Tamy (Sadie Cohen’s mom), was inspired by a blog about meditation techniques Yoli had done with the children and wanted to know if she could come in to demonstrate some of her breathing techniques. The children asked, “How did you know how to do this? “ Tamy said, “ I asked a lot of questions. I asked the gymnastics teacher, yoga teacher and I took a class for 3 hours and learned a lot of techniques. If you would like to, you can take off your shoes and we are going to sit in a circle to do breathing.”
The children learned “dinosaur breathing” and breathed with jewels on their chests to watch their breath and also learned the word Namaste: a customary greeting from India that conveys respect with hands pressed together in front of you. Afterwards, Yoli wanted to see what these techniques might reveal about the children’s self regulation. She asked: “What calms people down? What ideas do you have?”
Owen: “A show that makes me feel good and Lava Girl and Shark Boy. I also have a special blanket. It calms me down.” Shark Boy is on the left, Lava Girl on the right.
Hanami, “I sleep with my mom and you can see me breathing under the covers.” Hanami is the tiny figure in the circle, Sari (Hanami’s mom) is in green, and Hanami’s breath is black and orange.
Sadie. “Me too. You cannot see me because I am hiding in the covers but you can see my breathing. I am under the covers.
Micah, “When I am scared, I take deep breaths and I calm down.” Micah shows himself in three positions. From left to right he is 1. holding his hands in the Namaste position 2. breathing dinosaur breath 3. laying with jewels on his chest to watch his breathing. Namaste is written across the top of the illustration.
Lena, “I feel safe in my backyard with the fence around it.”
Then the children went on to remember times when they recognized agitation in themselves and others, and felt successful.
Owen, “My sister gets really sad at first and you do not hear a sound. My mom or whoever is there tells her, breath, breath and then she cries.”
Tamy, “She’s learning how to regulate her body.”
Sadie, “I had butterflies in my stomach when I was learning how to do the monkey bars. I was nervous when I was going to come down.”
Tamy, “You did it and got through it.”
Self regulation comes in many forms. Breathing exercises can elicit a calming effect by focusing the mind on controlling the length and strength of breathing in and out. Try it, it puts you in a deeper sense of calm. Yoli will be talking more with Tamy (thank you Tamy) and expanding her techniques with the children to help them master self regulation.
Kris and Yoli
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