Discover the Power of Calm

Imagine you are standing in the eye of a storm. Around you, the world is spinning in chaos, noise, and confusion. But here, in the centre, everything is peaceful and still.

This is the power of calmness. It’s not about making the world quiet down; it’s about finding peace within yourself, no matter what’s happening outside.

Today, we’re going to discover how to build that powerful centre of calm within us. Through fun activities, challenges, and special techniques, we will learn how to keep our hearts and minds peaceful even when life feels overwhelming.

Just like we have tools to build things, we can also create a toolbox filled with calming skills to help us feel better whenever we need. This power of calmness can help us think clearly, feel strong, and be ready for anything.

Let’s step into this adventure together and discover the secret power of calmness inside us.

To Bring:

• Cardboard Box TV Set: Painted with buttons, dials, and antenna.

• Calming Tools Cards: Printed and hidden under yoga mats - Print from here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1a0roG3p49VHNWC5C2D_aN---GQdcbKxP?usp=sharing

• Ice Cubes & Paper Towels/Napkins: For the “Ice Cube” coping technique.

• Heat Packs & Blankets: For “Hot Temperature” Station.

• Ice Packs: For “Cold Temperature” Station.

• Pots, Pans, and Spoons: For “Noise” Station.

• Soft Toys & Pompoms: For “Hail Storm” Station.

• Flashlight or Shiny Object: For “Lightning Flash” Station.

• Spray Bottles (with water or just pretend): For “Heavy Rainstorm” Station.

• Loud Ticking Timer or Metronome: For “Ticking Clock” Station.

• Cushions, Yoga Blocks, or Rolled-up Blankets: For “Crowded City” and “Lava Bridge” Stations.

• Blindfolds or Eye Masks: For “Blinding Fog” Station.

• Art Supplies: Crayons, markers, paper (for Mindful Drawing and The Calm Lab).

• Dice or Emotion Spinner: For “Whirlwind of Emotions” Station.

• Scented Objects (like lavender or vanilla): For enhancing relaxation.

Personal Weather Report

If you can, make an old style television set out of a cardboard box cutting the “screen” out and painting diles and buttons on the side and even adding an antena. We will pass the TV set around the circle, putting our heads in the box and broadcasting our inner weather reports one at a time.

Summon the weather report that best describes your feelings at the moment. Sunny, rainy, stormy, calm, foggy windy, tsunami? 

Each person in their turn, shares their personal weather report. If you wish, they can even combine it with a yoga pose or movement for everyone to repeat with them.

This activity allows children to observe their present state without overly identifying with their emotions. We know that feelings will change like the weather. They can’t change the weather outside, and sometimes we can’t change our emotions or feelings right away, either. All we can change is how we relate to them. “I am not the downpour, but I notice that it is raining.”

5 Minutes

Keep Calm Amidst The storm

First gather everyone in a circle standing in Tree Pose. Now connect to each other palm to palm on top so we have now a Forest Pose :-)

Now, because together we have so many feet on the floor, we can even close our eyes and still stay strong and balanced here.

Imagine long and strong roots from your feet grounding you deep into the earth, and stretching up high to the sky with the branches of your arms.

Now it’s getting a bit windy in our Yoga Forest! Eys closed, sway from side to side still keeping your branches straight and extended and see if you can stay calm and balanced even amidst the storm.

Now, let’s see how you can keep your calm and balance in many different situations…

Divide the group into two, place each on either side of the room, and have them move toward each other, switching sides of the room gradually increasing the size of the movements in all of these ways:

10 Minutes

Changing the Channel

Now sit down for a moment…

Close your eyes, think about your inner world as a television show you are watching... What you will put on your happy, peaceful, relaxed TV channel. Be specific. Explore all of the senses (seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting…) and look for details and feelings.

Now tune into the content of your current thoughts. Identify the thoughts as calm, happy, sad, worried, angry etc. This is the channel you are currently watching.

If the current thoughts feel negative, then imagine using a remote control to deliberately switch the channel to your happy channel and imagine watching what you have previously decided to be on that channel.

Use this process whenever you have negative or unpleasant thoughts or feelings. Also, instead of changing the channel, you can continue to watch the movie with all of its imperfections, but create a happy ending to it.

Really it is up to you... Stuff happens to everyone in life. You can't really change people or events. Your freedom and power lies in how you choose to interpret and how you choose to respond to those events or people. You are free to make your world a happy place.

It is up to us what we choose to focus on. Here we learn to switch to focus on the good stuff.

You can now pass your cardboard TV set again for each person to share briefly their happy channel :-)

10 Minutes

Creating A Calming Toolbox

 

We live in a crazy, fast, noisy, overstimulating world… And until our genetics (in about a thousand years) will adjust to all of these environmental changes, we will neeed to do yoga and practice mindfulness and  carry with us a tool box of coping skills so that we can thrive amidst this cheos.

I have (quickly) created a set of coping skills cards for us here (Print from here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1a0roG3p49VHNWC5C2D_aN---GQdcbKxP?usp=sharing) and have hid them under the yoga mats (hide under the yoga mats before class).

One at a time, we will discover the card hiding under our mat and practice the coping skill on it together.

