness.
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Across the world, there are many names given to the practice of silence and quiet time within our
inner self, it's universal, some call it "God", others call it "Law of nature", "life force", and so on.
In all the different religions, sciences and, studies everywhere there is the great significance of
meditation and mindfulness.
As the ancient practice of meditation calms the body and mind, relieves stress, and boosts brain
function. It has many health benefits. According to one recent study, the students who practice
meditation perform better in their studies and handle all the academic stress and anxiety more
efficiently. Meditation is linked to the rise in IQ level of the students, improved mental function,
and higher achievements. Research shows that we should include meditation in the curriculum in
school. It improves mental health, academic skills, and social abilities in students. The students
who meditate are task-oriented. It develops self-confidence and has a more positive attitude
towards life. It promotes the state of having positive beliefs and a stronger self-identity. In this
success-oriented world, students are facing a lot many issues regarding their studies or their
personal life. Actually, we always use to think that only adults have problems in their life, even
no boy worries about the young one’s mental health. But actually, they also need mental support
and mental peace. Due to external factors such as peer pressure, social media, and family
problems the situation becomes worse day by day. One of the studies by NCCAM (National
center for complementary and alternative medicines) meditational practice in students reduces
stress and anxiety, which in result improves mental focus and brain function ( Stanlake,2017).It
promotes healthy behavior and proper mind-body coordination, as when students do each thing
mindfully then automatically their mind-body relation will improve. It is also beneficial for teens
with chronic pain, fibromyalgia, and post-traumatic stress disorder. If we talk about emotions,
then students who practice meditation experience positive emotions and possess a higher
emotional quotient. It decreases the sympathetic nervous system by stimulating the
parasympathetic nervous system. It helps our minds to work in a disciplined manner. A few
minutes of meditation a day in young people’s life proves to be a boon in the time of exams and
academic projects with low stress. If students will meditate 15 minutes twice a day daily then
automatically their creativity and intelligence will be improved, it will also enhance alertness,
increase optimism and improve the functioning of the brain. Transcendental meditation is most
beneficial for students. During the stress or worries the cortical levels go up, meditation helps
lower cortical levels and improves the body's ability to deal with stress.
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BSSS Journal of Education: ISSN-2320-1258(Print) Vol. VIII, Issue -I (2019)
MINDFULNESS
Mindfulness is all about "here and now". It can be practiced at any time and at anywhere, also it
does not matter whoever we are with and whatever we are doing. In each act of our daily
practices, we can be mindful. So it is easily accessible for an individual to practice mindfulness
in each activity of their day. However, we can say in simple words that mindfulness is something
that means to be present by mind and heart in the present moment. It teaches us to do each
activity consciously. Mindfulness is being aware of being fully engaged in the here and now. We
can be mindful by keeping an eye out for thoughts, feelings, behavior, and everything else we do.
It is something amazing which is done without any distraction because when we are in here and
now or the present moment, no future no past, no if's no maybe's, no right no wrong, no good nor
bad, a judgment-free scenario, only the present moment. The awareness proceeds when we pay
attention in the present moment without any judgment. Mindfulness breeds access to essential
aspects of our minds and bodies that our saneness depends on. Mindfulness is about us, includes
kindness and tenderness towards ourselves; rebuild the dimensions of our being. It says that if
our mind unscrambles and opens, then our heart also unscrambles and opens towards each
moment. It can be a great tool in everyone's life, as it teaches us how to do anything consciously.
It also releases “happiness”. It shows us the real path of this mindful journey of our life, on
which we are moving ahead, as we know we cannot rewind our story so why not enjoy each
moment fully with full heart and with a full mind. We all know that one day we have to leave
this planet, so it’s better to be mindful in each moment and live your life completely. Xiao et al.
(2017) proposed the mindful self which a person achieves if they practice the mindfulness for a
longer duration of time. Students can also practice mindfulness and meditation in their schools
and colleges to become self-alert and happy.
MEDITATION
Meditation is a technique where we have to centralize our mind on a specific thought, object, or
any activity; all of this is to train the mind towards attention and awareness so that we can
achieve a calm and stable state of our mind. While doing meditation we are attaining a conscious
state of mind, by resting our mind, and this state is totally distinctive from the waking state.
