Belly Breathing
Teaching (and learning!) can be stressful. When you are feeling maxed out, it's important to regulate your emotions and focus your mind. Since your students will feed off of how you feel, the way you show up matters. That's why it's important to discover what makes you grounded and prepared - whether it's taking a walk outside, listening to music, or doing some breath work.
Belly Breathing is a simple and effective technique for calming your mind and reducing stress. (You can try this with your students, too!) Here's how it works:
-
Find a comfortable place to sit down.
-
Take one of your hands and place it on your upper chest. Place your other hand on your
belly just below the rib cage.
-
Take a moment to consciously and completely relax your body.
-
Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose. You will feel your belly rise, or expand, outwards away from your spine. The hand on your upper chest will remain mostly unmoved.
-
Breathe out slowly through pursed lips. You will feel your belly relax and fall back in towards your spine. Again, the hand on your upper chest will remain mostly unmoved.
-
Repeat this multiple times until you feel relaxed, calm, and focused.
Download Belly Breathing Instructions
You can also check out this post for more practical techniques on how to teach deep breathing to students with intellectual disabilities.
For more tips, check out the full-length lesson on “Preparing Yourself” within the Teaching Strategies for Students with Disabilities course. Don't forget, you can sign up for a free 3-day trial to watch the lesson, too!
