Today’s guest blogger is Jessica Smith. AWestern Michigan University MSW student, Jessica interned with Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo last school year. As part of her internship, she wrote several blog posts about mindfulness for Ask Me About My 12,000 Kids.
In April, I wrote a blog post introducingmindfulness. For this post, I am going to discuss mindful breathing.
When we’re breathing, we often don’t think about it. However, paying attention to our breathing and focusing on it is what we call “mindful breathing” – paying attention to each breath we take.
This year at Kids In Tune, the students at Woods Lake Elementary learned about mindful breathing and how to do it. First, the students get into their “mindful bodies,” which is a comfortable position, whether it be sitting cross-legged or lying on their backs or stomachs. Next, they close their eyes or make “soft eyes,” which consists of looking at the ground or at something that calms them.
During mindful breathing, the students focused on each breath they took, while slowly breathing in and breathing out. It’s not uncommon for the mind to wander during the practice of mindful breathing. In fact, it’s normal. If your mind wanders while you’re practicing mindful breathing, all you need to do is acknowledge and accept that passing thought, then bring your focus back to your breathing.
Practicing mindful breathing can be very calming, reduces anxiety and allows you to take a “break” from the day, putting all of your focus on each breath you take. The more the students practiced mindful breathing, the easier it became for them. They practiced mindful breathing for periods of time as short as 30 seconds to as long as 5 or 6 minutes. The more they practiced mindful breathing, the more calm and relaxed the students appeared.
Simply taking a couple minutes of your day to practice mindful breathing is a great stress reliever. If you would like to try mindful breathing, here are the steps:
• Find a quiet, relaxing place to sit cross-legged or lie down in a position that feels most comfortable to you.
• Close your eyes or make “soft eyes.”
• Inhale slowly, hold it for a few seconds, then let your breath out.
• You can continue this for as short as 30 seconds or as long as 5, 10 minutes, whatever you feel is best for you!
In my next post, I will discuss mindful seeing.
