Primary school pupils taught t`ai chi to combat exam stress

My doctor recently recommended I join a gym, but when I visited my local health club all the activities looked a little too strenuous for my delicate constitution. I couldn`t imagine myself lifting weights, and all that running on treadmills looked like a lot of energy spent getting you nowhere. I was about to leave the building, already composing in my mind some excuse to tell the doctor, when I happened to pass a large, glass walled room. Seated on the floor of this room were a number of people, each of whom seemed to be performing some kind of breathing exercise. They all had their eyes closed, and appeared to be in a state of perfect tranquility. An instructor requested that they stand, and each of them began copying his movements, making gentle flowing motions with their arms, complimenting these actions by tracing their legs in small arcs.

This looked like something I could get along with I thought. Asking a receptionist what the class was, I was informed it was T`ai Chi. Originally developed as a martial art back in the 13th century in China, it is now primarily employed as a health promoting exercise, and practiced around the world. Because of its graceful movements, and slow practiced routines, T`ai Chi puts minimal stress on the joints of the body. Because of this many people favour it over sports such as tennis or football, or activities like running, which can have gradual deleterious effect on the cartilage of the bones.

The practice of tai chi is praised for improving circulation, while increasing muscle strength. It is hugely popular amongst all age groups, but especially in those aged over 65. If practiced properly it can improve general mobility, balance and posture, and there is even evidence that it can attenuate the symptoms of arthritis. Another benefit of T`ai Chi is reducing levels of stress. Many studies have shown that if undertaken regularly, the practice can reduce nervous tension and even lower blood pressure.

Recently some schools have begun incorporating T`ai Chi classes into their weekly schedule, in order to reduce levels of stress amongst its pupils. The Chinese martial art is apparently in greatest demand during the run up to exams.

The Snap Dragon T`ai Chi club has worked with `hundreds of schools and thousands of children throughout Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire & South Yorkshire during the past 15 years,` according to its website.

`Children are under pressure from parents, they pile stuff on them. But if they are anxious, they have no way to cope - nobody teaches you how to mitigate the stress and get rid of it all,` its owner Paul White has said.

When I first heard about T`ai Chi being used to reduce levels of stress amongst pupils, I assumed this concerned sixth formers, or pupils preparing for their GCSE`s. Not so - apparently the majority of `in school` T`ai Chi lessons are for primary school children. Mr White teaches T`ai Chi mainly to school children aged between four to eleven, along with running a specialised course for Sats preparation.

We have never put school children under so much exam pressure as we do today. I don`t believe I took a single serious exam before I went to secondary school, but now pupils have to face daunting tests from KS1 (starting at age 5) onwards. Amanda Spielman, the head of Ofsted, last month stated that schoolteachers are heightening exam stresses among their pupils, and `manufacturing anxiety.` She went on to say that teachers are `encouraging children to feel anxious,` and that exams are only a source of stress when `people make it so.``

In China, the country that introduced the world to T`ai Chi, it is a common event for pupils to practice the art form before lessons. But it is not used specifically as a way to treat anxiety - it`s not employed in a medicinal manner, to calm down stressed pupils. Instead of being introduced after a problem develops, it`s used as a preventative, with pupils performing the breathing exercises and movements before class begins, as a way of keeping them relaxed all day.