262 • PART III: YogA foR EduCATIng foR SElf-REgulATIon And EngAgEmEnT
Calming breath Countdown
The calming breath is a great breath exercise for students and school personnel. The time
to use this breath is when students are presenting as over-stimulated, anxious, wound-up,
or upset (Flynn, 2013; Harper, 2013). It is just as important for students to have a felt sense
of when they are over-stimulated and wound-up as knowing what it feels like to be calm
(Harper, 2013). As most students (and people) today spend a lot of time in a heightened,
anxious state, this can feel normal. Teaching students what calm feels like is a good way
to start teaching them what the over-stimulated states feels like. When a student is feeling
upset, agitated, frustrated, or anxious (any one of these heighted states), ask the student
to check in. Have the student notice any tension, breath rate, and his or her thoughts as an
observer. Coach the student through the experience with guided questions checking into the
body, feelings, and thoughts.
By slowing and deepening the breath, our bodies will slow down and relax (Flynn, 2013;
Harper, 2013). After checking in and becoming the observer, have the student sit up or stand
up tall, lengthening throughout the spine (Flynn, 2013). Ask the student to breathe in and
lift one finger at a time and count to five (Flynn, 2013). Then ask the students to exhale and
count backward from five to one (Flynn, 2013). To effectively down-regulate the nervous
system, cycle through the breaths about three to five times (Flynn, 2013).
balloon breath
The Balloon Breath is a very simple practice that integrates a repetitive movement in the
body with breathing (Harper, 2013). Harper (2013) suggests that this breath exercise can be
helpful for students who struggle with breath control. As an added benefit, it helps with
opening across the chest, stretching the upper body and arms, and mobility in the mid and
upper spine. Begin by sitting in Easy Sitting Pose with ankles crossed. It can help with com-
fort to put a small pillow or yoga block under your sit bones. Imagine that your body is a
balloon. Each time you inhale your body fills with air and each time you exhale your body
empties and deflates. Begin with an inhale and as you inhale press down through your legs
and sit bones, engage your belly and breathe in lifting your arms. Continue inhaling fill-
ing your belly and your chest with air. As you breathe in the very last of your inhalation,
your arms are spread wide and your hands are reaching up and you are looking up. Now,
begin the exhalation from there. Slowly let the air out from your belly, then your chest. Your
arms slowly move downward toward your body as you let the air out. During the very last
moment of your exhale, wrap your arms around you, drop your head and bring your gaze
down. From here inhale and begin the process again (Harper, 2013).
S.E.l.f. breath (Slow, Even, long, full breath)
Tantillo (2012) created this easy-to-remember breathing exercise. She suggests using this
exercise to calm students after a hard day of testing. Ask students to lie on their bellies
or sit at their desks and make a pillow with their hands by placing one hand on top of
the other (Tantillo, 2012). Ask them to rest their right cheek on their hands and relax their
bodies (Tantillo, 2012). Have them observe their breath in each inhale and exhale, making
each breath slower, and become more observant as they breathe. Bring their awareness to