Breathing Exercises For Kids

 

Tell your child to take a deep breath in through their nose, filling their lungs with air downwards towards the belly. As their belly expands up and out, notice their bottom hand rise. Then tell your child to breathe out slowly through their mouth, feeling the bottom hand lower back down.

Here are the breathing exercises for kids:
1. Smelling Flowers.
Tell your little one to imagine they are smelling a flower, breathing in deeply through the nose and out through the mouth. Smelling flowers is one of the easiest breathing exercises to master, and a good starting point for your child.

2. Hot Air Balloon.
Sitting in a comfortable cross-legged position, start by cupping your hands round your mouth. Take a deep breath in through your nose and slowly start to blow out through your mouth, growing your hands outwards in time with your exhale as if you are blowing up an enormous hot air balloon. Once your balloon is as big as it can be (and you’ve finished your exhale), breath normally as you sway gently from side to side admiring your big beautiful hot air balloon as it soars through the sky. This long deep exhalation as you blow up your hot air balloon has a relaxing effect and the image is incredibly vivid for kids’ imaginations. If you want to see the hot air balloon in action check out Squish the Fish!

3. The Bunny Breath.
Just like a little bunny in the garden, encourage your child to take three quick sniffs in through the nose, and one long exhale out through the mouth.

4. Loving kindness breath.
Choose a standing or comfortable upright position such as sitting in a chair, sitting cross-legged, or sitting on your heels. Close your eyes if that is comfortable and begin to tune in to the sound of your breathing. Take a deep breath in then slowly exhale for five counts. On your next exhale, think of filling yourself with love. Imagine the color red enveloping your body. On the next exhale, think of sending love and kindness to someone close to you. Then as you exhale, send loving kindness to someone you are having a difficult relationship with at the moment. Then send love and kindness out to the world around you: the animals, the trees, your neighbors, and your city. Lastly, send out love and kindness to the world. Finish your loving kindness breath by coming back to breathing naturally. When you are ready, open your eyes. This breath is great for Valentine’s Day celebrations or when you need to slow down to express more love to yourself and those around you.

5. Blow Out Candle.
Have your child blow out the candles on a make-believe birthday cake, drawing a deep breath in through the mouth, and blowing it out strong through the mouth as well.

6. Humming Breath – Fun Breathing Activities for Kids.
This mindfulness activity is like giving yourself a big hug, and is so wonderful for calming, centering, and soothing.  It’s a wonderful tool to use on a regular basis, before starting any new activity.  It also works well when kids are feeling frustrated, overwhelmed or irritable.

How to Do Humming Breath:

Place one hand on your stomach over your belly button.

Place the other hand on your sternum in the middle of your chest.

Take a deep breath and hummmmm while breathing out. Feel the vibration of the sound as you hum and let it ground your body and calm your mind.

7. Stop and Smell The Flowers.
In this breathing exercise, have your child pick a flower (real or fake) or simply imagine that they have one in their hand at that moment. Have them take a deep breath in for a few seconds, filling their lungs with air. Once they have a full inhale, have them hold for one second, followed by a long exhale.

A fun way to talk with your child about this technique is to explain that the air (carbon dioxide) that we breathe out helps the flower grow, just as the oxygen released from the plants help us grow as well.

8. The Snake Breath.
Tell your child to pretend he/she is a snake and hiss, inhaling deeply through the nose and blowing out through the mouth with a soft and low hissing sound.

9. Stuffed Animal Breathing.
Another fun breathing exercise for children is the stuffed animal breathing technique. Here, you will want to have your child pick a stuffed animal of their choosing and place it on their belly while they are laying on their back. To get them involved, you can tell them that they will be using deep belly breaths to calm themselves while taking their little stuffed animal along for the ride.

When they are ready, have them breathe in deep enough that they can see their stuffed animal rise on their belly. After the deep breath, have your child breathe out and watch the stuffed animal fall back down. Repeat this deep breathing process for 2-5 minutes for best results.

10. Blowing Bubbles.
Remind your child how softly they need to blow to get a nice big bubble. Encourage them to take a deep breath in and blow it out soft and long.


11. Smell The Flower And Blow Out The Candle.
Have your child pretend that he/she has a flower in one hand and a candle in the other. The first step is smelling the flower, taking a deep breath in through the nose, and filling the lungs with air. Next, have your child exhale and blow out the candle in the other hand.


12. Bumble Bee Breaths.
Known as Bhramari in Pranayama practice. Pranayama being the control of the breath in Yoga. Sitting comfortably with your legs crossed, breath in through your nose, then with fingers in your ears hum out your exhalation. The lovely comforting resonance of this has a calming effect and done with eyes closed can make it even more peaceful.


