Why the breath?

If you have ever said “Just breathe!” in desperation to help a child through an uncomfortable emotion, our resources will give you the context and understanding as to why saying “Take a breath” truly is great advice.

Did you know that every emotion you experience has a corresponding breathing pattern? So the way you breathe when you feel mad is different to how you breathe when you feel sad, scared, or calm.

The breath is the bridge between the mind and body, and the quickest way back to calm. When you consciously change the way you breathe, by varying the depth and pace of your inhales and exhales, you can redirect the flow of emotions within you.

At My Friend Breath our goal is that the next time you need to say “Just breathe!”, both you and your child are empowered with the knowledge of why and how mindful breathing can help to change the way you feel, anytime, anywhere!

Change Your Breath, Change Your Emotion.

Author, Kelsey Corey, introducing the My Friend Breath Strategy which supports children to develop the skills of emotional-regulation and resilience through mindful breathing by playing the say-and-do game

What is the My Friend Breath strategy?

In My Friend Breath children learn the ‘say-and-do’ game, which is the core strategy we use to teach emotional-regulation and resilience skills.

To play the game, they first say the catch-cry “When I change the way I’m breathing, I change the way I’m feeling.” These words are a powerful way for a child to acknowledge their intention to change the way they feel.

Then they do one of the superhero breathing patterns, as guided by Ash in the book. This empowers a child with the action they can take to support their intention and help to change their emotional state.

This easy-to-remember ‘say-and-do’ strategy becomes a child’s inner guidance system, which they can use to help themselves navigate their feelings and emotions, anytime, anywhere.

How do our resources help children?

Our resources explain how and why the breath is a supportive self-regulation strategy. By playing say-and-do with Ash, children learn how to use their friend Breath to calm uncomfortable emotions in an empowered way.

The My Friend Breath resources will help your child:

  • Understand why their breath is a superpower.

  • Discover how to use their breath to change the way they feel anytime, anywhere.

  • Learn simple breathing patterns that help to calm uncomfortable emotions.

  • Feel empowered to manage their feelings and behaviour in social situations such as childcare or at school.

  • Develop a resilience strategy they can use to self-calm when under pressure, and recover quickly in challenging situations.

“The emphasis on accepting emotions—but allowing them to move on by changing breathing patterns—is a positive one, told in simple language so that lap readers can repeat phrases along with the adults and practice the breathing techniques.” - Kirkus Reviews

“A helpful lesson about using breathing to direct emotions.”

Swipe to explore our range of books and resources!

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Thank you for your interest in our My Friend Breath resources. We are here to help you support and develop the emotional well-being of children around the world.

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