What Is it All About?
Students explore an activity to help them connect with their breath and relax.
Why Do It?
Focusing on breathing in a calm and controlled manner can help relieve stress and relax the body.
How Do We Do It?
Students get into a comfortable position, sitting comfortably with both feet flat on the floor, or lying flat on their back on the floor if preferred.
Ask students to close their eyes if they are comfortable doing so.
Encourage students to begin breathing slowly and deeply.
Suggest that students imagine they have a balloon in their tummy. Students place one hand below their belly button and breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose to a count of 4.
Students imagine they feel the "balloon" fill up with air. When the "balloon" is full, they breathe out slowly, using a count of 4 to empty the "balloon".
Highlight for students that their hand may rise and fall as the "balloon" fills and empties.
What Else Do We Need?
Nothing we can think of! Feel free to be creative.
How Do We Get Creative?
Consider playing slow and relaxing music while students meditate and breathe.
Record the direction to the relaxation technique and create a relaxation area of the class when students can take a time out to relax and listen to the recording at a later time.
Adapted from: Bounce Back … Again, 2nd Edition. Retrieved from https://phecanada.ca/sites/default/files/content/docs/teach-resiliency/bounce%20back%20booklet%202014%20web.pdf/sites/default/files/content/docs/teach-resiliency/bounce%20back%20booklet%202014%20web_0.pdf