Gentle Breaths, Big Feelings

Helping Children Practice Breath Work Safely

As parents, we often wish we could hand our children a simple tool for calming big feelings, settling busy minds, and feeling safe in their own bodies. Breathwork is one of those tools — and when introduced gently and age-appropriately, it can become a lifelong resource for emotional regulation and self-awareness.

In my kids yoga classes, we don’t talk about “controlling the breath.” Instead, we explore breathing as a friendly helper — something that’s always with us, ready to support us when emotions feel big or overwhelming. At home, parents can facilitate breathwork in much the same way: softly, playfully, and without pressure.

Why Breathwork Helps Children

Children experience emotions in their bodies long before they can name them. Slow, mindful breathing helps activate the body’s calming response, supporting the nervous system and creating space between a feeling and a reaction. Over time, this builds emotional resilience, focus, and confidence.

For younger children especially, breath work works best when it’s imaginative and brief — think blowing up a balloon, smelling a flower, or gently rocking a stuffed animal with the rise and fall of the belly.

How Parents Can Introduce Breath Work

The most powerful thing you can do is model calm breathing yourself. Children learn far more from what we do than what we say. Invite them to breathe with you during moments of calm, not just during meltdowns. This helps breathwork feel safe and familiar rather than corrective.

You might say:
“Let’s take a few cozy breaths together.”
or
“Want to help your teddy fall asleep with your breathing?”

Keep it light, optional, and short — even two or three breaths can be enough.

Breath Work Dos for Kids

✔ Do keep it playful and imaginative
Use imagery, stories, or props like stuffed animals, bubbles, or pinwheels.

✔ Do focus on gentle, natural breathing
Encourage slow inhales through the nose and relaxed exhales through the mouth without forcing depth.

✔ Do practice during calm moments
Bedtime, story time, or quiet transitions are ideal for building familiarity.

✔ Do follow your child’s lead
If they lose interest, that’s okay. Breathwork should always feel like an invitation, not a task.

✔ Do keep sessions brief
One to three minutes is plenty for young children.

Breath work Don’ts for Kids

✘ Don’t force breathing exercises during emotional overwhelm
When emotions are very high, children may need connection first before regulation.

✘ Don’t use breath work as a punishment or correction
Breathing is a supportive tool, not a consequence for behavior.

✘ Don’t encourage breath-holding or rapid breathing
Avoid techniques that could cause dizziness or discomfort.

✘ Don’t over-explain
Children don’t need the science — they need the experience.

✘ Don’t expect instant calm
Breathwork is a practice, not a switch. Its benefits build gently over time.

A Gentle Reminder

Every child is different. Some children will love breathing games right away, while others may need time just watching you model them. Trust that even brief, imperfect moments of mindful breathing are planting seeds.

When children learn that they can use their breath to feel safe and steady, they gain something truly empowering — a tool they carry with them long after childhood.

If you’re curious, try asking your child tonight:
“Would you like to try a breathing game before bed?”
You may be surprised by how eagerly they say yes.

With calm breaths and kind hearts,
Alexis Billings

Social-Emotional Learning

As a kids’ yoga teacher, I often say that yoga is about so much more than stretching our bodies—it’s about stretching our hearts and minds, too. In my classes with children, I work to incorporate social-emotional learning and movement. I am continually surprised by how children genuinely enjoy discussing and learning about emotions!

The early years of a human are a beautiful and sensitive time. Children are learning who they are, how they feel, and how to move through the world with others. Social-emotional learning equips them with the tools to accomplish all of this with confidence, kindness, and self-awareness.

What Is Social-Emotional Learning?

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is the practice of helping children understand and manage their emotions, build healthy relationships, and make thoughtful choices. For young children, this doesn’t happen through lectures—it happens through experience.

In yoga class, SEL looks like:

• Naming emotions during poses (“How does your body feel right now?”)

• Practicing calm breathing when feelings feel big

• Taking turns, listening, and respecting personal space

• Learning that all feelings are welcome—even the wiggly, grumpy, or shy ones

Ages 4–6: Learning to Feel and Express

For younger children, social-emotional learning starts with awareness. Many children at this age feel deeply but don’t yet have the words to explain what’s happening inside.

Through playful poses, stories, and breathing games, we practice:

• Recognizing emotions in the body

• Expressing feelings in safe, creative ways

• Trying again when something feels hard

• Learning that it’s okay to ask for help

When a child learns, “I feel frustrated—and I can breathe through it,” that’s a powerful life skill taking root.

