It’s that time of year again. The kids are back to school next week and, whilst this may be something of a relief to you as a parent, it can cause anxiety to little minds. Not only is it a change in routine which can be stressful for children, there may also be worries about going into a new class, making new friends, coping with trickier work and interacting with a new teacher. Let’s face it, it can be overwhelming! One of the most useful things you can do to prepare your children for this is to talk to them about it and to give them the tools to cope with their worries.
Breathing techniques are a fantastic way of doing this. Teaching children to focus on their breathing can provide them with a use-anywhere strategy to slow their mind and heart rate and to take note of how they’re feeling.
Try the breathing techniques below with your children. They (and their teachers) will thank you for it!
1. Bubble breathing
Sitting in a comfortable position, close your eyes. Start by pretending you have a bubble wand in your hand. Breathe in deeply, filling your chest and tummy with air and then blow out as slowly as you can. Blow the bubbles all around the room and imagine them floating away. Every time a thought comes into your head let it float away in a bubble and go back to concentrating on your breath. Remember not to breathe too hard or too quickly or the bubbles will all pop! Slowly does it.
2. Bumblebee breathing
Sitting in a comfortable position, close your eyes. Now we are going to pretend to be bees. Gently, put your fingers over your eyes and your thumbs in your ears. Breathe in slowly through your nose, filling your chest and tummy with air, and hum quietly like a bumblebee as you breathe out. As you are breathing, think of a bee buzzing around the flowers happily.
3. Balloon breathing
Sitting in a comfortable position, close your eyes. Start by placing your hands around your mouth as though you are going to blow up a balloon. Take a deep breath in through your nose and as you breathe out let your hands move outwards as if you are holding your balloon which is filling with air. All of your worries are emptying into the balloon with your breath. Keep your hands in position before you take another deep breath in through your nose and breathe out again. When your balloon is as big as it can be, rock gently from side to side and release your worry balloon to the sky.
4. Back to back breathing
Sitting back to back with someone, close your eyes. One person goes first, breathing in deeply through their nose and out slowly through their mouth. Make sure you empty all the air out of your tummy and lungs before taking another breath in. The other person should feel the expansion in their partner’s back and try to align their own breathing so that you are both breathing in time with one another. After a few breaths, swap and see if it works the other way around.
5. Body scrunch breathing
Sitting or lying in a comfortable position, close your eyes. Slowly breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, focusing on the way your body moves as you breathe. After a few breaths, as you breathe in through your nose, try to scrunch up every muscle in your body and hold it as tight as you can. Hold this body scrunch for a few seconds before breathing out slowly through your mouth and relaxing every muscle. Feel all of the tension leave your body and imagine that is all of your worries leaving too. Continue to breathe slowly in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Karma Kids VLC is here to help your children have a great school year. Come and try one of our classes and see the positive impact it has on your little one.
Namaste.
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