I was in a fourth and fifth grade classroom with an odd number of a student completely ignoring the entire room. His energy is infectious in the worst way. The boys were lifting off the walls like pinballs, the girls abandoned chaos and attitudes at anyone they looked, and the familiar wildfire feeling spread throughout the room. You know exactly what I mean: In that moment, a child’s big emotions brought everyone else into the storm.
I could feel my anger surging from my stomach – a hot mixture of shame, embarrassment and real panic.
My idea is racing. Thoughts happen quickly, and problems caused by panic:
- How can I connect with this kid and help him solve it?
- How could this class have such power to me?
- What if the principal walks now?
- What if the student tells his parents about this disaster?
- Will anyone get hurt?
It’s that sinking feeling when you realize you’re not managing the classroom – the classroom is managing you.
But then I did something that surprised me.
I put my hands on my heart, took a deep breath, and was right in front of everyone. Some frustrated students will naturally start following, which also helps get others involved. That moment reminded me of something crucial: teachers are human beings, and we need time to reset it.
The value of leaning (rather than going out)
We’ve all been there. You’re exhausted, the class spirals, so you pull up the Gonoodle or another video and take a step back to get your breath. I totally understand! They are great resources, and honestly, we need those moments – words to breathe.
But here is a missed opportunity: By stepping back instead of stepping in, we missed the situation where we participated with our students to change everything. Not only are you modeling emotional regulation (although that’s huge), but you actually get personal gain on your own. Think calming anger calms, stop before you react, soothes the nervous system, and quickly rest the brain.
This is the science of joint supervision at work. When you put your hands on your heart while you are breathing, you are activateing the parasympathetic nervous system, beyond what you can do when breathing alone – actually creating moments where you can react instead of reacting. Meanwhile, students are witnessing the real-time look of true self-sympathy. We cannot always control students’ behavior, but we can absolutely control the role we create together peacefully.
Dr. Ross Greene’s philosophy is that “kids can do well” reminds us that all actions are communication. His research shows that challenging behaviors stem from backward skills in areas such as frustration and emotional regulation.
Often, what children try to communicate through their own behavior is that they need to be coordinated with a calm adult. When we really take part in these breathing exercises, we provide the exact role while taking care of our nervous system.
5 breathing exercises for complete classroom energy reset
Here are five breathing exercises you can practice with your students, starting tomorrow to create those moments of peace that are shared when your class needs it most.
Each technology supports Casel’s five core abilities – self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness – establishes the emotional foundation students need for academic success and lifelong happiness.
1. Breath 5
How to practice:
Put your hands in front of you and spread your fingers like stars. While taking a deep breath, slowly track one side of your little finger with the pointer of your other hand, pause briefly at the fingertips, and then track the other side as you exhale completely. Continue using this pattern on all five fingers – one finger when inhale, downward when exhale, and so on until you track the entire hand.
Teacher benefits:
This is a quick reset tool for overwhelming moments that can provide a discreet way to during chaos.
Student Benefits:
Specific, easy-to-record techniques with tactile elements help students concentrate and provide a foundation.
Kassel Connection:
This practice builds self-awareness by helping you identify stress signals. It also promotes self-management skills when you use body touch and count to regulate your nervous system.
“You can breathe when you feel stressed. You can always breathe calm when you get angry.”
– elifsu
2. Box breathing
How to practice:
Imagine drawing a box in your mind. Breathe five counts (this is the side of the box), keep breathing five counts (second side), exhale five counts (third side), and hold the empty space (fourth side). Repeat this pattern to visualize each “side” of the box while counting, so that each side has an equal length.
Teacher benefits:
The breathing of the box helps to get your attention when it is psychologically spread and provides structure when everything goes out of control.
Student Benefits:
It builds serious focus techniques and provides older students with exquisite techniques they can use independently.
Kassel Connection:
This breathing pattern enhances self-management by training you to control your attention and focus while also supporting responsible decisions by pausing practice before responding.
“Breathing can help you more. …If your brain keeps moving in 10 different directions, it’s really hard to concentrate.”
– Sara
3. Rabbit breathing
How to practice:
Sit as comfortably as possible and rest at the bottom. Quick, brief sniffing through the nose (such as a curious rabbit sniffing food), then release a long, slow exhale through the nose. During sniffing, focus on filling your abdomen with air and then release everything with a long exhale.
Teacher benefits:
This vibrant and calm belly breath refreshes, resets and boosts energy quickly when you feel exhausted.
Student Benefits:
The interesting animal connection attracts it to younger students, while older students benefit from deep abdominal breathing.
Kassel Connection:
This breathing technology enhances self-awareness by connecting you to your body’s sensations and breathing patterns, building a shared, fun experience in the classroom community.
“It feels really good because you’re calming down. Your heart will start to beat slowly. It means you’ll have a rest.”
– emalie
4. Balloon breathing
How to practice:
Stand up or sit comfortably, take a deep breath of three counts while slowly raising your arms to form the shape of a surrounding balloon. Keep your lips closed gently, then exhale through your nose for three counts while gradually putting your arms back to the side to imagine the balloon deterioration.
Teacher benefits:
This breathing technique creates spiritual space and helps build dynamic boundaries when you feel the work needs are crowded or overwhelmed.
Student Benefits:
Visual elements help focus when imparting personal spatial awareness and boundaries in concrete ways.
Kassel Connection:
This exercise develops social awareness by helping you understand your personal spatial needs, both yourself and others, while building self-management skills by creating healthy psychological and physical boundaries.
“When you’re frustrated with something and nothing can calm you down, you can take a deep breath and maybe calm yourself down and feel better.”
– Hui
5. Pause breathing
How to practice:
Put your hands gently on your heart. If you feel comfortable, close your eyes or simply stare. Focus entirely on the rise and fall of your breath. Slow and natural breathing in and out makes yourself completely allow to stop and appear at this moment.
Teacher benefits:
This is your emergency brake to increase your mood! It creates instant space between triggers and responses.
Student Benefits:
It can help students prepare for transition psychologically and teach them that they can take a little time to feel overwhelmed.
Kassel Connection:
This practice develops self-awareness by helping you recognize the emergence of emotional triggers while building relationship skills by creating the psychological space needed to better interact with others.
“Calling our breath on our busy days, letting our minds and bodies pause so we can reset, make thoughtful choices, and then go back to the present.”
– Giselle
How to weave your breaths into your day (without adding plates)
Real magic happens when these practices become organic parts of your day instead of scheduling “breathing time.” Test during transitions when everyone is nervous, when energy is wild, when attention is distracted, or when you feel patiently wearing it, during transitions when energy is wild, during transitions.
Read the room and trust your intuition. Sometimes, your class needs a playful rabbit breath to re-energize, while other times, when the mood is high, they need to ground 5 breaths. Allow yourself to start a small amount – even if 30 seconds of breathing together can change the entire energy of the classroom.
Look, some days are still difficult!
These are not for the magic repairs created by daily teaching, but for frustration, fatigue and moments that feel like they don’t seem to work.
But here’s what I know: These simple breaths are as much for you as you do to your students, especially in those moments when you feel tight or patient in your chest.
You are no longer white. You can allow yourself to be human while showing your children that you really have to take care of yourself. Some days are still tough, but putting them in the back pocket means you choose to breathe it, not just survive.
When you feel the familiar pressure spread, try a tomorrow – not because you have to do it, but because you should feel calm, too.
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