He called to tell me that he passed (with flying colors) a national certification test for his job. He was ecstatic, talking very quickly & was almost breathless as he told me about it.
Then he told me he was so stressed & asked me for some breathing & relaxation exercises to calm him down before he took his field test. It took me by surprise, because he is very easy-going. I have never pushed or expected any of my children to practice yoga, only invited them to try if they wanted. Now my 26 year old son who has never set foot inside a yoga studio, in spite of always being supportive (just from a distance) of my yoga & dance teaching, my vedic chanting music, my rain sticks & other assortment of odd musical instruments, was asking me for interventions and he was serious. I could hear it in his voice. After a quick phone-coaching session, he was better and went on to his field test which he also did well on.
My point today is that we don't usually associate stress with good news or happy events, but these can also create a stress response in the body. We need to take moments throughout our day to release this tension that builds up not just in our mind, but in our bodies too.
My son was experiencing a stress response and maybe did not realize it at the moment because he was excited about his test results. What he did recognize was a need for something to reverse the sensations in his body-(nervous stomach, heart pounding, short of breath, perspiration). Although he could not remember how to use it, he knew the one tool that we all have that will immediately help us in times of stress: our breath.
It has been known in China and India for thousands of years that the mind. body and breath are all inter- connected and that the breath can be used for balancing all the body's responses, including stress.
Breath techniques are a tool that every child can learn, so that as they grow into teens and adults, a relaxation response to stress becomes the habit, rather than a stress response. I wish I had thought of teaching this to my sons as they grew through many transitions-some painful-in their young lives. Now, as I had my son on the phone, I felt this was an important moment-maybe even a second chance-to be in a great place both in maturity & knowledge to help him, which is what I did.
The opposite situation can occur too, where a person can be too calm, to the point of being complacent and not take action when they should which can be equally destructive. I have also experienced this effect. (Yes, you can be "too calm"!) Practicing Energy breathing can release muscle tension, clear the head, improve focus and motivate a person to take action when they feel wronged or a need for boundaries. Action is very different than reaction. On of my greatest lessons in Life is how the breath can help regulate & balance these two responses.
So for today, here are a few quick exercise to try (for adults & kids):
Belly Breath:
(Deep Breathing) This allows the lungs to fill up completely with oxygen and subsequently improves focus and calm. It will also help clear congestion.)
Place your hand on your belly, over your naval. When you breathe in, allow the breath to come in deeply, through your nose, so that your naval area expands & your hand moves out. When you breathe out, (through nose or mouth) your naval area will contract and your hand will move in. (To teach this to children, have them lie on their backs and place a small toy boat, dolphin, fish, frog, etc on their belly so that it can move up when they breathe in, and down as they breathe out.)
Energy Breath:
(Sometimes called "Big Breath" when working with the very young) Helps release tension, clear the lungs of congestion, increase energy and improve focus.)
Hold a small craft pom-pom ball or cotton ball in the palm of your hand. Take a big breath and blow the ball off your hand as far as you can. (For kids, you can give them each a different color to see how far they can make it go each time.) Even the very small and children with adaptive needs can practice this to some degree.) You can practice this about 3-5 times at first and gradually work up to 8-10 times. Last winter, I even had one Adaptive class of teens work up to have a "snowball fight" this way, where each side of the room had to blow the "snowballs" to the other side and keep away the "snowballs" that were coming at them with their energy breath. They still talk about it .
Another way I teach energy breath with little kids is tell them to hold out their hands, palm up and pretend they are blowing out a birthday candle for themselves on a cupcake. This is something most children can relate to. To help them practice a really big energy breath, I have them imagine blowing out 45 candles on a giant cupcake for my birthday!
(Sometimes called "Little Breath" or "Quiet Breath" with small children) This is a quieting relaxation breath. It can be used to help induce calm before sleep, and just before, during or after a stressful event or situation.)
Take a quiet breath in through your nose, deep into your belly, to the slow count of 3 (for small children ) or 4 (for bigger kids or adults) Breathe out slowly to the count of 3 or 4. (You can also use the cotton or pom pom ball for this exercise only this time, the ball must stay in the child's hand and NOT be blown off. This exercise will quickly teach breath control.)
Laughing Breath:
(Reduces & releases tension and improves respiration.)
Breathe in slowly and deeply-and as you breathe out laugh!
These are just a few ways that breathing can be practiced & used by all ages to keep the body balanced and calm. There are many others! I hope you find these few to be helpful! To learn more about fun ways to teach yoga and other healthy techniques to your children or students, please visit us at: http://www.bodylogique.com/
To schedule a customized evaluation for a Stress Reduction Plan for yourself or your child, please contact me at: Barbara@bodylogique.com
~Barbara
(Pictured from Left: My oldest son Michael, his father, my younger son Steven and myself at a music & arts event the boys played at 3 years ago . This is the only photo I have of us all together and in spite of the rough road we have all travelled together (and apart,) I'm encouraged and comforted by the fact that we have all moved forward and are better for the experience.)
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