Meditation is the means to figure out all the levels of ourselves and at last experiencing the
center of consciousness within ourselves. During meditation, we are fully awake and alert but
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our mind is not focused on the external world and the things going around us. Now meditation
deepens when our mind attains the state of silence with no distraction. We use the very little
mind to attain formal education. The widest part of our mind "the unconscious" is full of our
experiences, remains undisciplined and unorganized, it is a vast realm of sleep and dream. We
can totally control our minds by practicing meditation. It’s very difficult to control the mind
because the mind itself is the great obstacle standing between ourselves and the awareness that
we want to attain. Meditation is the only process through which we can guide our mind to attain
the state of discipline from the fully undisciplined and bring it on the specific track. Mind is not
something which we can control easily, because there is another mind of mind which distracts it,
while we sit for meditation, we feel fantasies and daydreams. But after regular practice of
meditation, we start feeling stillness and here is the point that comes when we mastered our
mind.
PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE OFMINFULNESS AND MEDITATION
"The mind is everything, what you think you become."
-Buddha
Buddha rightly said that your mind is everything, what you think you become. You can control
your mind, can make it your slave, and be the forever master of your mind by practicing
meditation. But when your mind is not in your control it will ruin everything around you,
because it will function in an unorganized way. According to Buddha Mindfulness is basically
the ability to keep something in your mind. He said that in three ways it uses to function, first
one is we have to remember to be alert in the present moment, the second one is to recognize the
skillful or unskillful qualities that come to mind, & the last one is that remembering how
effectively demit the qualities that ruin our concentration and developing the skillful ones that
promote our concentration. We have to be passionate to avoid the unskillful thoughts as soon as
they arise, and raise the powerful skill thoughts in our mind in their place. Buddha said that
mindfulness means to feel each and every moment, each and every activity so that we will start
feeling that internally.
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"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present
moment." – Buddha
Buddha teaches that we should feel both the pain and the pleasure both; the pain is to motivating
our mind towards our goals and the pleasure to nourish and shelter our mind for the journey in
the upcoming life. He said that we have to instruct our mind, never let our mind without any
goal. When we start feeling each activity and feeling then automatically, we will come to realize
many things about our mind and its working and hence we can easily organize it.
"Be happy in the moment, that's enough. Each moment is all we need, not more." - Mother
Teresa
The mind is the main part of every creature because no matter what is going around us is the
outcome of our mental processes. Whatever we think inside our minds is the only way we react
outside. So why don't we rule over our minds? Yes, it can be achievable this is just a power of
thinking which at times gives us positive emotions and sometimes negative. If we rule over our
mind then we can effortlessly face countless challenges in our life, we can also deal with the
negative circumstances of life's journey. We can rule our minds by doing meditation.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION
Meditation has many forms with different aims. The "clear mind" meditation focuses to attain
clarity in thoughts which leads to a focused mind. The other one is "open heart" meditation
which is aimed at kindness, compassion, or forgiveness. Others use the body as a means to
develop this practice such as yoga and walking. Another form is chanting or Mantra meditation
which based upon sound.
Mindfulness is the form of meditation in which attention is given to the rhythm of the breathing
while sitting and to the rhythm of slow steps, while walking, because mindfulness is itself means
giving attention to the present moment(Ed & Shapiro, 2017)
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BENEFITS OF MINDFUL MEDITATION
Better Focus
Meditation brings calmness to the minds of students. It brings 50% of a cutback in anxiety,
stress, and ADHD. When students start doing their studies with mindfulness, then undoubtedly
they will acquire each skill in full. It enhances their focus in each moment at a specific task. It
also enhances the organized processing of the brain and also builds up strong language-based
skills. For ADHD students, it will help them stay focused on their work, as they cannot do
anything for a longer duration of time.
Improved academic achievement
One of the studies shows that the transcendental meditation technique may be an efficient way
to boost up the Mathematics and English performance in the low-performing students. The study
was conducted in the California middle school with 189 students, who were not so good in
English and Mathematics. The students who practiced the Transcendental meditation program
showed a hike in their performance. By practicing meditation students can improve their overall
performance. ( Kantrowitz, 2011)
Rise in IQ level
Meditation increases brain function. It brings a hike in the creative thinking, practical
intelligence, and most significantly our IQ, that we use to deal in novel situations.
Academic stress goes down
The students who practice meditation and mindfulness have lesser stress than others; it also
reduces the kind of anxiety students feel during exam days. Students feel better concentration,
alertness, and lesser distractions from the physical environment.
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Brain Integrity and efficiency
Meditation does a miracle kind of effect in our brain; it makes the brain very coordinated. The
connectivity of our brain improves by practicing meditation. University students found many
changes in the fibers of the brain, which regulate our emotions such as cognitive and behavior
changes. In this way, students can perform better in cognitive and intellectual processes.
