Mindfulness

Teaching mindfulness through yoga

Like many Education Choices readers, my son will be joining Reception in September - not long to go now! I’m excited to empower him with the skills he needs to thrive in school. Along with learning numbers and sounds, practising tying our shoes and working on sitting with “school legs”, I’m sharing some simple mindfulness techniques to help him feel in control as he enters a new environment. My son is joining a small class with a fantastic teacher, but there will still be moments when he feels overwhelmed or unsure. The quickest way to cool these feelings is to use a breathing technique. Animal breaths are always the most popular with little ones, so we are practising ‘Humming Bee Breath’ and ‘Bunny Breath’ at home.

‘Humming Bee Breath’ is great for calming the nervous system: inhale deeply then exhale while making a humming sound for as long as you comfortably can.

The ‘Bunny Breath’ is a super tool for calming down your child if they are upset. Inhale with three sharp sniffs like a bunny, then exhale, long and slow.

We are also practising taking quiet moments in our day and noticing our emotions - do I feel happy now or do I feel nervous?

How do I know?

If children are feeling “fizzy” in the morning, moving into a few yoga poses can help them feel calm and focused. Balances like the ‘tree pose’ or flows like ‘sun salutations’ are great for thisyou can find plenty of resources to help with child-safe poses on my website.

VICTORIA TSO Child and Teen Yoga Teacher www.innerchildyogaschool.com

Ages 3-11