78 Yoga for Speech-Language Development
with the ring finger and exhales through the right nostril.
Last the child inhales through the right nostril, closes the
right nostril with the thumb, and exhales through the left
nostril. This sequence completes one round of alternate
nostril breathing.- Langhana breath. The child’s exhalation is twice the
duration of the inhalation. For example, the child inhales
for a count of two, then exhales for a count of four. The
count can be adjusted according to the needs of the child. - Mountain breath. Using paper and a writing instrument, the
child can draw his breath. As the child inhales, he draws an
upward line, and as the child exhales, he draws a downward
line in order to create hills or mountains with the breath. - Nature breath. The child connects the breath to elements of
nature, such as the sounds of the ocean by inhaling as the
waves roll into the beach and exhaling as the waves roll out
to sea. - Smile chant. For the smile chant, the child first inhales and
then produces the vowel “e,” phonetically represented as /i/,
on the exhalation. Gradually, the child prolongs the “e” on
the exhalation, which facilitates breath support for speech
(Goldberg 2013). - Mantra breath. The child uses a mantra, which is a
sound, syllable, word, phrase, or sentence repeated to aid
concentration, while engaging in breathing exercises.
For example, the child can inhale while thinking “I
am” and exhale while thinking “strong.” To improve
confidence regarding communication skills, the child
can use the mantras “I can speak” or “I talk well” during
breathing activities.