The first role of breath is to sustain life: we breathe in oxygen, giving fuels to our muscles and organs, and out dioxyde carbon, expelling their waste. Furthermore, the way we breath indicates our overall state: have you noticed how you tend to have a fuller and slower breathing pattern when you are relaxed and a very constricted and shallow one under stress?

Breathing practices can help us access better our parasympathetic nervous system (the relaxed one) to calm down or sleep better and also increase our energy levels or decrease our overwhelm feeling. 

And breath is always there with us - a great companion if we befriend it. As much as you are told to listen to your body, you should also listen to your breath !

A Stanford study has shown that taking 4 deep breaths can bring many benefits to kids and help them regulate better and decrease their stress level. Yet, at home or at school, we barely kids how to breathe. Saying "calm down and breathe" is not enough if small kids are not taught how to do it.

Check also my FAQs on breathing for kids.

In Yoga, Pranayama means breath control, with prana translating into life force and yama into control. It is one of the 8 limbs in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, along with Asana (posture) and Dhyana (meditation). It is then a very important part of yoga.

Pranayama, and breathing techniques, is a tool to help kids to feel less stress or anxious, redirect their energy or anger, increase their energy levels or concentration when feeling down or calm down and relax when feeling hyper. They have the power to balance their emotions and energy levels themselves when they need it! In a few words, breath can become a superpower if they know how to use it.

Breathing techniques should be adapted to kids age and capabilities. At the start they might not manage or feel their breath, it is ok, it will come with practice.

When it comes to breath practices, you have different options:

• As a warm-up:
  e.g. palm tree breathing or bird flying (arms raised to the side up and down as a bird flying), 

• As a mindful flow linking breath and posture,
  Example 1 and example 2   

• As a part of games: e.g. pom-pom race or spider push-ups,

• As a practice in itself

For toddlers and kindergarteners,
breathing activities should focus on making them aware of their breath and practicing some belly breathing and long exhale.
If they manage to do 4 deep breaths, they might already decrease their anxiety and stress levels. The use of props is a huge plus to help them.
For instance

1. Belly breathing: on their backs, knees bent, a plush toy on their belly, let them notice how their toy goes up when they breathe in and down as they breathe out, like it is riding a wave,

2. Hot cocoa breath: a very nice exercise to integrate to the start of a kids yoga class or a family yoga practice - as a play on their morning routine. Pour some cocoa into their hands, let’s them smell it (big inhale) and blow some air to cool it down (exhale). 

3. Bumble bee breath: seated, with hands on the ears, inhale and make deep sounds such as Zzzzz (as a bumble bee), you can experiment with other sounds like Aaaa, Mmmmm, Iiiiii … (and pretend to launch a rocket with motors firing up!)

4. Using props:

1. Bubble breath: kids love blowing bubbles, they might not succeed at first but any small success is worth congratulating and encourage them having fun looking at others’ bubbles too, marvel at the nice colours, shapes and sizes. And it boosts kids' self-confidence when they manage to do big bubbles

2. Dragon appearing breath: use a straw, a glove and a paper cup, - it can also be an appearing rabbit, chicken or other animals

3. Customised party blow outs: buy some party blow outs and draw on the other side of the design to fit your class story

For middle schoolers,
you can start integrating more complex breathing such as:

1. Noticing breath:

1. Belly breathing with plush toy or hands on belly

2. Rib breathing: seated down with hands on ribs

3. 3-part breathing with one hand on belly and one on chest

2. Breath to calm down or balance:

1. Same length breath (sama vritti) : the breath has the same length on the inhale and on the exhale

   • Note: longer inhales give a more energizing breath while longer exhales help relaxing.

2. Square breathing inhale - hold your breath - exhale - hold your breath on the same count and repeat

3. Star or other figure tracing: trace along a star or any shape and inhale when you trace up, exhale down

3. Breath to release energy, stress or anger:

• Lumberjack: start standing up, feet wide apart, arms above the head and hands clasped, take a big inhale and go down with a big Aaaaa exhale like you want to cut some tree,

• Lion’s breath: seated on heels, hands on knees, inhale and take a big exhale while putting the tongue out and down,

4. Other examples

• Superhero breath: pretend to be a superhero and show your special breathing technique.

These are some examples on how to teach kids to breathe and I invite you to explore further. Do you have favourite techniques to share as well?