OK, so you've been breathing since you were born, but are you breathing correctly?
Actors need to breathe properly so they have the raw energy in their lungs to be heard on stage without the use of a microphone, so they spend a lot of time at drama school doing breathing exercises, combined with voice, speech and movement skills.
Likewise for singers, dancers, athletes, martial artists - we're taught to use breath to give energy to movement and our voice.
But its about more than that.
Research shows that correct breathing can reduce stress, help us think more clearly, feel energised, and is good for our mental and physical health.
To start, you need to find your diaphragm. It is located just below your ribs and is a muscle which makes our lungs function - making them inflate and deflate.
Place your hands on your stomach between your bottom ribs and belly button. Inhale deeply and feel your hands being pushed out, and in again as you exhale. Do this several times.
Next, place you hands on your ribs - not your waist - your ribs. As you breathe in, feel your ribs expand.
Your entire chest cavity is designed to expand and contract. As you inhale, keep your shoulders relaxed and focus on filling your chest cavity, feeling your chest, ribs and back expand and contract.
As you get more experienced, you will find you take fewer breaths, but that they are deeper and longer.
Experienced yoga practitioners find they take only 5-6 breaths per minute when breathing this way!
If you feel light-headed, that is because of increased levels of Oxygen in your blood and therefore your brain.
Your muscles should start to relax as Oxygen-rich blood fuels them.
How do you feel?
You can practice this anywhere, at any time. So keep it up.
Introduce it to your class - even a rowdy one - guide them through it. Get them to sit in their chairs, feet flat on the floor, bottoms pushed back in the seat so they're sitting tall. Guide them through this process and observe the impact.
Some schools have introduced breathing and meditation as an alternative to detention and have seen positive results. Children often feel a lot of stress at school, so try using these techniques to help them relax, focus, and clear their minds.
Want to take things further?
Book a workshop with Theatre Workout and our practitioners will lead you through a range of techniques to help you breathe new life into your classroom!
Personal Case Study - Adam Milford
I ran a weekly drama class in a London school for a term. Most of the school was great, but a Year 4 class had a few students on the Autistic spectrum. Their natural energy, impulsive and, at times, chaotic behaviour led to other children, who weren't on the spectrum, to behave in a similar way.
Aside from their drama class, I ran an extra half-hour session with them in which I tried to help them focus.
The first session did not go well.
The second week was better, but not great.
The third week, I ran a guided meditation session. It wasn't perfect, but although some struggled, they all did it - even the most disruptive children!
Afterwards, they were all calmer. The energy was relaxed. Some of them looked positively sleepy. They all went to lunch in a calm, orderly way.
The impact was amazing. The teacher had been out of the room for about 15 minutes and was blown away by the difference.
We continued to work in this way each week, and each week it go easier. Some weeks more so than others, but breathing and relaxation techniques, among other techniques we tried, had a significant impact on the whole class.
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