Perfect Breathing

An article in a newsletter from USC’s Annenberg School of Journalism caught our eye this week. The Watts Learning Center is now using a breath-based approach to teach kids how to deal with and control difficult emotions such as anger, frustration, and stress.

We have been advocating for some time to emphasize this critical life-skill in children, teens and young adults - the earlier the better. The potential benefits to the kids throughout their life are huge and could provide significant benefits to the community as well.

Although specific studies with children are few, small, and thus inconclusive from a scientific standpoint, the collective science regarding health, emotional intelligence, stress management, and overall mental and physical performance is overwhelming.

The problem for just about everyone – adults and children alike – is awareness. Becoming aware of your breath and remembering that it is a ready resource – your secret weapon in just about every situation and circumstance, is one of the most empowering and powerful changes you can make in your life. Once you have developed that awareness, experience quickly reinforces just how transformational it can be.

The program at the Watts Learning Center is provided by the Y.O.G.A for Youth organization that was founded in South Central Los Angeles in 1971. You can learn more about them at www.yogaforyouth.org.

Have you had any experience with children, young adults and breathing? Let us know!