BreathworkSEL

SEL Strategy: Belly Breathing

Master the "Belly Breathing" technique to support emotional regulation and stress reduction. This foundational SEL practice is a simple yet powerful tool for educators and students alike.
By Ilana Nankin, Ph.D.
March 11, 2019

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By Ilana Nankin, Ph.D.

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BreathworkSEL

One of Breathe For Change’s foundational self strategies is called Belly Breathing. This strategy aligns with the CASEL social-emotional learning competencies of self-awareness, and self-management. This simple, yet profound practice supports both students and teachers in building mind-body and breath connection.

Check out our video to see our Founder & CEO, Dr. Ilana Nankin, modeling how to teach Belly Breathing to both younger and older students!

Belly Breathing is one strategy to build Somatic Intelligence, one of the five layers of Human Intelligence. The more we understand, embody, and teach Human Intelligence, the more we co-create what education was always meant to be. If this vision resonates, explore how the Master’s Degree is helping educators nationwide integrate these capacities into daily teaching and leadership.

About the Author

Ilana Nankin, Ph.D.
Founder & Co-CEO

Dr. Ilana Nankin is the Founder and Co-CEO of Breathe for Change and an award-winning entrepreneur, teacher educator, and former public school teacher. She holds degrees from UC Berkeley and a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with research demonstrating the link between educator well-being, SEL, and student learning. As a lead professor of the Human Intelligence course, Ilana weaves embodied awareness and systemic well-being into a clear theory of change: transform educators to transform classrooms.

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Take a moment to breathe.

Before you return to your students, return to yourself. Breathe with us – inhale calm, exhale stress.

Follow the motion and find your rhythm again.

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