Pause, breathe, smile Module 3
Making space for emotions
Just like our breathing, emotions rise and fall. When something happens that triggers a certain emotional response (excitement, anger, anxiety, sadness, etc.), we feel whatever emotion it is throughout our body.
The main techniques to regulate emotions are broken into four steps.
1. Notice the feeling. Label it, and validate that it is ok to feel this way.
2. Make space for the feeling. Accept, this is how I'm feeling. I won't always feel this way.
3. Drop an anchor with mindful breathing. Allow yourself to feel the sensations in the body. Breathing helps refocus the breathing instead of getting stuck in the dialogue.
4. Remind yourself that all feelings pass. Stay with the breathing until the feeling fades.
I can see the benefits of teaching these skills to students as a whole class mindfulness lesson. Being able to identify feelings and working through the four steps to bring back to calmness. These skills will support learners in many difficult and trying times in their lives and will be transferable to many areas of their lives. I envision students being able to use the language themselves after practise and role play, to bring them back to calm.
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