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from Volume 48, Issue 12
by The Medium
12 sports & health
Editor | Duaa Nasir sports@themedium.ca
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How to manage your stress during exam time
As the Fall term comes to an end, many of us are stressing about our exams, how we’ll study for them, and what marks we will get. This article will provide you with several tips on how to manage this stress.
Dellannia Segreti
Associate Sports & Health Editor The end of term always has us stressed out and working at full capacity. During these times, we must recognize how we are feeling and come up with a plan to ensure that we are still taking care of ourselves while we prepare for our exams.
The first tip is to look at your exam schedule in advance, so you have time to create a study plan. Use the energy involved in stressing for the exam and direct it toward making a detailed study timeline. This will allow you to feel in control of your studying and keep you on track. You should aim to provide yourself with a couple of extra buffer days in case you are not as productive as you expect.
COTTONBRO/PEXELS
The second tip is to take time to optimize your study habits. Find the method that suits you and use it to your advantage, whether that is rewriting your notes or creating flash cards. Channel your strengths to help you do the best you can!
The third tip relates to the power of our thoughts. We can become so distracted as we obsess over the marks we need to get that we lose sight of the process, which is our study plan. My advice would be to bring yourself back to the present moment and focus on the now. Use the time that you have to study, review, and revise for your finals so that you are prepared.
Exam time can be a stressful period and it is important to remember that you are not alone. The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) has plenty of resources for students. For example, you can book an appointment and visit the Health & Counselling Centre for a counselling session, or you can choose to download the MySSP app, which provides 24/7 free confidential call and text services to all UTM students located anywhere in the world.
UTM’s organized Exam Jam sessions are also a great opportunity to prepare for your exams. They can often provide various tips for studying, as well as healthy activities you can do to take a break, such as yoga or crafts. They are a great way to make the exam season experience a bit more enjoyable! For more information, check out the UTM Centre for Student Engagement
Remember: You got this!
WEEKLY EXERCISE SERIES: Pole dancing
This eroticized sport has several possible origins and surprisingly offers an array of physical and mental benefits.
Whitney Buluma
Contributor
The history of pole dancing is quite murky, with various suggested origins. One of the suspected precursors to modern pole dancing is the Chinese pole. This practice reportedly dates back to the 12th century and involves aluminium poles (sometimes coated with rubber) with a height of three to nine metres and a diameter of three to four inches.
Arguably, the most well-known feat in Chinese pole dancing is “the flag,” whereby the artist grips the pole with their hands at a 90-degree angle. Chinese pole performances primarily took place in circuses.
Another possible predecessor is an 800-year-old Indian practice referred to as Mallakhamb, which translates to “wrestling pole.” Initially, the practice emerged as a way for wrestlers to improve their full-body endurance, stamina, and coordination. Later, it grew into its own sport. The wooden pole used in competitions is around 2.6 to 2.8 metres in height and has a circumference of 53 to 55 centimetres.
These ancient practices evolved into the more eroticized pole dancing most people are familiar with in the 1920s. In the U.S. “Hoochie Coochie” dancers in circuses would dance suggestively around the pole holding the circus tent upright. This highlights a possible origin for the term “exotic dancer,” since the dancers were initially of Middle Eastern descent. Due to concerns about propriety during the Prohibition era, this suggestive mode of pole dancing gradually relocated from circuses to speakeasies. Pole dancers began to draw heavily from more titillating forms of entertainment such as burlesque and striptease.
In 1994, Canadian-born Fawnia Mondey began teaching pole dancing to non-performers as a way to improve fitness. The pole fitness industry continues to expand as the inherently sexual view of pole dancing becomes less widespread. However, pole dancing has yet to receive full recognition as a sport. The Global Association of International Sports Federation (GAISF) has granted observer status to the International Pole Sports Federation (IPSF), an important step in the IPSF’s journey towards recognition for pole sports, and eventual inclusion in the Olympics.
Some people with chronic pain have found pole dancing helpful, since it requires the use of all muscles. The Arthritis Foundation recommends various forms of dance fitness— including pole dancing, Zumba, belly dancing and Bollywood dances—to improve mobility and relieve pain for patients struggling with rheumatoid arthritis. One of the reasons pole dancing relieves chronic pain is that it, albeit temporarily, distracts dancers from their pain while dancers are mindful of their movements.
Pole fitness has a range of health benefits, both physical and mental. It helps improve core strength and flexibility. Pole dancing is also good for the spine, since it involves a range of movement. It also improves a dancer’s balance and kinesthetic awareness. For some, pole fitness is an easier kind of exercise to commit to because they find it fun and challenging. Some people have found that pole dancing revolutionized their relationship with their bodies, as they expressed themselves through dance and stopped worrying about their body image.
Because modern poles are slippery, pole fitness is usually carried out in little or revealing clothing so that dancers can grip the pole with their skin. As a result, people who practice pole fitness sometimes get bruises and skin burns. But pole dancing can be worth the pain and effort, and this fun activity might have a lasting impact on the way we exercise.
