The other morning in yoga class, my teacher Louie had us work on our bumble bee-making capabilities with the pranayama breathing practice of Bhramari. We sat still and let the sound bubble and vibrate with unclenched jaws and closed but loose lips.
Bbbzzzzz.
After working with the vibrations in various ways and for some time, a calm came over the room.
Louie suggested trying this practice with children. Not in a “now we will do pranayama exercise” sort of way, but in a “now let’s play bumble bee” kind of way. She likened the vibration to the sensation a child gets when making music by humming into a comb and tissue paper, a handmade harmonica of sorts. Coincidentally, my son Lucien is currently obsessed with comb and tissue paper instruments!
The other day we were hanging out in the living room and I began to make the Bhramari humming buzz.
“Can you make this sound?” I asked Lucien. With that invitation, we were happily buzzing along for a minute or two or three.
It may not be an hourlong pranayama session, but it was calming for both of us — and seriously cute, too.
Have any of you tried any sort of elementary pranayama exercises with your children?
Jessica Berger Gross
Love this! Can’t wait to buzz around the room with my first grader this afternoon.
My best child-sized pranayama technique is bunny breathing. I don’t believe there’s an official Sanskrit name for it, but it involves sending your little one out to sit by a tree and breathe like a bunny — complete with wriggling nostrils. This is a yogic alternative to the time out where they get sent to their room or the corner to calm down. Something about the combination of getting outside, sitting grounded with their back against a towering piece of nature and focusing on the air coming in and out of their quivering noses, does the trick every time! It’s fun to watch them go from slurping up the air in quick, agitated bursts to slow, rhythmic breathing in just a few minutes. I recommend watching from the window so as not to disturb their transformation.
Blessings & Breath!
We teach these pranayama techniques in the YogaKids trainings and in our children’s classes. The children love them just as much as we do. Thank you for sharing.
Light, Love, Breath & Buzzing,
Jackie
I use “The flight of the bumblebee” as our warm-up music in my child/parent yoga class (for kids 4 and under). Then we all run around bent over with hands as stingers and doing the BZZZZZ sound. It is great fun and good on so many levels!
Love that you found a way to make relaxing and finding the breath a fun and connecting experience.
The kids we teach in our yoga classes LOVE the bee buzzing breath. Additional favorites include fogging up the mirror (practice for Ujjayi), hot air balloon and the one to let everything hang out, lion’s breath! Thanks for sharing your experience; it’s great when we extend the beautiful life skills nurtured in yoga to kids of all ages.
No personal experience here, but I wonder if breath work with kids would help them learn to swim (hold their breath under water, control their breath pattern, etc). Likewise, if kids learn deep breathing, maybe it could come in handy for calming them down in scary situations.
Not to imply that breath exercises aren’t worth doing for their own sake!
What a great idea :) So practical for the season.