Two minutes Mindfulness: Balloon Breaths/Belly Breaths - Breathing exercise for Children скачать в хорошем качестве

Two minutes Mindfulness: Balloon Breaths/Belly Breaths - Breathing exercise for Children

Balloon breathing is a simple breathing exercise that you can do anywhere. Slow, deep breaths are one of the best ways to calm an anxious child. An anxious or angry child is in flight-or-fight mode with their body primed to handle a perceived threat. This usually leads to fast, shallow breathing, rapid heartbeat, and tense muscles. Practicing slow, deep breathing tells your body that it can calm down, and as the physical arousal decreases, the emotional feeling of anxiety or anger will too. Here’s a sample of how I talk to kids about deep breathing for relaxation: “When we get scared or worried or angry, we usually take quick shallow breaths that stay at the top of our chest. (I put my hand on the top of my chest to give a focal point and demonstrate what this looks like.) When we want to calm down, we need to take slow belly breaths instead. Imagine that there is a balloon in your belly. When you breathe in, you want to push all the air down and fill up the balloon so that your belly puffs out. (I put my hand on my belly and demonstrate this.) Then, you breathe out slowly and your belly gets smaller as the balloon deflates.” Sometimes it’s easier to practice belly breaths if you lay down. I’ll have the child lay on the couch and we’ll put a small stuffed animal (or balloon) on their stomach. I’ll remind them that when they breathe in, the stuffed animal should rise, and when they breathe out, it should go down. We’ll practice this until they seem to understand how to do the belly breaths. After they understand the belly breathing, I’ll help them slow down the breathing like this: “To keep our breathing slow, we’ll try to count to four as we breathe in and to four as we breathe out. Let’s practice and do five slow breaths together; I’ll count as we go. Try to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. As you breathe out, purse your lips like you’re blowing bubbles. Put one hand on your stomach to remind yourself to focus on filling up your belly when you breathe in. In – 2 – 3 – 4. Out – 2 – 3 – 4…” Subscribe to: Fablefy.com facebook.com/fablefy twitter.com/fablefy