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St Clare�s Abbey Primary School, Newry
 

Finger Breathing

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20th Apr 2020

 

Week 4

Dear Parents/Carers/Children

 

I hope you all had a lovely and peaceful Easter. After a few weeks of lockdown, it is now becoming clearer that we are in this Covid-19 Pandemic for the foreseeable future. The good news is we are having a reduced outbreak of the virus compared to the mainland and other countries. Though I am still aware anxiety levels are on the increase amongst adults and children.

Breathing is the fastest and most accessible way to regulate our nervous systems. It helps to reduce stress and anxiety.

Breathing is also the 5th step of Relax Kids and is a great technique for calming ourselves and our children when we or they feel anxious, tense or stressed. It can also be used when children are feeling upset. I use this technique regularly in school and the benefits are astounding.

It is super simple, you don’t need anything, just your hands.

First we will breathe in through our nose, hold for 2 seconds and out through our mouth & hold for 2 seconds (Repeat 3 times) This is just to let us become aware of our breathing.  Before we begin the technique.

Now to begin:

  1. Give your hand a little shake out before we start.
  2. I want everyone to stretch out your hand like a star in front of you so that you have a space between your fingers.
  3. Hold your pointer finger out from your other hand (you could pretend it is a pencil).
  4. We are going to start at the bottom of your thumb, while breathing in through your nose, slide your finger up your thumb to top (2 seconds) hold and rest (2 seconds) and then down to the bottom (2 seconds) & rest.
  5. Continue along all of our fingers.
  6. I have added a recording of finger breathing, if you would like to follow along with me.

You can use this technique as often as you need.

 

I have also added another recorded meditation Aladdins Magic Carpet from Relax Kids, I’m sure the children will all love it. 💜

I would love to hear how you got on with this technique, if it has been of any help. Please leave a message or just a one word comment in relax kids from home section.