Ages 7–9: Building Empathy and Confidence

As children grow, their social world expands. Friendships become more complex, emotions more layered, and self-talk more noticeable.

In yoga, we gently guide older children to:

• Notice how their actions affect others

• Practice empathy and compassion

• Build confidence without comparison

• Use mindfulness to manage stress and pressure

Yoga becomes a place where they can slow down, check in, and remember that they are enough—just as they are.

Why Yoga Is a Natural Home for SEL

Yoga invites children to pause and listen—to their breath, their bodies, and their feelings. It teaches them that calm is something they can create from within, and that kindness begins with how they treat themselves.

When children practice social-emotional learning in a joyful, supportive environment, those lessons follow them—into the classroom, onto the playground, and back home with their families.

A Gentle Invitation

If you have a child between the ages of 4 and 9, I invite you to ask them a simple question today:
“Would you like to try a yoga class where we learn about feelings?”

You may be surprised by how eagerly their hearts say yes. 🌱

Growing Kind Hearts

Helping Children Learn Love Through Everyday Moments

One of the most beautiful parts of working with children is witnessing just how naturally kindness flows from them. A shared smile on the mat, a little hand reaching out to help a friend balance, a whispered “Are you okay?” when someone feels sad — these tender moments remind me every day that love is something children understand deeply.

And yet, kindness is also something that grows.
It blossoms through practice, nurtured gently by the adults who guide them.

As parents and caregivers, you have such a precious opportunity to help kindness take root in your child’s heart — and yoga, mindfulness, and everyday connection can help it flourish.

🌸 Kindness Begins with Awareness

Before children can offer kindness to others, they first learn to understand their own feelings.
When a child knows what calm feels like, what frustration feels like, what joy feels like, they begin to recognize those emotions in the people around them.

This awareness becomes empathy — the foundation of kindness.

A simple way to nurture this is to check in with your child throughout the day:
“How does your heart feel right now?”
“What do you think your friend felt when that happened?”

These small conversations gently expand their emotional world and help them notice the feelings of others with care.

🌿 Movement Teaches Compassion

In children's yoga, kindness often shows up in the body long before it arrives in words.
When children practice partner poses, they learn to support and be supported.
When they fall and giggle and try again, they learn patience.
When they see a friend struggling to balance, they cheer instead of compete.

Movement becomes a language of love.

These simple experiences teach children that kindness feels good — in their bodies, in their hearts, and in their friendships.

💛 Mindfulness Makes Space for Love

Kindness blooms in moments of stillness.
When children pause to breathe, they soften. Their nervous systems settle, their emotions ease, and their hearts open.

Mindfulness helps children slow down enough to notice:
the friend who needs help,
the sibling who needs space,
the parent who needs a hug.

Try a simple loving-kindness practice at bedtime or after school:

“May I be happy.
May I be safe.
May I be kind.
May others be happy, safe, and kind too.”

These gentle phrases plant seeds of compassion that grow stronger with repetition.

🌈 Modeling Kindness Makes All the Difference

Children learn kindness by watching it lived.
They hear it in your tone, see it in your gestures, and feel it in your presence.

When you speak gently after a hard moment,
offer patience instead of pressure,
or show compassion to yourself on a challenging day —
your child learns that kindness starts within.

You don’t have to be perfect.
You just have to be present, and loving, and human.

🌻 The Heart of It All

Teaching children to be kind isn’t about memorizing polite words — it’s about helping them feel connected, capable, and loved.

A child who knows they are deeply loved naturally becomes more loving.
A child who feels safe becomes more gentle.
A child whose emotions are honored learns to honor the emotions of others.

Every breath, every warm hug, every playful yoga pose becomes part of how your child learns to move through the world with softness and compassion.

Kindness is not something we train — it’s something we nurture.
And your child’s heart is ready to bloom.

💕 A Gentle Invitation

If you’d like to help your little one explore kindness through movement, breath, and mindful play, ask them if they’d like to try a yoga class made just for children. Together, we’ll stretch our bodies, open our hearts, and grow kindness from the inside out.

With love and light,
Alexis Billings

Thankfulness vs. Gratitude

Dear sweet families,

As the seasons shift and we gather a little closer, many of us find ourselves reminding our children to “say thank you.” It’s a beautiful habit — a small phrase that teaches kindness and respect. But beneath those two simple words lies something even deeper, something that grows slowly in the heart like a seed: gratitude.

