Belly Breathing Guide: Calm Your Brain's Alarm!

When your brain's alarm system (the amygdala) gets a little too excited, belly breathing can help it calm down. It sends a message to your brain that says, "Everything is okay! You can relax."

Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Find Your Comfort Zone

• Sit or lie down in a comfortable position. You can be at your desk, on the floor, or in your bed.
• Close your eyes gently if you feel comfortable, or just soften your gaze downwards.

Step 2: Hand Check!

• Place one hand on your chest and the other hand on your belly, right below your ribs.
  • Why? You want to feel your belly move, not just your chest!

Step 3: Breathe In Like a Balloon!

• Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose.
• Imagine you are filling your belly with air like a balloon. Feel your hand on your belly rise.
• Try to keep the hand on your chest as still as possible.

Step 4: Breathe Out Like a Gentle Breeze!

• Slowly let the air out through your mouth, like you're gently blowing through a straw.
• Feel your belly fall and your hand go down.
• Empty all the air out.

Step 5: Repeat and Relax

• Continue breathing in and out this way for 3-5 minutes, or for as long as you need to feel calm.
• Focus on the feeling of your belly rising and falling.
• If your mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to your breath.

Why does it work?

When you breathe deeply with your belly, you activate your body's

Your Brain's Awesome Alarm System - Teacher Script

1. Mindful Moment (3 minutes)

Teacher: "Good morning/afternoon everyone! Let's start our day/lesson with a mindful moment. Find a comfortable seated position, feet flat on the floor, hands resting gently on your lap. If you feel comfortable, you can gently close your eyes, or simply lower your gaze. Let's take three slow, deep breaths together. Breathe in slowly through your nose, filling your belly, and then exhale gently through your mouth. (Pause for breath) Again, inhale deeply, and exhale slowly. (Pause) One more time, inhale, and exhale, letting go of any wiggles or distractions. (Pause) Now, slowly open your eyes or lift your gaze."

Teacher: "How does noticing your breath make you feel? Did anyone notice a change in how their body felt?" (Allow a few student responses. Validate all feelings.)

2. The Brain's Job & Hand Model Introduction (6 minutes)

Teacher: "Today, we're going to talk about something incredible that's always with you, always working, and always helping you. It's your amazing brain!"
(Display The Brain's Awesome Alarm System Slides - Slide 2: "Meet Your Brain!")

Teacher: "What are some things your brain helps you do every single day?" (Allow a few student responses: e.g., think, learn, feel, move, remember, imagine.)

Teacher: "Exactly! Your brain is like the super-smart control center for your entire body. It helps you think, learn new things, feel all sorts of emotions, it helps you move, and it even helps you remember things! But it has even more cool jobs and different parts that work together."

Teacher: "To help us understand our brain a little better, we're going to use a special 'Hand Model of the Brain.' Everyone hold up one hand!"
(Display The Brain's Awesome Alarm System Slides - Slide 3: "Your Brain: The Hand Model!")

Teacher: "Now, make a fist, but tuck your thumb inside your fingers, like this. (Demonstrate.) Your hand can actually show us the main parts of your brain!"

Teacher: "First, your wrist (point to wrist) represents your brain stem. This part keeps your heart beating and helps you breathe – all the things your body does automatically to keep you alive."

Teacher: "Next, your thumb, tucked inside (point to thumb), we're going to imagine that's your amygdala. We'll learn more about this soon, but for now, think of it as your brain's alarm system."

Teacher: "And finally, your fingers, folded over your thumb (point to fingers), these are your prefrontal cortex. This is the thinking, planning part of your brain. Keep your hand like this for a moment; we'll use it to understand more!"

3. Understanding Our Brain Parts: P.F.C., Hippocampus, Amygdala (7 minutes)

Teacher: "Let's dive deeper into these parts. First, those fingers on top – your prefrontal cortex (pree-FRONT-al CORE-tex). Can everyone try saying that? Prefrontal Cortex." (Pause for students to repeat.)
(Display The Brain's Awesome Alarm System Slides - Slide 4: "Your Thinking Cap!")

Teacher: "You can think of this as your brain's 'thinking cap' or its 'wise leader.' (Gesture to your fingers covering your thumb on your hand model) It's the part that helps you make good decisions, think things through when you're solving a problem, and stay calm when things get a little tricky. It helps you pause and think before you act, like when you choose to share a toy instead of grabbing it."

Teacher: "Now, a little deeper inside your hand model, where your thumb meets your palm, we have the hippocampus (hip-po-CAMP-us). Can you say Hippocampus?" (Pause for students to repeat.)
(Display The Brain's Awesome Alarm System Slides - Slide 5: "Your Memory Keeper!")

Teacher: "This is your brain's 'memory keeper'! It's super important because it helps you remember all the amazing things you learn, the fun experiences you have, and even what you had for breakfast! It also helps you remember if something was safe or dangerous in the past, so you can learn from it for the future, like remembering not to touch a hot stove."

Teacher: "And now, let's go back to your thumb in the hand model. This is your amygdala (uh-MIG-duh-luh)."
(Display The Brain's Awesome Alarm System Slides - Slide 6: "Meet the Amygdala: Your Brain's Alarm!")

Teacher: "Remember, your amygdala is like your brain's personal alarm system. Its main job is to constantly scan for danger and, if it senses something scary or threatening, it rings the alarm bell! 🚨 Its top priority is always to keep you SAFE. It works super fast, even faster than your thinking cap!"

