Breathing is a great tool for emotional regulation and managing difficult feelings. Obviously, we breathe constantly, without having to think about it but when we use the term deep breathing, its referring to deep belly breaths, not shallow breathing.
Taking slow, deep breaths stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which is responsible for activities that occur when our body is in rest mode. It allows us to feel calm, relaxed and have a sense of control.
Before carrying out any any breathing exercises, it useful to teach your child how to breathe correctly.
The following teddy bear breathing activity is a good one for them to practice with.
Lie on your back, get comfortable and hold a teddy bear or soft toy on your belly. As you breathe in, you want the teddy to rise up. We do this by breathing lower into our stomach as opposed to the chest. As you breathe out the teddy should lower.
Here are some fun, child friendly breathing techniques
Visualisation Breathing Techniques
Hot Chocolate
- Pretend you are holding a delicious cup of hot chocolate
- Bring the cup to your face and take a slow, deep breath in as you smell the chocolatey scent-yum!
- Now, before you get to have a yummy sip, you slowly breathe out as you imagine you are blowing on it, to cool it down.
Birthday Cake
- Imagine you have a delicious birthday cake in front of you. It is your favourite and has candles on it.
- Close your eyes and take a big, deep breath in, as you pretend to smell it
- Now, imagine you are blowing out all the candles as you exhale
Balloon
- Pretend that your belly is like a balloon
- Take a big, deep breath in and notice how your belly gets bigger as it fills up with air
- Slowly breathe out and notice how your belly gets smaller, like a balloon when it deflates
Working with adults, children and young people 