Are you Ready to Learn?

Readiness for Learning refers to all the factors which are responsible for achieving an optimum level in learning. In simple terms, the state of learning readiness can be achieved only when we are ready at all the four levels – body, brain, mind and consciousness. We can learn and live beautifully when we are able to create a synergy among these elements.
Body Readiness – Children across the globe are facing numerous problems in cognitive development. Researches show that it is not because they are underachievers or they are not smart or they don’t care but because we are working against them. The longer we will force our children and teens to grow roots in their chairs, harder it will be for them to learn and grow. Our body is specifically designed to produce energy through physical activities. Our cognitive developments are directly related to the physical activities we perform as it increases the flow of oxygen to brain.
The Jungle Syndrome– If we study little deeper about the biology of our body, we will find that our body was created millions of years ago to live and survive in jungles with other animals and it was constantly under threats. It needed to create and conserve lot of energy to survive in that kind of situation. It required lot of physical agility and movements. The basic characteristics of the modern human body is still the same which have been passed on through DNA but we force our body to sit for a long duration in front of a TV or Computer or in a classroom. Our limbs are meant for movements and action but we hardly involve ourselves in any sort of exercise which results in lower bodily energy which further results in low cognitive development.
The Bio- Rhythms- Our body follows lots of cyclic processes to keep itself in perfect rhythm or balance. Food Cycle, Sleep Cycle, Cardiac cycle and Metabolic Cycles are the four important bio cycles.
Scientists have proved that we humans may have reached full capacity if we understand and follow our bio-rhythms properly. As a learner we need to understand that right time, right amount and right type of food is very essential for creating the synergy among the body, brain, mind and consciousness.
Cardiac cycles represent the blood and oxygen circulation in the body which ultimately results in generating energy.
Sleep cycles work as a healing and repair mechanism, relieving body from all toxins. Right sleep cycle is essential for alert brain and calm mind.
Garbage in- Garbage out (Senses) -Our senses are the feeding channels through which we perceive and conceive this world and we start feeling, thinking and doing according to our perception and conception. Simply put, our senses are the input channels for our body, brain and mind and our feelings, beliefs, thinking patterns, day to day decisions and our actions are the output. As a learner, we need to surround our senses with positivity so that we can condition our body, brain, and mind positively.
Brain Readiness- Physically, our brain is divided into three parts- Hind Brain, Mid Brain and Fore Brain.
The function of Hind brain is taking care of all life processes and reflexes automatically. It consumes maximum energy and oxygen. We need to understand that if our life is disciplined and we keep our bio-rhythms in perfect order, the work of Hind brain becomes easier thus consuming less energy.
The function of Mid Brain is sensory data input and Pattern matching. More disciplined life means mid brain gets more energy to cope up with negative emotions like anger, jealousy, mood fluctuations and stress.
Forebrain is also known as the thinking layer of the brain. Fore-brain’s energy requirement is too high. If our life is disciplined forebrain can do decision making, new planning, new habit formation and problem solving easily.
Mind Readiness- Mind readiness means a student has 100% clarity regarding what he wants to do, why he wants to do that and how he is going to do that in the year, month week and day ahead. Our mind naturally goes under will power depletion which means after a certain time we will not be motivated enough to do what we have determined to do. To overcome this, we must use guiding structures, tools and techniques to remind us again and again what we have decided to do and why that target is so important to achieve. This is a complete mental discipline without this progress of a students can never be ensured. Doing regular prayer, meditation and self-introspection can also help to overcome will power depletion.
So once body, brain and mind of a student is ready to learn, student get learning eligibility. Yoga asana for body, pranayama for brain and meditation for mind are great tools for tuning and sync them well for the best learning outputs.