Teaching our children to calm themselves by focusing on the breath

This week Sunday's worship service is entitled, "Just Breathe." Children and youth of all ages can benefit from mindfulness, the simple practice of bringing a gentle, accepting attitude to the present moment. It can help parents and caregivers, too, by promoting feelings of well-being and relieving stress. And it all begins by paying attention to your breath. 

But how do you get active children and teens to slow down and focus on how they are breathing?  In religious education, we've had success with a few techniques you can use at home:

• Young children: Have them lay down on their back and balance a stone on their chest. Then ask the child to inhale to make the stone rise, then exhale to lower it.

• Two illustrations of simple breath exercises which include a tactile element are illustrated below, Star Breathing and Starfish or Five-Finger Breathing. When I find myself unexpectedly caught in a traffic jam or a long line at the check out and negative feelings arise, I often do the Five-Finger breathing exercise to center myself and remain calm. As a bonus for self-conscious youth who do not want to draw attention to themselves , it can be done inconspicuously.

Keep Breathing!