Breathing and Intentional Movement in the Classroom
The Way We Breathe Matters
The way we breathe sends ongoing information to the nervous system and can influence our level of activation. Different breathing patterns may help increase or decrease activation, but using them effectively depends on interoception—-our ability to notice what is happening inside our bodies.
Students need to be able to notice what is happening in their bodies to recognize whether an upregulating or downregulating breath may support them in the moment and notice whether anything shifts after. Without that awareness, they are unlikely to recognize whether the breathing practice helped, or to choose to use it again.
There Isn’t One Breathing Pattern for Everyone
Sometimes, focusing on the breath can be uncomfortable for students. Different breathing activities should be presented to students to invite them to notice how their bodies respond and which activity provides them with the most support during moments of dysregulation.
Different Types of Movement Defined
Sometimes, educators find that movement-based videos and activities leave their classrooms more dysregulated than they were before doing the movement.
To understand why this can happen, it is helpful to look at the type of movement being used.
Freestyle Movement
Sometimes, this is exactly what students need. Other times, it can leave students feeling more dysregulated if high-energy freestyle movement happens without regulation built in.
Intentional Movement
This incorporates elements such as rhythm, bilateral movement, or moments of regulation throughout the activity. These elements allow students to move while also helping the movement have a regulatory impact.
Explore Our Virtual Regulation Room
Our Virtual Regulation Room can be used explicitly and intentionally by you and your students. It provides you with regulation activities that you can bring into the classroom. You can also make the room available for students to access as a resource.
There are many areas within the Virtual Regulation Room to explore.
The areas that support the skills highlighted in these resources are represented by:
- The stack of pillows (Breathing & Interoception)
- The cat on the pillow (Breathing)
- The jump rope hanging by the door (Intentional Movement)
Begin your visit at the Virtual Regulation Room. There’s a video on the Virtual Regulation Room page that walks you through how to navigate it.