January 2023

Dragon Breaths

Dragon breathing is a technique from mindfulness and yoga practices that teaches you to slow down, take a deep breath, and then let the air out like a dragon.

It can be hard for all of us to “take a breath” when we are upset, angry or emotionally hijacked in any way. It is hard for adults and can be harder for young people as they learn to control their emotions. Research has shown that mindfulness meditation and breathing can be really helpful when trying to control our emotions, but mindfulness is becoming watered down.

Watered down words are words that adults are using too much, and kids start to have a negative reaction when they hear the word or even if the word is overused for a reason. A different way to approach it with some of your younger kids is to talk about dragon breathing.

The visual of a dragon breathing fire is helpful to kids with a big imagination; plus, dragons are cool! 

You can enhance the discussion with your students by showing pictures of a dragon breathing fire or even taking it to the level by having students make their fire-breathing dragon. Try this with your students and help make “taking a breath” more fun and appealing as a technique when their emotions get the best of them. 

WEBINAR on Friendships: How to Define and Navigate

FINAL REMINDER: Carey Goldstein is hosting webinar on tomorrow, Thursday, Jan 25 at 4:00 PM Eastern Time. Save your spot here

If you are a teacher, counselor, parent, or school administrator, this webinar is for you!

This webinar will show the connection between loyalty, personal boundaries, and friendship groups while providing activities to use with the students you work with. By defining loyalty and discussing personal boundaries, you provide opportunities for young people to navigate friendship groups with more confidence and understanding.