Reduction in depression and anxiety
In this era of the 21st century, depression and anxiety are commonly found even at this young
age, students suffer from this a lot. In one study it is found that the students practicing meditation
led to a momentous reduction in depression and anxiety. Even including those who have clinical
depression symptoms(Jeremy et al. 2018).
Reduction in destructive addiction (drugs &alcohol)
In the college days, the students want to enjoy their lives fully; they want to explore everything
like alcohol & drugs. Nothing is bad until we got addicted to the same. Practicing meditation is
more helpful to get rid of all these kinds of addiction. Studies on students & adults both have
shown that daily transcendental meditation practice reduces the substance abuse problem as well
as the antisocial behavior of an individual. There are many programs of traditional drug
prevention, which seems to be lesser effective if we compare with transcendental meditation.
Skipping the classes
To be regular in any work is a must to learn something effectively. When it comes to the
students, in many cases we see that absenteeism is common among college students, the reason
is lack of mindfulness, it reduces interest in the activities around them, they are less curious. It
can enhance by practicing mindful meditation. We can organize our mind through this, which is
a result makes us more curious.
Lower rate of cardiovascular diseases
As when we cross 30 then we realize we get surrounded by many diseases like blood pressure,
anxiety, and depression. So it’s better to start practicing meditation as our daily need from the
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beginning of our school. When we follow the meditation from an early age, there would be 52%
lower risk of developing hypertension in later life.
Formula for happiness
Research shows that the student, who practices meditation daily, they have developed high self-
esteem, scores effectively and has a good emotional competence. They enjoy their life with less
anxiety and full of happiness. Emotional balance is a must for everyone in this hustling life. We
need an emotionally balanced life to make our relations strong.
MINDFUL MEDITATION RISES HAPPINESS IN STUDENTS
Students must understand that their life is in their control only; no one else will come and tell
them to achieve their goal and purpose. They themselves have to find out the purpose and goal of
their life by observing each moment with a full mind. It can be done through mindfulness only.
Each of us has our unique mission on this earth that only we can fulfill. Being a student you
cannot wait for somebody else to come and tell you your mission; you have to find out by
yourself. By practicing meditation we can come to know our inner voice, our likes and dislikes,
our capabilities and strengths, and many more.
If at a young age we discover our passion then it would be easy for us to become successful in
the early stages of our life. It can be possible through mindful meditation. At this stage, if we
will pursue something with strong determination, then the whole universe will help us to achieve
that goal. Students should put their all efforts and energy into achieving their goals. Sometimes it
happens that many students have a lot many confusions related to their goals and passion, they
have many things which are not clear, so in such situations, mindful meditation is very beneficial
because it will develop the quality to realize our talents. It will make your paths clear; through
this, you can make decisions with a clear mind. Meditation enhances the quality of your
decision-making, by eliminating all the unnecessary thoughts from your mind. As we all know
that the young ones are the building block of the future, they should learn to meditate to make
their lives purposeful.
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CONCLUSION
Meditation and mindfulness are close to each other. They help in improving memory,
concentration power, confidence, self-esteem, creativity, inner peace and calmness of mind.
Further, mindful meditation improves academic grades, relationship with peers, cognitive skills
and learning abilities. Overall, it lifts the mood from negative to positive. Students can benefit by
practicing the art of mindfulness and meditation in their everyday life to make life purposeful
and less stressful. As the world is witnessing a transformation, the technology driven life has
posed various challenges in front of students but all these challenges can be easily overcome by
practicing meditation and mindfulness.
REFERENCES
Ed & Shapiro,D.(2017). Mindfulness & Meditation: What’s the Difference?The method is
simply an aide; it’s not the experience itself. Retrieved fromhttps://medium.com/thrive-
global/mindfulness-meditation-whats-the-difference-
Xiao,Q., Yue,C., He,W. &Yu, J.(2017).The Mindful self: A mindfulness-enlightened self-view
.Front. Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01752
Kantrowitz,J. (2011). Transcendental Meditation improves standardized academic achievement.
Retrieved from http://educationresearchreport.blogspot.com/2011/03/transcendental-meditation-
improves.html
Jeremy, A.S., Suttie,J. , Jazaieri,H., MFT, and Newman,K.M. (2018). 10 Things we know
About the Science of Meditation, Retrieved from https://www.mindful.org/10-things-we-know-
about-the-science-of-meditation/
Stanlake,M. (2017).Why meditation should be taught in schools. Now!Retrieved from
https://upwellhealth.com.au/why-meditation-should-be-taught-in-schools-now/
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Saeed,S.(2016). Indian Origins of Mindfulness Meditation.Retrieved from
http://mindfulspring.com/indian-origins-mindfulness/
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