In my children’s yoga classes, we talk a lot about feelings — where they live in our bodies and how they change. Gratitude is one of the most magical feelings to explore. It’s softer and quieter than thankfulness, yet it stays with us longer.

🌿 Thankfulness: A Moment of Appreciation

Thankfulness is often a reaction — something we feel in the moment when something kind happens.
When someone shares a snack, offers a hug, or gives us a gift, we feel thankful. It’s that spark of warmth that reminds us life is good right now.

For children, thankfulness is often taught first through words — saying “thank you” to express appreciation. It’s beautiful and important, but it’s also fleeting. Thankfulness lives in a single moment, like the sparkle of sunlight on water.

🌸 Gratitude: A Way of Seeing the World

Gratitude, on the other hand, is deeper. It’s a way of noticing and appreciating all the good that surrounds us — even when things aren’t perfect.
Gratitude asks us to pause and see beauty in small things: the smell of morning pancakes, the warmth of a blanket, the sound of laughter from the next room.

While thankfulness is what we say, gratitude is what we feel and carry.
It lives in the heart and grows through awareness, mindfulness, and connection. When children begin to notice how much goodness already exists in their lives — from family and friends to simple moments of joy — gratitude becomes part of who they are.

🌈 Helping Children Experience Gratitude

Here are a few gentle ways to help gratitude bloom in your child’s life:

🌸 Practice “finding little delights.”
At bedtime or mealtime, ask: “What made your heart happy today?” It doesn’t have to be big — it could be a hug, a funny moment, or a favorite snack. This helps children shift from saying thanks for things to feeling gratitude for moments.

🌿 Create a gratitude ritual.
Light a candle or take a deep breath together before eating, and each share one thing you’re thankful for. Rituals help children connect gratitude with presence — the feeling of being right here, right now.

💛 Model mindful gratitude.
Children learn what we live. When you pause to notice a beautiful sky or say aloud, “I’m so grateful for our cozy home,” your child absorbs that awareness. Gratitude becomes something they feel, not just something they’re told to do.

🕊️ Pair gratitude with movement.
In yoga, gratitude can be expressed through the body — a gentle bow, a heart-opening stretch, or a hand on the chest. Encourage your child to take a deep breath, place a hand over their heart, and say, “Thank you, body. Thank you, day.”

🌻 When Thankfulness Turns Into Gratitude

When children practice both, thankfulness becomes the doorway to gratitude. It starts with a “thank you” — but with awareness, it deepens into a steady sense of joy and appreciation that shapes how they see the world.

Thankfulness teaches children to acknowledge kindness.
Gratitude teaches them to feel it, hold it, and pass it on.

And that’s the magic — when thankfulness moves from words to the heart, it grows into a lifelong practice of love.

💕 A Gentle Invitation

If you’d like to help your child explore mindfulness and gratitude through movement and play, ask them if they’d like to try a yoga class made just for kids. Together, we’ll stretch, breathe, and open our hearts — learning that gratitude, like yoga, is something we can always return to.

With love and light,
Alexis Billings

Just Breathe

Simple Ways to Bring Calm and Connection into Everyday Moments

Children are natural feelers. Their hearts are big, their emotions are bright, and their energy can shift in the blink of an eye. Breathing is one of the simplest, most powerful ways we can help them move through those feelings — and it doesn’t require any special tools or extra time. With just a few mindful breaths, you can turn ordinary moments into opportunities for calm and connection.

🌬️ 1. Balloon Belly Breaths

Perfect for: mornings, transitions, or winding down

Invite your child to place their hands on their belly and imagine it’s a balloon. As they breathe in through their nose, they gently fill the balloon — round and full. As they breathe out through their mouth, the balloon softens and deflates.

This simple visualization helps children feel their breath and body working together. It encourages slow, deep breathing that sends signals of safety and calm to the nervous system — helping everyone start the day grounded and peaceful.

🐝 2. Bumblebee Breath (Bhramari)

Perfect for: calming strong emotions or releasing energy

Ask your child to close their eyes, take a slow breath in, and hum softly like a buzzing bee on the exhale. The gentle vibration soothes the body and focuses the mind, creating a peaceful hum that kids love.

You can make it playful — “Let’s see who can make the softest, calmest buzz!” — or use it as a quiet reset when emotions feel big. Bumblebee breath teaches children that calm can come from within.

