Two days in a row my toddler affected me in the most profound way. Two days in a row he was behaving impish - you know, toddler stuff...yelling, being indignant, thrashing while I tried to change/dress him. Two days in a row I growled (idle) threats at him of severe corporal punishment and days worth of time-outs. And two days in a row, he sat up, looked at me wide-eyed, and said "Deep Brefs...Deep Brefs," and waited for my response.
Which was, initially, to stare in surprise. Then, to do exactly as suggested. And wouldn't you know it? It worked.
I'm still unsure if he meant HE should take the deep breaths, or I should, but still, it was the exact right thing to suggest and do.
Since the day he was able to understand what a breath was I have tried to teach him to take a few deep ones when he is crying, or frustrated, or angry. It at the very least breaks the anxiety cycle and allows us to communicate about the problem. I don't remember the lesson for myself often enough when not on my mat. So with his 28.5-month wisdom, my little Virgo has reaffirmed his guru status for me, for my yoga.
They listen, they hear and understand even when we think they don't. Teach your children well, and they will do the same for you!
Showing posts with label Eli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eli. Show all posts
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Breath in through your nose...
When I bring out the Hoberman Sphere (aka the Breathing Ball), all eyes (and sometimes hands) gravitate my way.... this large collapsing sphere is a fantastic tool for illustrating how we open our insides for breath, then constrict our muscles to release. It's almost natural to start breathing IN and OUT as the sphere opens and closes.
We sing the song "Breath IN through your nose...Breath OUT through your nose...." slowing down or speeding up as needed.
Even little Eli (who was the first in class to crawl INTO the sphere!) understands the connection between the ball and the breath, even at 25 months. Often when he's upset I'll just sing the "breath in" song and depending on his mood he'll follow along with the breath. Sometimes, if he just wants to be upset (and, heaven knows, we all have that feeling sometime) as soon as I start to sing, he wails "Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!"
But I know the simple trick is to just say "okay, let's just take a deep breath" and sure enough, he'll inhale through his nose, then actually do an energy releasing mouth exhale. And voila, the crying is abated even just for a moment. People have looked at me slack jawed when they see this little boy doing a deep breathing exercise, long before the notion of what "breathing in and out" really means....
I'd like to think that all that yoga I did while pregnant has ingrained some things into his little spirit. But truth be told, it's me RE-learning that taking a deep breath is a sure fire way to break the stress cycle, and passing that on actively to my little punkin' that has worked.
For classes where passing around a $40 "toy" is not possible, I like to do the pretend breathing ball exercise. I show them how it works, and ask them to imagine that they have one inside of them. Then we put our hands in front of us, cupped with fingers wide, making our OWN little breathing ball, that we can open and close on our own. We can close our eyes and REALLY imagine we are holding a ball. We can go around the room and ask "what color is YOUR breathing ball?" - we can open it just a a little, for puppy breaths, or a LOT for big balloon breaths (check out YogaKids for more on Balloon Breath).
And, not surprisingly, after giong through any breathing exercise with the families and children, I too always feel a sense of calm, groundedness, and health. Brain, Body, Breath - united.
We sing the song "Breath IN through your nose...Breath OUT through your nose...." slowing down or speeding up as needed.
Even little Eli (who was the first in class to crawl INTO the sphere!) understands the connection between the ball and the breath, even at 25 months. Often when he's upset I'll just sing the "breath in" song and depending on his mood he'll follow along with the breath. Sometimes, if he just wants to be upset (and, heaven knows, we all have that feeling sometime) as soon as I start to sing, he wails "Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!"
But I know the simple trick is to just say "okay, let's just take a deep breath" and sure enough, he'll inhale through his nose, then actually do an energy releasing mouth exhale. And voila, the crying is abated even just for a moment. People have looked at me slack jawed when they see this little boy doing a deep breathing exercise, long before the notion of what "breathing in and out" really means....
I'd like to think that all that yoga I did while pregnant has ingrained some things into his little spirit. But truth be told, it's me RE-learning that taking a deep breath is a sure fire way to break the stress cycle, and passing that on actively to my little punkin' that has worked.
For classes where passing around a $40 "toy" is not possible, I like to do the pretend breathing ball exercise. I show them how it works, and ask them to imagine that they have one inside of them. Then we put our hands in front of us, cupped with fingers wide, making our OWN little breathing ball, that we can open and close on our own. We can close our eyes and REALLY imagine we are holding a ball. We can go around the room and ask "what color is YOUR breathing ball?" - we can open it just a a little, for puppy breaths, or a LOT for big balloon breaths (check out YogaKids for more on Balloon Breath).
And, not surprisingly, after giong through any breathing exercise with the families and children, I too always feel a sense of calm, groundedness, and health. Brain, Body, Breath - united.
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