13. Taco Breath Cool Down.
When energy is very high and it’s time to cool down and relax our bodies, I may have children practice cooling sitali, or as I like to call it, taco breathing.

Find a comfortable seated position with a nice long spine. Relax your shoulders. Curl the edges of your tongue together like a little taco.

Disclaimer: this is not genetically possible for everyone, so if you or your kiddo’s tongue doesn’t curl, just make a little round straw with your lips.

Take a deep breath in through your taco or straw. Hold the breath for a second, then gently breathe out through your nose. I feel calmer already.


14. Deep Belly Breath.
Have your child place one hand on their belly and one hand on their chest. Let them take a deep breath in for four counts and then exhale slowly (through their nose) for four counts. Remind them to pay attention to the rise and fall of their chest and belly as they complete the exercise.


15. Tumble Dryer.
Have your child sit cross-legged and get comfortable. Have them point their index fingers toward each other in front of their mouth. After your child inhales deeply through the nose, have them exhale through their mouth and swirl their fingers around as they do so (like a tumble dryer). The fun part of this is the swishy noise they’ll hear as they exhale.


16. Dragon Fire Breaths.
Interlace the fingers underneath the chin. Inhale and lift the elbows up to frame the face. Exhale, lifting the head up making a whispered ‘hah’ sound towards the sky, like a dragon breathing fire. At the same time, lower the elbows back down to meet at the bottom again by the end of the ‘hah’ exhale. This breath technique builds strength and heat within so is a good energiser. It helps us feel brave when we might be nervous or pepped up when we’re a bit tired.

17. Breathe together: Start doing the breathing exercise together. Help them by talking through each step: “Let’s blow out some birthday candles. Breathe in…and…out. Let’s do another one.”


18. Shoulder Roll Breath.
Shoulder roll breaths are a great breathing exercise for kids. They have the added benefit of releasing tight muscles and tension. Have your child sit comfortably. As they take a deep breath in, encourage them to roll their shoulders up toward their ears. Have them drop their shoulders back down on the exhale.


19. Magic breathing (deep breathing) is as simple as breathing, but before you teach your bouncy little tyke, it’s important for you to learn it.

First, you practice deep breathing exercises:

Relax your face. When the house is quiet, turn off the phone and take 2-3 minutes for yourself. Sit in a comfy chair, uncross your legs, put your hands in your lap, drop your shoulders, and––most important––let the tiny muscles around your mouth and eyes get very soft and relaxed.
Take a few slow breaths. Slowly inhale through your nose (as you silently count to 5) then slowly exhale through your nose (for another silent 5 counts). Make a little whooshy sound as the air flows in and out, and never hold your breath.
As you breathe in, let one hand slowly rise and as you breathe out, let it slowly drop.
Practice where your child can watch. He may get curious and want to imitate you.

20. Rainbow breath.
Stand or sit tall with your arms straight at your sides.
As you breathe in, move your arms up above your head.
As you breathe out, move your arms back down to your sides to make a rainbow.

21. Whale breath.
Stand or sit tall and take a deep breath in, hold your breath while you count to 5.
Tilt your head up, pretend you’re peeking out of the water and blow all of the air out.

22. The “54321” technique.

This exercise is great to help kids be present in their bodies and space. Have your child find, or describe:

5 objects they can see right now.
4 objects they can feel or touch right now.
3 things they can hear right now.
2 things they can smell right now.
1 thing they can taste right now.

23.Nature walk.

If you have access to someplace green, take your child for a walk in nature.

What do you hear?
What do you see that’s growing?
Touch the rough bark of a tree trunk, or collect acorns or leaves. How does it feel?
Rub a pine needle. How does it smell?
Return regularly, and observe the small and big changes – what new sounds can you hear; what new green things are growing? Bring in the lesson that change is always happening, and that the earth continues its cycle, no matter what is going on in our lives.



Here is a basic exercise that can help the child breath and relax:

• Sit comfortably with your back straight and your feet flat on the floor.
• Close your eyes.
• Slowly breathe in through your nose. As you breathe in, notice your chest filling up with air. Notice your tummy rising.
• When you feel that your lungs are full, hold the breath. Focus on the feeling of fullness in your chest and tummy.
• Now slowly breathe out through your mouth. As you breathe out, notice your chest emptying. Notice your tummy relaxing.
• Repeat this exercise another 2 times (3 times in total).
• Return to your normal breathing pattern.

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