Greetings. My name is Asya Mourraille, LMFT 51838 and I am absolutely thrilled to introduce our meditation blog series. Incorporating a consistent meditation practice has been a passion of mine for over 10 years now and I am incredibly excited to share it with all of you in this way.
You may be asking yourself, “what does meditation have to do with test prep?” That is a wonderful question. When Amanda Rowan first set out to create this comprehensive test prep, anxiety reduction was one of the key components of her plan. She wanted to make sure that the program she built was clearly organized and easy to follow. She divided the program into 10 steps that flowed one after another and contained all the information one needed to know to pass the test. If you have taken her program, you know that she emphasizes regular exercise as part of test preparation. For many, that is a wonderful anxiety reduction tool. Yet even with exercise and a clear plan in mind, many of us still feel anxious as there is so much riding on these exams. This is where meditation can help. There have been a number of studies demonstrating that regular meditation practice can be a powerful coping mechanism that helps reduce stress and anxiety. So why not giving it a shot?
Moreover, bringing mindfulness and a quality of presence into the exam with you can actually help you pass the test. One of the key success strategies for any test, but particularly for the clinical exams, is to connect with the question stem. What is this client bringing to you? What are they struggling with? Often times the correct answer lies in addressing exactly what the client just said or did. In order to do so, you have to let go of the question stem of all the previous questions answered so far. And you cannot think of all the questions that await you. You simply need to drop in to what this one client is presenting in this one question. That is the exact skill meditation teaches us- to be here now. To let go of the past and not get lost in what is to come. Now can you see how relevant it is for you to practice these skills?
So please join me here as we take a few minutes to simply sit and breathe. I will include an audio of a guided meditation with each blog and you can come back and listen to it any time. The TDC team will introduce you to some of our favorite meditations and we will talk about the specifics of incorporating meditation into your daily living.
For now, have a seat, make yourself comfortable and let us begin with a simple calming practice.