Just Breathe….
We often use deep breathing exercises during our Mindfulness Moments before starting our guidance lessons. There are many different ways children can practice deep breathing.
The key to deep breathing is to breathe in through your nose and fully exhale using your mouth.
The link below (2.5 minutes) leads children through “box breathing”
Another form of deep breathing is “Belly Breathing” (we do this type most often with guidance lessons - you may also hear this called “Balloon Breathing”). Kids can practice becoming more familiar with breathing from their bellies (versus breathing from their chests) by laying down and placing a stuffed animal on their bellies and watching their bellies rise and fall with deep breaths.
Belly Breathing for kids (adults can benefit too), step-by-step:
Parent Tip: We know that life may feel overwhelming at times, especially now when we are having to be flexible mostly always (this can leave us feeling exhausted at times). If possible, set aside a little time to “re-center” or “ground” yourself. Taking care of ourselves, even for 10-15 minutes a day, a few times a day, will hopefully give us a little renewed energy. It’s good to take breaks, whatever that might mean for you.
Two quick ways to re-center and take time for ourselves include mindfulness breathing and guided meditation. Choose a time, either before your children are awake or at the end of the day where you might be able to steal away 5 - 10 minutes of uninterrupted time. Here are a few very short breathing and guided meditation:
- Belly breathing for adults (3 minutes):
- Guided Meditation (7 minutes) - the first 3.5 minutes are guided followed by nature sounds/quiet, with 30 seconds at the end of guided meditation closure.
Keep an open mind while hearing this meditation for the first time because it begins with “Make sure you won’t be disturbed for the next 7 minutes..” (and we know how difficult this may be with kids at home!). *This is a great exercise to do before the kids are up in the morning, or at the end of the day when it may be more quiet.
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