Teacher: "So, your prefrontal cortex (fingers) helps you think clearly and make wise choices, your hippocampus (inside) helps you remember important things, and your amygdala (thumb) acts as your safety alarm. They work together like an amazing team to help you navigate your day. How do you think these parts help us every day?" (Allow a few student responses, e.g., remembering homework, making good choices with friends, learning new things in school.)

4. Fight, Flight, Freeze & Flipping Your Lid! (5 minutes)

Teacher: "When your amygdala, that alarm system, senses danger, your body gets ready very quickly to protect you. It prepares for what we call the 'Fight, Flight, or Freeze' response."
(Display The Brain's Awesome Alarm System Slides - Slide 7: "Fight, Flight, or Freeze!")

Teacher: "Let's break down what each of those means:

• FIGHT: This means your body gets ready to stand your ground, maybe to push something away or defend yourself.
• FLIGHT: This means your body gets ready to run away really fast, to escape the danger.
• FREEZE: This means your body might become very still, like a deer in headlights, hoping the danger doesn't notice you or passes by."

Teacher: "These responses are super helpful when we're in real danger. But here's where the 'Flipping Your Lid' comes in..."
(Display The Brain's Awesome Alarm System Slides - Slide 8: "Flipping Your Lid!")

Teacher: "Sometimes, when the alarm (your amygdala thumb) goes off really loud, especially if we're feeling very worried or scared, our 'thinking cap' (our fingers) can lift right off! (Demonstrate by lifting your fingers off your thumb on your hand model). This is called 'flipping your lid.' When we've 'flipped our lid,' it's much harder for us to think clearly, solve problems, or make good decisions, because our powerful amygdala is in charge, trying to keep us safe."

Teacher: "Has anyone ever felt so upset or scared that it was hard to think straight? That feeling is your lid being flipped!" (Allow brief student sharing if comfortable.)

Teacher: "Sometimes, our brain's alarm system goes off even when there isn't a real physical danger."
(Display The Brain's Awesome Alarm System Slides - Slide 9: "Why Does My Alarm Go Off?")

Teacher: "Like when you have a big test coming up, or you're worried about speaking in front of the class, or you're anxious about something happening at home. Your brain thinks there's a danger, and you might start to feel those 'fight, flight, or freeze' feelings, even if you don't need to run or fight. And your lid might even flip! When this happens, we often describe those feelings as worry or anxiety. These are normal brain responses."

5. Let's Read: Hey Warrior! (6 minutes)

Teacher: "To understand a bit more about worry and how we can help our brains, we're going to read a helpful book called 'Hey Warrior!' It helps explain how worry works and why our brain reacts the way it does."
(Display The Brain's Awesome Alarm System Slides - Slide 10: "Let's Read: Hey Warrior!")

(Read "Hey Warrior" by Karen Young aloud to the class, focusing on key concepts related to the brain, worry, the amygdala, and coping.)

Teacher: "Now that we've read 'Hey Warrior!', what did you learn about worry? How does what the book talked about connect to our brain's alarm system, the amygdala, and sometimes 'flipping our lid'? What was one helpful idea from the book that you might try?" (Facilitate a short discussion, connecting the book content to the concepts learned. Ask: "Why is it helpful to know how our brain responds when we worry and how we can help it?")
(Display The Brain's Awesome Alarm System Slides - Slide 11: "Reflect & Connect")

6. Practice Our Strategy: Belly Breathing (8 minutes)

Teacher: "The good news is, we aren't stuck with our brain's alarm always taking over and making us 'flip our lid'! We can learn ways to help our brain's alarm system calm down and put our 'thinking cap' back on our amygdala. We can send it a message that says, 'Hey, everything's okay, you can relax now.'"
(Display The Brain's Awesome Alarm System Slides - Slide 12: "Calming Our Alarm: Belly Breathing!")

Teacher: "One super effective way to do this is called Belly Breathing. It's a simple tool, but it's really powerful because it tells your amygdala to switch from alarm mode to calm mode, helping your 'thinking cap' come back down!"

Teacher: "Let's learn how to do it together. I have a Belly Breathing Guide to help us."
(Display The Brain's Awesome Alarm System Slides - Slide 13: "How to Belly Breathe")

Teacher: "First, find a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down. Place one hand on your chest and the other hand on your belly, right below your ribs. We want to feel our belly move, not just our chest."

Teacher: "Now, take a slow, deep breath in through your nose. Imagine you are filling your belly with air like a balloon. Feel your hand on your belly rise. Try to keep the hand on your chest as still as possible." (Demonstrate and guide.)

Teacher: "Then, slowly let the air out through your mouth, like you're gently blowing through a straw. Feel your belly fall and your hand go down. Empty all the air out." (Demonstrate and guide.)

Teacher: "Let's practice a few rounds together. Breathe in... belly rises. Breathe out... belly falls. (Continue for 3-5 breaths). Notice how your body feels. This is a tool you can use anytime, anywhere, to help your brain's alarm system quiet down and get your thinking cap back in place."

(Display The Brain's Awesome Alarm System Slides - Slide 14: "Practice Time!")

Teacher: "Remember, your brain is amazing, and you now have a tool to help it when the alarm goes off a little too often or you feel your lid starting to flip. Keep practicing your belly breathing!"
*(Display The Brain's Awesome Alarm System Slides - Slide 15: "You've Got This!")"