Time to Take a Breath
By Brenda Haas, LMSW, Ed.M., Coordinator of WJCS Guiding Parents Through Services Program and Partners in Schools Consultant at The Leffell School
Fall schedules are in full swing, and it’s easy to feel like we are in constant motion, balancing work, parenting, eldercare, and other responsibilities.
Stop. Pause for 60 seconds. And breathe.
In times of stress and busyness, calming our bodies and minds through simple mindful breathing techniques is a proven way to reduce anxiety and regulate mood. Consciously noticing and paying attention to the present moment has great power. Many scientists have studied how breathing positively affects the heart, brain, digestion, and immune system. As Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and prolific author wrote, “Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is the only moment.”
In India, breath work, called pranayama, has been a regular part of yoga practice for thousands of years. But outside of yoga, we can all benefit from daily breathing practices. It takes only minutes to notice our breath, ground ourselves in the present, and shift our state.
Mindful breathing practices are helpful to us and our children and encourage us to “press pause,” slow down, and notice our feelings without immediate reaction. It gives us an opportunity for self-awareness and creates space between feeling an emotion and responding to it. In this digital age, we are often driven to distraction and impulsivity by our technology and device use. Practicing mindful breathing is particularly important in helping to improve focus and attention, a skill that is necessary at school, work, home, and in one’s social relationships. The calming effects of mindful breathing can be seen in improved sleep, emotional regulation, stress reduction, and conflict resolution.
Mindful breathing is a superpower we can all learn to use as an invaluable tool when dealing with times of stress. Practicing breathing techniques with young children provides them with a toolkit of healthy lifelong coping skills, in order to cultivate more calm, peace, and inner resources during challenging times. Our breath is always with us, it is a free, easy, and effective form of self-care that can be used at every age and stage.
The following simple mindful breathing activities are playful, and fun, and can be done alone or with a child. If you are practicing these breathing techniques with your child, remember to ask: “What did you notice?” “How is your body feeling?” “Is your breathing fast or slow? When we pay attention to our breath, we bring ourselves into the present moment and take a break from focusing on past regrets or future concerns.
Anchor Breath: Use the breath as an anchor for your attention. Notice your breath, each time it wanders (and it will), kindly, gently, bring your focus back to the breath.
Smell the Cupcake, Blow out the Candle: Imagine a delicious cupcake, take a deep inhale through the nose (4 seconds) to smell the cupcake, hold for 7 seconds, and then, with a long exhale (8 seconds), blow out the birthday candle.
Four Square/Box Breathing: Breathe into a count of four (tracing with a finger in the air the left side of a box), hold the breath for four seconds, (trace the top of the box in the air), breathe out for a count of four (trace the right side down from the top), hold for four seconds (trace the bottom of the box from right to left). Do this slowly for several rounds and then return to regular breathing. This is a great exercise for calming fear, anxiety, and panic.
Butterfly Breath: Raise your arms upwards like butterfly wings, while gently breathing in. Lower your arms as you fly and breathe out fully.
Heart and Belly Breath: Place one hand on your belly and one hand on your heart. Breathe into your belly and into your heart. Breathing out from your heart and out from your belly. Notice the expansion and contraction, and rise and fall of your belly and chest.
Pinwheel Breathing: Take a deep exhale, imagining you are blowing air onto a pinwheel. Then notice the deep inhale. Repeat several times. For this practice, you can use an actual pinwheel.
When we say “take a deep breath” during times of worry, it is more than a casual expression. There are so many vital mind-body benefits that result from noticing our breath. Our mindful presence is truly a gift of self-care, one breath and moment at a time.