3-Minute Breath Reset For Kids

A 3-minute grounding practice combining gentle standing movements, breathing, and centering techniques to help kids (and the grown-ups in their lives) shift from reaction to response. Through simple movements like reaching for the sky, rooting feet into the ground, expanding lungs, wiggling out tension, and sighing out stress, children learn to reset their nervous system through guided breathing and body awareness.

This quick reset is perfect for: Transitions throughout the day (before or after naps, after school). Meltdown moments when calm feels impossible. Classroom breaks and group settings. Anytime anyone in the family needs to pause and recenter. Teaching kids the empowerment of checking in with their breath.

In less than 4 minutes, this practice gives kids (and grown-ups) the tools to choose calm over chaos. A powerful reset button for the whole family.

Photo by Gabriel Baranski on Unsplash

Transcript

Hi there,

Welcome to a quickie breath reset.

Let's stand up and reach for the sky.

Now reach your right fingertips a little higher than the left hand.

Now reach your left fingertips a little higher than the right hand.

Good,

Let those arms release down by your sides.

Let's shift our attention now to our feet.

Can you feel your feet on the floor?

And now let's put a little bit more pressure or weight into the right foot.

You can even sway over to the right.

Now let's go back into the middle and shift over to the left foot now,

So putting a little bit more weight or pressure into the left foot and your body can even sway over to the left side.

Now let's go back over to the right and then sway back to the left.

Head back into the center,

The middle.

Take a breath here.

In and out.

Now let's put a little bit more pressure into our toes,

The front of the feet,

And then put a bit more pressure into the heels,

The back of the feet,

And the toes can even lift up off the ground here.

Go back to the toes and then to the heels and then find your center here.

Try taking a nice easy smooth breath in and letting that breath completely empty out.

We'll start to create a circle of pressure now,

So lean to the left side of the body.

The left foot has more pressure.

And then go to your toes and then over to the right and then take the pressure to the heels and then back over to the left.

Let's do that one more time and it's okay to lose balance.

Have fun with it.

So from the left side to the toes to the right side to the heels and then we'll end up on the left side.

Now let's go to the heels,

Reversing the circle,

Then over to the right,

Then to the toes and then back to the left.

One more full circle,

Reversing it.

So left side,

Heels,

Right side,

Toes,

Left,

And then back to center.

Well done.

Let's encourage all the air to empty out of our bodies now.

Wiggle and shake it out.

You can shake those arms,

Those legs,

Even your head.

Next,

Welcome a big breath in.

Can you sigh out your next exhale and sense your feet more on the ground?

Can you feel those feet all the way on the ground as you let the breath come all the way out of the body?

On your next inhale,

Breath in,

Can you picture your lungs filling with air?

Then watch the breath empty out as your arms and shoulders feel a little heavier.

Good.

One more deep breath in and then let that breath go slowly all the way out.

You've got it.

Remember your breath is your friend and you can check in with it at any time to take a quick time off.

Take care of yourself.

Until next time and keep breathing.