Color Breathing For Kids

May 21, 2018

Attention to the breath is one of the most simple and profound ways to promote wellness. There are many techniques even a toddler can use to nourish the nervous system, relax the body and settle the mind with better breathing.

Paying attention to the breath can feel tedious or difficult to both children and adults.  The mind is a powerful engine constantly turning over thoughts.  It’s like a major league pitching machine that throws thoughts at 92 miles per hour.  The breath is like a butterfly, gentle and quiet.  It’s hard to compete for your attention.

This is why we need to add some pizzazz.  Colors are cool and they can be just engaging enough to help our mind stay on the breath.

This is how it works.

First, get comfortable.  Let your body settle into a seated position with the spine tall or lie down on a firm surface.

Take a moment to notice your breath.  What’s happening?  Where does it show up in your body?  Is it up in the chest or down in the belly?  Do you feel your breath more in the front or back, one side or the other?  What is the quality of the breath?  Does it feel rough or smooth, quick or slow?

Then as your breath comes into the body, invite a color to ride in on it.  Just ask yourself, “What color is my breath right now?” And see what color pops into your mind.  Experience this color entering your body through the nostrils. Experience your whole body being filled with this color.  Feel your cells light up with this color.

As you breathe out, what color is your breath?  It may be the same color you breathed in, or a different color.  Experience this color leaving your body.  Maybe you are sending out any bad feelings or pains with this color.

Continue to breathe in your color and breathe out your color for several moments.

There are many fun things you can do with this color.  You can direct the color you breathe into a certain area of the body that you feel needs some love, some healing.  Experience this color getting the job done.  You can use a color to calm your whole body, or to energize your whole body.  Be easy with it and have fun.  It gets easier with practice.  You can also send out bad feelings with the out breath color.  Or, send the color you are breathing out –that is full of your love and positive energy - to a person or place that would benefit from it.

After Color Breathing for some time (one to five minutes is enough), you can get out your favorite art supplies and create an image featuring these colors. It can help you remember how you feel when you give yourself some time to breathe fully and with attention.  Post this art on the refrigerator or in your room to remind you to do some more Color Breathing soon!