How to Do Breathwork at Home with Littles
Okay, moms. When you hear the word breathwork, what do you think of? Does your mind see a room with candles and everyone in yoga poses? Well, don’t let the enemy steal what belongs to the Lord! The very name of God, YHWH, is the sound of breathing. Every time you breath, you speak God’s Hebrew name! Remember, he brought forth Adam with his very breath! And, you can learn how to do breathwork at home. You don’t need to go to a special place to do it (although doing it in the woods adds the benefit of nature).
What is breathwork?
Breathwork is a little bit different than simply breathing. Most of us are shallow breathers and have poor posture. Doing breathwork is intentional deep breathing that focuses on posture, rhythm, strengthening the lungs and lung capacity, and using the diaphragm and abdomen. It is usually done in a quiet place to encourage calm and focus. Breathwork can be part of a meditative practice as well.
Why do it
There are many benefits of breathwork. First, it increases oxygen levels, which directly affects athletic and cognitive performance. You can think better if you have more oxygen. Second, the slow, deep breathing triggers the vagus nerve to turn off the fight-or-flight response, helping you calm down and better regulate your emotions. Finally, breathwork improves lung capacity and getting rid of carbon dioxide waste.
How to do breathwork at home
Now that you know a bit more about the what and why, let’s dig into how to do breathwork at home, especially with littles. You don’t need to go anywhere special and you can teach them to do it, too. It can be one more tool in your toolbox when things seem out of control. After all, they need to learn easy ways to manage their own emotions in any situation.
Set aside some time
You don’t have to do this every time. But, when you are first learning how to do breathwork at home, it is important to set aside a few minutes each day to be intentional about it. Later, it will become habit and you won’t need to worry about being intentional anymore. It can be a great way to start your day, end your day, or regroup in the middle of the day. Tying it to something you are already doing, such as your morning basket for adults, or a before lunch calming activity, makes it easier to remember.
Have a plan for how to do breathwork at home
First, you will want to decide if you will use a guided breathwork recording, such as a YouTube video or a podcast. If not, then familiarize yourself with one of the following breathwork techniques or breathing patterns before you start.
- diaphragmatic breathing: this is a very simple breathwork technique in which you bring awareness to breathing with both your belly and your diaphragm. The idea is to expand and fill your entire lung space with air. It is usually coupled with a breathing pattern, such as 5-5 breathing described below. It can be done lying on your back or sitting straight.
- breath focus or meditative breathing: this breathing technique couples a breathing pattern with focusing on a word or image, such as breathing in a cleansing breath or breathing in God’s peace while exhaling stress and worry. Sometimes, this type of breathwork includes a visualization exercise. This can be a great choice for imaginative older children.
- mindfulness breathing: this breathing technique is all about focusing on the present moment and what is going on in your body. As you breathe, you focus on your breath and how each part of your body feels.
- 5-5 breathing: breathe in for 5 seconds, then breathe out for 5 seconds. This one is great for beginners and children.
- 5-5-5 breathing: breathe in for 5 seconds, hold it for 5 seconds, then breathe out for 5 seconds
- 4-7-8 breathing: breathe in for 4 seconds, hold it for 7 seconds, then breathe out for 8 seconds
- box breathing: this is similar to the 5-5-5 breathing, but you can choose your own number, such as 4 or 6 instead of 5. This one can be a good choice for those trying to recover from a respiratory condition because you can start with where you are comfortable and increase the number as you improve.
There are others, but these are more advanced types or are associated with certain religious practices.
find a good spot
Another key component of how to do breathwork at home is finding the right spot. This can be a bedroom, living room, or the backyard. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but there does need to be enough room for you (and the kids) to be able to sit on a rug or in chairs. If you want to lie down and do your breathwork, you need to have a comfortable spot with enough room. If you will be using a guided breathwork technique, your space needs to have room for a screen or be quiet enough to hear your phone’s speaker guiding you through the exercise. It also helps if there are few or no distractions.
doing breathwork on the go
Once you get the hang of how to do breathwork at home, you will have a new tool to use when you’re out and about. You can take a few moments in the car to calm your nerves before or after a stressful outing. You can sit at the park and regroup right there on the bench. And, when you go visiting with the kids, you can also excuse yourself and do some breathwork in the bathroom.
It is also a useful tool to use with kids once they are familiar with it. A simple reminder such as, “Remember to breathe” or “Use your breath” might be the thing that prevents a meltdown or an embarrassing situation.
And fun ways that littles can do it, too!
When you are learning how to do breathwork at home with your small children, here are a few tips to help you teach them:
- Keep sessions short. While you might like to do the technique for 5 or 10 minutes, they can probably only tolerate about 2 minutes. As they get older, you can encourage them to do it longer.
- Keep it simple. Use the simplest breathing techniques, such as 5-5 or diaphragmatic breathing.
- Use props, if appropriate. You can use a rubber duckie or other small toy and place it on his belly while he’s lying down. Can he make it rise and fall? Gamifying the breathing makes it more like play. If you want to introduce a breathing focus, use an actual image posted on the wall to help him. Kids may have trouble trying to control their breathing at the same time as imagining something. Plus, kids have trouble focusing, period.
- Use a visual or auditory cue to help them with the pattern. On my sister site, Simple Kids Wellness, I have a set of free shape breathing cards exactly for this purpose!
- Mix it up! Kids love novelty and get bored easily. So, use different breathing techniques, different tools, and let them choose sometimes.
Concluding Thoughts
Learning how to do breathwork at home can be a simple and powerful way to calm down, regroup, and improve your overall well-being. It is also a great skill that children can learn. There are many ways to do it, so make it part of your day!
Check out my other self-care tips in the Self-Care for Christian Moms: Homeschool Edition series!
About Julie Brow-Polanco
Julie Brow-Polanco, MH, FMCHC, MSHHP, NASM-CPT is dedicated to helping teens (and moms) enjoy a vibrant, energetic life through a whole self approach to mental/emotional and physical health. Julie also draws on her education in herbalism and aromatherapy to offer a truly natural approach. She not only follows a natural approach to health, but as a 23-year veteran homeschooling mom of four, she applies the principles of “natural” to motivating and teaching kids, too. She currently coaches and teaches high school students at a small alternative high school in the Chicago area and also accepts private clients.
When she isn’t doing all that stuff, you might find her skimming her hand over the surface of Lake Michigan as she floats in her kayak, singing at the top of her lungs. Or, writing fantasy novels while sipping Earl Grey tea.