Breathing Through the Back-to-School Bustle

Read along with Jennifer Cohen Harper

Jennifer Cohen Harper, MA, E-RYT, RCYT

It’s that time of the year again! School drop-offs and pick-ups are full swing, students are back in the classroom, and extracurricular activities and homework leave little time for anything else. The stress of it all is upon us. Among the hustle and bustle of this busy time, we can’t forget that just like us, kids may be feeling the anxiety and mental load of returning to school.

One simple thing we ALL can do is use the superpower within us—the incredible ability to use our breath to energize us when we get tired, settle us down when we feel overwhelmed, and help us focus when we get distracted. With a little awareness and practice, we can often change the way we feel simply by changing how we are breathing.

My new children’s book, Thank You Breath, will provide the tools kids (and grown-ups!) need to use their breath to find peace and power, even as big emotions take over. Breathing mindfully is a tool that’s available to us anywhere at any time—we just have to remember to use it! I hope Thank You Breath, with its beautiful illustrations and rhymes, will help remind us all that we can use our breath to bring calmness, even in the chaotic world around us.

And this mindful breathing and coloring activity for kids uses Thank You Breath techniques you can use to help bring mindfulness into their everyday life.

Breathing as a Super Power: Teaching Kids How Intentional Breathing Helps When Big Emotions Take Over
Thank You Breath: Finding Peace and Power from the Inside Out
We all have a superpower within us – the incredible ability to use our breath to energize us when we’re feeling tired, settle us down when we’re feeling overwhelmed, and help us focus when we get distracted. With a little awareness and practice, we can often change the way we feel simply by changing how we are breathing.

To help our kids harness this power we have to do more than tell them to “take a deep breath”. In Thank You Breath, you’ll find these very tools so kids (and their grown-ups!) can learn how to use breathing to find peace and power, even when BIG emotions take over. Complete with how-tos, breathing meditations, and tips for caregivers, this sweet and compassionate book helps us all use our breath as a life-long practice.

Meet the Expert:
Jennifer Cohen Harper, MA, E-RCYT, is an author and educator who works to support all children and teens in the development of strong inner resources through the tools of yoga and mindfulness. Her goal is to help kids, and those who care for them, thrive in the world regardless of circumstances, and navigate the many challenges they face with a sense of personal power and self-awareness.

As the founder and CEO of Little Flower Yoga, Jennifer brings embodied mindfulness programming and education to schools and community organizations nationwide, serving students, families, educators, and mental health providers. She is an active member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, and the board president of the non-profit Yoga Service Council, which works to maximize the effectiveness and sustainability of those committed to sharing practices supporting healing, resilience, self-development, community building and positive social change

Jennifer is the author and co-author of numerous titles and card decks, including Yoga and Mindfulness Practices for Children Card Deck (PESI, 2016), Little Flower Yoga (New Harbinger, 2013) and children’s books, Thank You Body, Thank You Heart (PESI, 2019) and Thank You Mind (PESI, 2020).

Jennifer’s work has been featured in prominent publications, including The New York Times, The International Journal of Yoga Therapy, Publishers Weekly, and Yoga Journal, and has been endorsed by thought leaders including Dan Siegel, Sharon Salzberg, Rick Hanson and Congressman Tim Ryan. Jennifer is an engaging presenter committed to collective growth and learning. She offers powerful information in a practical, easy-to-implement format with warmth, humor and joy.

Learn more about their educational products, including upcoming live seminars, by clicking here.

Topic: Self-Regulation

Tags: Mindfulness | Self-Regulation | Activity | Happiness | Strategies | Therapy Tools | Community | Children

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