Do you ever wonder why adults will tell you to take a deep breath when you're sad or angry?
It's because breathing is an easy trick that you can do anytime and anywhere.
Our breathing changes with different emotions.
Have you ever noticed it might speed up when you're scared or feeling anxious?
Those are normal feelings,
But breathing fast can make them feel worse and make it harder to think clearly.
This is a breathing practice that you can use to make your body and mind feel relaxed.
You can practice it when you're happy and calm.
That way,
When you feel anxious or upset,
You'll be an expert at it.
Let's begin.
Sit or lay in a comfortable position with your body still.
You can do this with your eyes open or closed.
Put your hands on your belly.
Imagine there is a balloon in your belly,
And you can make that balloon any color you'd like.
Slowly and gently,
Breathe in through your nose.
Imagine the balloon blowing up and getting bigger as the breath fills your belly.
Now slowly and gently,
Breathing out through your nose,
Imagine the air slowly coming out of the balloon as your belly comes back down.
Beautiful.
Let's repeat this two more times,
Noticing how paying attention to your breath and breathing into your lower belly can help you relax.
All right.
Slowly and gently,
Breathe in through your nose,
Imagining the balloon blowing up and getting bigger as the breath fills your belly.
And now slowly and gently,
Breathing out through your nose,
Imagining the air slowly coming out of the balloon as your belly comes back down.
And one more time.
Slowly and gently,
Breathing in through your nose,
Imagining the balloon blowing up and getting bigger as the breath fills your belly.
And slowly and gently,
Breathing out through your nose,
Imagining the air slowly coming out of the balloon as your belly comes back down.
Beautiful.
You can do this anytime and anywhere when you feel like you could use a break or your emotions feel very big.
Your emotions will still be there,
But you'll be calmer and it might make it easier to talk about your feelings.
This is a nice trick to teach a grownup.
Even grownups need help managing big emotions sometimes.
Thank you for sharing this time with me.
Be kind,
Be curious,
And be you mindfully.
