How Grounding Leads to Confidence: Helping Teens Shift Their Self-Talk
In our Calm Exam program, we first explore ways of grounding ourselves — what it means and why it matters. (You can read more about grounding here.)
When teens learn to ground through movement and breath, they begin to develop a sense of inner safety. This is important because it helps them step out of the fight/flight/freeze response and return to a calmer state. (You can read more about creating inner safety here.)
And that brings us to the next step: self-talk and confidence.
When we feel calm and collected, we can finally notice what’s going on in our minds. Grounding creates that space to observe thoughts — and to choose whether they’re actually helping us in the moment, especially in the middle of study or exams.
Often, our teens are their own harshest critics. Thoughts like:
“This is too hard.”
“I can’t do this.”
“I’m not smart enough.”
These patterns aren’t helpful when trying to concentrate or perform. The good news is: once we become aware of these thoughts, we can change them.
The shift looks like this:
From “I can’t do this” → to “I can do hard things.”
From “I’ll never get this” → to “I am capable of learning this.”
From “I always lose focus” → to “I can bring my focus back, one step at a time.”
This is the practice of self-talk as self-coaching — a skill that builds confidence and steadiness under pressure.
The yoga practices we use in Calm Exam support this process beautifully. They help teens reset their nervous system, reconnect with their breath, and return to a calm state where they can give themselves their own pep talk. Over time, this helps them replace unhelpful inner chatter with words that encourage, reassure, and empower.
You can explore some simple practices to support your teen here: [link].
-Kerstin Woosnam-
Founder of U-YOGA & Creator of the Calm Exam Program