Breathe

“Yay! Meditation time!” says one of my 8-year-old students. 

Whenever we finish our Basics sequence, we sit down and do a meditative breathing pattern. When I first started teaching young children I thought for sure this part would be a disaster. To my delight, several of the kids loved it. Sure, some kids pick their toes and look around, but everyone sits and has a moment of quiet calm. 

All my students, younger and older, use their meditative breathing time to center, recover, and prepare themselves for more training. The simple breathing pattern teaches how to focus on your breath. It teaches us how to slow down. It teaches us how to be present. 

Our breath is with us our whole lives. It’s an automatic function that we don’t have to give much thought to. However, it can be a powerful tool in our daily lives.

Fast, shallow breathing activates our sympathetic nervous system and puts us in a fight and flight mode. Slow, deep breathing activates our parasympathetic nervous system and puts us in a rest and digest mode. 

When you catch yourself feeling anxious, or happen to notice that your breath is shallow, take a moment to do your slow, deep breaths. 

When you’re standing in line at the store, instead of pulling out your phone, take some slow, deep breaths.

Be present.

Remember the calm of sitting in class, breathing with your fellow classmates.

And then feel empowered for whatever is next.

Haidong!