After a string of repetitive college tours with my teen daughter, I was half listening as the young guide rattled off the list of physical ed options offered at the school we were touring: “Track, spinning, tennis, breathing, rock climbing, skiing…”

"Wait, did she say 'breathing'?" a fellow parent asked, which was just what I was thinking.

The guide went on to describe the course they offered in mindful breathing.  The other parent acerbically chuckled. I silently hoped my daughter might seriously consider this school.

Breath awareness, mindfulness, yoga, meditation; the terms may differ yet the benefits are the same. Fortunately these benefits are beginning to be widely recognized in our society – particularly for children.

Children are constantly told to “calm down” and “relax” but sadly they are rarely taught how.

Bethel’s Monica Lambert, has taught elementary school for 14 years.  She is also a yoga teacher. Monica regularly incorporates breath awareness into the school day.

“Because fourth grade is such a big testing grade, I teach a lot of breathing techniques,” Lambert said. “It’s amazing how 10 simple breaths can change everything. We breathe before tests, after recess (always) and before lining up.”

But I Already Know How to Breathe

Laura McEvoy is an elementary school teacher from Woodbury, and she runs the kids yoga classes at the Woodbury Yoga Center.

Laura and her students practice “belly breathing,” the type of breathing newborns do as you can see by the rise and fall of their stomachs.

“As we get older we lose sight of the breathing we were meant to do," said Laura. Belly breathing calms and soothes.

Breath awareness involves both belly breathing and “mindfulness:” the awareness that comes from paying attention to one's breath and from being only in the present moment. 

This practice helps children become aware of their thoughts, their sensations and their feelings and consequently helps clear minds, eases anxiety and hones concentration skills.

Mindful Breathing as Part of the School Day

 “Every child should have one class period a day to dive within himself and experience the field of silence – bliss – the enormous reservoir of energy and intelligence that is deep within all of us.”  Phillip Hodson: British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy

My youngest child has never had an easy time with transitions. Other kids frequently struggle with test and/or sports anxiety. 

Holly Tortora, a sixth grade teacher at The Unquowa school in Fairfield, CT, knows first hand how taking time to breathe with students can ease these issues.

“The breath work found in mindfulness activities enables my students to de-stress, develop focused attention without distraction, regulate emotions, both good and bad, and develop an inner resilience which will help to facilitate in them an ability to deal with stressful situations in a calm relaxed manner.

“When my students feel in control of both their minds and bodies and have a deeper understanding of how they react to situations," continued Holly, "it empowers them to move forward with a fearless spirit.”

Both Monica Lambert and Jennifer Zulli, a music teacher from Newtown, incorporate breathing into the school day by utilizing the following techniques:

• Guided visualization: Monica’s students take “Imagination Vacations” in which after taking ten breaths they "go on a vacation " or imagine the kind of day they would like to have.
• Rhythmic breathing: Jennifer’s students lie on the floor while playing a hand drum and counting rhythmically with their breaths.

Alex Boianghu, a school counselor in Brookfield who also has his own private practice, regularly uses mindfulness techniques:

“I find them critical in being able to help people move through their problems.”

Alex shared a helpful analogy:

“When we watch a movie, we forget that there is a projector projecting a movie onto a screen and we can mistake that what is on the screen belongs to the screen. Mindfulness helps us see the projections and we learn to own them and work with them.”

If kids can learn to understand that they are the producers of their thoughts – that they can influence their own feelings and actions – imagine the possibilities!

Feedback

Alex remarked that with younger children and adolescents the feedback is excellent because they experience some calmness.

“With young adults,” said Alex, “they begin to notice their reactions and are able to control those reactions and to choose appropriate behavior for different situations.”

Woodbury’s Laura McEvoy said her students often tell her that their favorite breathing technique is “shavasana” or as Laura calls it, “do nothing doll."

 “This tells me,” remarked Laura, “that kids just need to relax – they instinctively know the value of just lying still."

Holly Tortora has received positive feedback from both parents and students:

“The students report having a calmer attitude toward homework and a sustained focus,” remarked Holly. “Also, a 'less confrontational attitude.' Students needed less monitoring on work and exhibited a sense of personal responsibility for their work.”

One parent took time to write a letter of thanks to teacher, Jennifer Zulli, because she had noticed an increase in her daughter's confidence as a result of her daughter, in her own spare time, practicing the breathing techniques Jennifer had taught at school.

Jennifer asked her students how they felt about breathing and meditation. She graciously shared a few of their comments:

Nicole, age 9: “I relax everything about me.” “I learned to stand up for myself.”

Allison, age 10: “I haven’t been angry with my family anymore. Also, I have been ready for tests.”

Madison, age 10:  “It has taught me how to focus more on the task. It also helped me control my anger when I get mad in school. I like it because it calms you and soothes your mind.”

Newtown High School senior, Emily Ashbolt, told me that focused breathing reminds her that “this too will pass…to live in the moment and that there are bigger things out there.”

Because of the religious connotation sometimes associates with meditation and yoga, some teachers avoid using these titles; however, there is nothing “religious” about breathing and mindfulness. Bethel’s Monica Lambert tells parents early in the year that she is a yoga teacher and that she uses breathing and visualization in her efforts to create a “calm classroom.”

 “I have not had a complaint yet,” said Monica, “and I think that most parents appreciate it.”

Others may equate mindful breathing with being put into a “trance,” however, unlike a trance mindfulness only heightens awareness and focus.

“If they would teach us from the time we are little to meditate and get in touch with all that our souls know we wouldn’t fight so much.” Shirley MacLaine

The skills needed to address life’s issues are equally as valuable as academic skills and should be a regular part of the school day. While parents can certainly help by practicing mindfulness at home, the reality is that many parents do not have the time or know-how to practice with their children on a regular basis.

Randi Rote, director of The Village Pre-School in Bethel, welcomes the idea of bringing “breathing” into the classroom.

"I think breath awareness and mindfulness is probably a wonderful thing for students to be involved in, even if it is only for one or two minutes at a time," said Randi. “It would be a way for them to clear their heads and focus on the present issue or task at hand.”

Laura McEvoy feels it would be simple and easy for schools to incorporate and that in turn “breathing” would calm classrooms and increase focus and attention.

We all wish our children "happiness." But as far as I'm concerned, true happiness comes as a result of confidence, resilience, emotional stability and self-awareness.

“Mindfulness,” says Susan Kaiser Greenland, author of The Mindful Child, “helps children recognize the habits that lead to happiness and break the ones that don’t.”

After learning that my son was upset over an argument he had had with his dad recently, I went up to his room bracing myself for the dramatic and emotional outcry that often accompanies his frustration. Instead I found him quietly sitting on his bed. When I asked what was going on he told me that he decided to come to his room and “breathe” because he was mad at dad. Amazed and delighted, I quietly retreated.

For more information, visit:

Mindfulness Meditation Being Used In Hospitals and Schools

Yoga Ed. for Teachers and Schools

Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA

Mindful Children

The Dhamma Brothers, A remarkable documentary on the influence a meditation program had on the inmates of an overcrowded, violent, maximum security prison.