Mindfulness has been shown to reduce anxiety in learners especially around times of stress like exams and tests. There is also evidence showing that mindfulness can help improve knowledge recall and learning retention. Shiken integrates mindful techniques throughout the platform and the mindfulness area on web and mobile is the central hub for helping you stay calm.
Mindfulness Biomes
The mindfulness area is accessed from the main navigation menu on mobile and web.
The mindfulness area is made up of biomes which are the habitats where Study Buddies live. All biomes are found on the island map which provides a tranquil retreat for the Study Buddies when they are not helping you learn.
Breathing Exercises
When you first enter the island map only the breathing biome in the bottom right of the island will be accessible. To unlock your first biome you need to complete a breathing session.
When practising mindful breathing you can select a session time duration and can then hit the start breathing button to begin.
You should then inhale and exhale calmly in time to the breathing circle and restful sounds.
Once you have completed your first breathing session you will unlock your first mindful biome!
Mindful Biomes
In the free version of Shiken a single mindful biome is available to use.
Shiken Premium subscribers have access to:
All the biomes together with their soundscapes
Mindful music
Narrated, guided meditation
A mixer function which allows you to adjust the ambient soundscape sounds compared to the music or guided meditation.
The ambient soundscape sounds can be paused at anytime and the guided meditation can be accessed from the microphone icon in the top right of the biome.
Tracking Mindfulness
Just like your learning progress Shiken also tracks your mindfulness progress. Your time spent in mindful biomes and on breathing exercises is logged and stored in the progress area. You can view your session history together with your time spent meditating compared with your peers.
Apple Health Kit Integration
Shiken integrates with Apple healthkit to log and track your mindful minutes.
Mindfulness in Questions
When using quick play or when creating a custom study session with mindfulness turned on mindful breathing exercises are integrated with questions. This helps you to practise mindful breathing while learning and also stimulates pauses in learning to take a mindful break so you are as productive as possible when studying.