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Supporting Self-Regulation with the Breath

From time to time I have had parents inquire about breathing exercises in yoga class and how these exercises can be incorporated into children’s daily lives.  Relaxed breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, so when children are breathing slowly and calmly, it is impossible for them to be in a state of “fight or flight.”  The term “relaxed breathing” is preferable to “deep breathing,” as the latter indicates strong inhalations, which can activate the sympathetic nervous system.  The exhalation is what tends to activate the parasympathetic nervous system.  Therefore, beginning with an exhalation and focusing on making the exhalation longer and slower can help to induce the relaxation response. 

Relaxed Breathing:
  • Is the most beneficial self-regulatory tool that can be given to a child, as it is something that can be used anytime and anywhere  
  • Can stimulate the relaxation response (PNS), balance the nervous system, and decrease stress hormones
  • Improves focus and the ability to concentrate
 
Parents can prepare their children in advance to engage in the following three relaxed breathing exercises during stressful moments.  I suggest that parents practice these exercises with their child so that both parent and child can reap the benefits of relaxed breathing when necessary.
 
Sighing Breath
Invite children to let go of stress by inhaling deeply through their nose and then audibly exhaling with a sigh out of their mouths.  
 
Sun Breath
Stand in Stick Pose; inhale the arms up over your head; exhale the arms slowly and smoothly back down to your sides. Encourage children to imagine that their arms effortlessly rise on the inhalation and gracefully float down on the exhalation.
 
Humming Breath
Following a deep inhalation, children hum on the exhalation. Invite them to try different tones and to focus the hum in different parts of their body such as chest, face, lips, and throat.
 
NOTE: Try plugging the ears with fingers to make the experience more internal.
 
Below are two additional breathing activities that parents can engage in with their children to encourage relaxed breathing.
 
Supported Breathing
With your child lying in a supine position, place your hands on his/her collarbones and ask him/her to breath into your hands.  This is an excellent opportunity to closely examine how your child is coordinating diaphragm and ribcage. For proper coordination, encourage children to initiate their inhalation in their bellies, to next fill and expand their ribcage, and eventually to breathe all the way up to their collarbones and your hands.   On the exhalation you can press just below the collarbones to release the ribcage.
 
Mirror Breathing
Sit back to back with your child or place your child in your lap while modeling proper deep 3-part breathing.  Ask your child to breathe with you. 
 
Below is a fun activity to stress for your child the benefits of breathing and positive thoughts.
 
The Power of Breathing and Positive Thoughts
Invite your child to stand near you.  Instruct them to think positive thoughts such as, “Yes, I can!” while breathing evenly.  Then have them lift an arm parallel to the floor and hold it there while you test to see how strong they are.  To test, child holds arm parallel to floor while you press down on their upper-arm with two fingers.  If they are strong, which is often the case, the arm will not move much. 
 
Now, invite your child to lower their arm and think negative thoughts such as, “No, I can’t!” while holding their breath. Then, test the strength in their raised arm like you did before.  Most likely, their arm will be weaker and easy to press down.  
 
Explain that this experiment shows that to be strong and support ourselves in doing well, we must breathe and think positive thoughts.