🌈 3. Rainbow Breathing

Perfect for: mindful playtime or before bed

Hold your arms out to the sides and imagine drawing a big rainbow over your head as you breathe in, then lower your arms as you breathe out.
Each color of the rainbow can represent a feeling or wish: red for love, orange for courage, yellow for happiness, green for kindness, blue for calm, purple for peace.

Rainbow breathing blends imagination and mindfulness beautifully — helping children connect to their breath while exploring emotions and gratitude.

🕊️ 4. Smell the Flower, Blow Out the Candle

Perfect for: anywhere, anytime

This sweet and simple breath is one of my favorites for young children. Ask your little one to imagine holding a flower in one hand and a candle in the other.
🌸 “Smell your flower” — deep breath in through the nose.
🕯️ “Blow out your candle” — gentle breath out through the mouth.

It’s short, visual, and easy to remember — the perfect go-to breath when kids (or parents!) need a quick moment of calm in the car, at the table, or before bedtime.

💛 5. Heart-to-Heart Breathing

Perfect for: reconnecting after a busy day

Sit together with your child, either side-by-side or facing each other. Place a hand on your hearts and breathe together slowly — in, and out. Notice if your heartbeats begin to match.

This simple practice builds emotional connection and safety. It reminds your child that they are loved, supported, and never alone — that calm can always be found in closeness and care.

🌿 Bringing It All Together

The beauty of breathwork is that it fits into the rhythm of everyday life.
A breath before breakfast.
A breath before bedtime.
A breath between laughter and tears.

These small pauses teach children that peace is not something they have to look for — it’s something they can create inside themselves, anytime they need it.

💕 A Gentle Invitation

If your little one enjoys these moments of mindful breathing, they might love exploring more through a kids’ yoga class made just for them — full of movement, breath, and calm connection. Together, we’ll breathe, stretch, and grow — one peaceful moment at a time.

Namaste,
Alexis Billings
Children’s Yoga Teacher & Mindful Guide

Helping Little Hearts Grow: How Kids’ Yoga Nurtures Emotional Health for Life

Dear sweet families,

As a children’s yoga teacher, one of my greatest joys is watching little ones discover the world within themselves. It’s a beautiful thing to see a child notice their heartbeat after a moment of rest, or to hear them say, “I feel calm now.” In those moments, I know something special is happening — they’re learning to understand their emotions.

🌱 Yoga Helps Children Understand Their Feelings

In yoga, we help children explore how emotions show up in their bodies. When we reach tall like a mountain or curl small like a mouse, children begin to sense what excitement, peace, or worry feel like. Through gentle movement and simple reflection, they start to connect physical sensations with emotional experiences — learning to name what they feel instead of being swept away by it.

💛 Breathing Brings Calm and Control

Our playful breathing exercises — blowing bubbles, buzzing like bees, or pretending to fill our bellies like balloons — are more than just fun. They’re early lessons in self-regulation. When a child learns they can calm themselves with a slow breath, they begin to trust their ability to handle big feelings. This is an incredible gift that supports emotional balance far beyond the yoga mat.

🌈 Movement Builds Confidence and Connection

Kids’ yoga creates a space where there’s no pressure to be perfect — only permission to explore. When children wobble in tree pose and try again, they learn resilience. When they share smiles during partner poses, they learn empathy and connection. These gentle lessons in movement help them feel safe in their bodies and confident in who they are.

🌸 Mindfulness Cultivates Awareness

At the end of class, when we rest quietly and listen to our breath, children learn to find stillness inside themselves. This mindfulness — noticing the moment just as it is — becomes a tool they can use anytime they feel overwhelmed, anxious, or unsure. It teaches them to pause, breathe, and respond with awareness rather than reaction.

🌿 A Lifelong Foundation

The lessons from kids’ yoga reach far beyond childhood. A child who knows how to listen to their body and calm their mind grows into an adult who can meet life’s challenges with steadiness and grace. Through yoga, we’re not just helping children stretch their bodies — we’re helping them stretch their hearts.

Thank you for sharing your children with me and for allowing them the space to grow in body, mind, and spirit. Every breath, giggle, and wobbly pose is a step toward a lifetime of emotional well-being.

💕 A Gentle Invitation

If this sounds like something your little one would love, ask them if they’d like to try a yoga class made just for them — full of play, calm, and heart-centered connection. You might be surprised by how much joy they find in it.

With love and light,
Alexis Billings
Children’s Yoga Teacher & Mindful Guide