Calm breathing is something that you can do today, without preparation. I used a free iPad app called "Pranayama Breathing", but you can also use "Breathing Balloon", or the sound from a chime, or a musical triangle to guide focus. I liked the Pranayama Breathing the best because I was able to show the students the image on the screen of the lungs filling/emptying, the diaphragm rising and falling, and the inhalations and exhalations had different (musical tones) sounds that they could follow. I could also screen share my iPad screen to the SmartBoard, so that the kids could see this on a larger scale.
I tried a chime and the Breathing Balloon, but didn't like them as much. A few of the kids found the chime to be too high pitched for their senses, and I preferred the visual/audio of the Pranayama app to the Breathing Balloon. If I did not have an iPad to use, I would have used the Breathing Balloon, which could easily be put on the SmartBoard as well.
We began every morning with calm breathing- without fail. The idea is to turn off the lights, have the students sit/lay comfortably, close their eyes, focus on their breaths, and take deep, full breaths to help calm them physiologically and emotionally. I had the students sit or lay down anywhere in the class where they could be comfortable and focused. A few stayed at their desks, but most either sat or laid on the floor. We discussed what happens in our bodies when we do calm breathing, and why it is beneficial. Asking students how they felt when they focused on calm breathing, and times when they had already used this strategy was important as well, so they could reflect and articulate on their experiences, and hopefully connect with the benefits.
We also discussed how this skill is one that is not just for today, or just for school, but for a lifetime- that this strategy can help us anytime we feel that we need to calm down. It is transferrable to many different situations. In fact, some of the kids talked about using calm breathing at home when they were mad, or on the playground when they had a difficult interaction with a peer and felt angry or sad.
We started with one minute, and as they got better able to do this quietly and focused, I started to add time in fifteen second intervals. Surprisingly, many wanted to add time in larger intervals, but I stuck with the fifteen seconds for those who struggled with it. We discussed factors that made focusing more difficult some days (being hungry, noise in the hallway, a stuffed up nose, etc.), and what helped focus (thinking of one word, thinking of their breathing sounds, imagining lying in the sunshine). After each session I would comment on the growth I noticed and verbally recognize those who were well focused. This morphed into a self-reflection: I started to ask them to self-assess their focus each day after breathing. I gave an explanation to four numbers (one, two, three, four) and would ask them, without speaking, to hold up their fingers in a one, two, three, or four to express how they felt their individual focus was. Interestingly, most of them were very accurate in their self-assessments, and most strived to maintain or improve. Over the course of the year, we worked our way up to seven minutes of calm breathing every morning, and every student developed the capacity to do it well. The growth in each of them was amazing, and they were all very proud of this.
We started every day with calm breathing, but also used it for a minute or two some days during the course of the day when I felt the energy in the class was not optimal for learning, or during rough transitions. At the suggestion of one of my grade 3 students, we also did it before the weekly spelling quiz. It is a great way to help the students calm their bodies and minds and feel more relaxed. This state is optimal for learning, and I watched it make a big difference for the students in my class.
Check out some of these other calm breathing strategies from Heart-Mind Online: How to Breathe Mindfully
The following video from has Kindergarteners discussing using calm breathing to regulate their emotions. One girl even mentions the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and the glitter/water model of the amygdala that I discuss on the Mindfulness page.
I tried a chime and the Breathing Balloon, but didn't like them as much. A few of the kids found the chime to be too high pitched for their senses, and I preferred the visual/audio of the Pranayama app to the Breathing Balloon. If I did not have an iPad to use, I would have used the Breathing Balloon, which could easily be put on the SmartBoard as well.
We began every morning with calm breathing- without fail. The idea is to turn off the lights, have the students sit/lay comfortably, close their eyes, focus on their breaths, and take deep, full breaths to help calm them physiologically and emotionally. I had the students sit or lay down anywhere in the class where they could be comfortable and focused. A few stayed at their desks, but most either sat or laid on the floor. We discussed what happens in our bodies when we do calm breathing, and why it is beneficial. Asking students how they felt when they focused on calm breathing, and times when they had already used this strategy was important as well, so they could reflect and articulate on their experiences, and hopefully connect with the benefits.
We also discussed how this skill is one that is not just for today, or just for school, but for a lifetime- that this strategy can help us anytime we feel that we need to calm down. It is transferrable to many different situations. In fact, some of the kids talked about using calm breathing at home when they were mad, or on the playground when they had a difficult interaction with a peer and felt angry or sad.
We started with one minute, and as they got better able to do this quietly and focused, I started to add time in fifteen second intervals. Surprisingly, many wanted to add time in larger intervals, but I stuck with the fifteen seconds for those who struggled with it. We discussed factors that made focusing more difficult some days (being hungry, noise in the hallway, a stuffed up nose, etc.), and what helped focus (thinking of one word, thinking of their breathing sounds, imagining lying in the sunshine). After each session I would comment on the growth I noticed and verbally recognize those who were well focused. This morphed into a self-reflection: I started to ask them to self-assess their focus each day after breathing. I gave an explanation to four numbers (one, two, three, four) and would ask them, without speaking, to hold up their fingers in a one, two, three, or four to express how they felt their individual focus was. Interestingly, most of them were very accurate in their self-assessments, and most strived to maintain or improve. Over the course of the year, we worked our way up to seven minutes of calm breathing every morning, and every student developed the capacity to do it well. The growth in each of them was amazing, and they were all very proud of this.
We started every day with calm breathing, but also used it for a minute or two some days during the course of the day when I felt the energy in the class was not optimal for learning, or during rough transitions. At the suggestion of one of my grade 3 students, we also did it before the weekly spelling quiz. It is a great way to help the students calm their bodies and minds and feel more relaxed. This state is optimal for learning, and I watched it make a big difference for the students in my class.
Check out some of these other calm breathing strategies from Heart-Mind Online: How to Breathe Mindfully
The following video from has Kindergarteners discussing using calm breathing to regulate their emotions. One girl even mentions the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and the glitter/water model of the amygdala that I discuss on the Mindfulness page.
To read what the students in my class thought about Calm Breathing, check out the Feedback page.