These focused-attention practices calm the brain’s stress response and stimulate sustained attention and emotional regulation. A regulated and calm brain is a brain that is ready to deeply learn.

When we consciously use sensations, breath, movement, and our body’s awareness, we activate those areas in the brain that pay attention to what is happening in this moment while supporting areas we need for learning, attention, and engagement. 

You can never have enough skills in your coping tool box… Different practices work at different time, and the more we have the more likely it is also that we will remember to use them in time of need.

Here are the descriptions of well-tested calming practices that are on the cards:

1. Ice Cube - Give each student an ice cube and a paper towel or napkin to hold. As they hold the ice cube, ask them to focus on what it feels like in their hands and what the sensation reminds them of. Can they sit still and wait for the ice cube to melt?

2. Deep Breathing pretzel - Have students scrunch their toes and cross their legs at the ankles. Then they should cross the left arm over the right arm, clasp their hands together, and—keeping their hands clasped—bring them toward their chest. Have them hold that pose for 30 seconds as they take five deep breaths, and then have them take another 30 seconds to uncurl their toes, uncross their legs, extend and unclasp their hands, and uncross their arms while taking another five deep breaths. How did that feel?

3. So What? As students close their eyes and sit up nice and tall in their chairs, they should visualize a golden thread that connects their hearts to their stomachs. As they breathe in, have them picture a pulse in the thread moving from their stomachs to their hearts; with each exhale, the pulse travels from the heart back down to the stomach. As the students breathe, have them say, “So what?” to themselves if a negative thought occurs.

4. Feeling Phrases - Have students share through painting a picture or verbal description how their bodies feel. Some example phrases: 

• Cold/warm/hot

• Twitchy/butterflies/soft/stuck

• Sharp/dull/itchy; shaky/trembly/tingly

• Jittery/weak

• Empty/full

• Relaxed/calm/peaceful

• Flowing/spreading

• Strong/tight/tense

• Dizzy/fuzzy/blurry

• Numb/prickly/jumpy/tearful/goosebumpy

Sensations are different than emotions in that they describe the way the body feels physically. We tend to then often translate a combination of sensations into an emotion, but we also have the power to interpret those same sensations differently or even leave them in the realm of sensations without creating an emotion out of them. This can give us freedom from our emotions.

Children who struggle with speaking can point to places on their body that hold a sensation. 

Sensory awareness promotes cognitive growth and self-awareness. When students can begin to identify their sensations, they begin to tap into where the negative feelings and images are. This focused-attention practice can be implemented several times a day after different experiences. Questions to ask as part of this practice:

• What are you sensing? As the teacher, begin by sharing and modeling your own sensations.

• Where is this in your body?

• What might be the reason for these butterflies?

• Can you draw what fuzzy, tingly, tight, etc. looks like?

5. Breathing Hands - Spread one hand out like a star. Use the index finger on your other hand to trace the outline of your star hand.

Breath in as you trace up, and breath out as you trace down.

• Take a deep breath in as you move to the top of your thumb.

• Breathe out as you move down between your thumb and first finger.

• Take another breath in as you move to the top of your first finger.

• Breathe out as you move down between your first and second finger.

• Repeat until you have taken five slow, deep breaths.

• Then trace it back… 

And back and forth as many times as you need until you feel all calm and relaxed.

6. Box Breathing - Inhale to the count of 4, hold your breath to the count of 4, exhale to the count of four… Repeat as many times as you need

7. Butterfly Hug - This is another calming, self-soothing activity to teach emotional regulation.

Cross your arms over your chest, placing your hands on your shoulders or upper arms.

Gently tap your hands alternately (left, right, left, right) in a soothing rhythm.

Encourage children to breathe deeply while imagining calming images like butterflies, rainbows, or peaceful gardens.

This practice can be used anytime they feel overwhelmed or upset.

8. Turtle Pose Safe Space - Like turtles, we can learn how to retreat and find calm when we feel overwhelmed.

Introduce the Turtle Pose (Kurmasana) as a way to “retreat into your shell” when feeling upset, angry, or scared.

Explain how turtles feel safe in their shells and have children practice the pose with eyes closed and imagine their shell is a place of safety and calmness.

Guide them through slow, deep breathing while in the pose.

9. Stomp it out - March in place while saying, “I’m getting my energy out!”

10. Shake like a wet dog - Shake arms, legs, and whole body for 30 seconds.

These movements release pent-up tension.

11. Sound Toning with Vibration - Humming or chanting sounds can be powerful. Encourage:

• “Mmm” sound (like tasting something delicious)

• “Om” 

• Or even silly sounds like “Bzzzz” (like a bee)

The vibrations activate the vagus nerve, which helps with relaxation.

12. 5 4 3 2 1 - Most of the time when we feel emotionally dysregulated, we are spinning in the worries of what happened or what will happen inside out thoughts and feelings and anxiety, mostly disconnected from reality in from the here and now.

Grounding ourselves and bringing ourselves back to the present is SO HELPFUL.

Let’s try it now. Stop whatever you are doing, whatever you are thinking and find:

• 5 Things You Can See: Look around and name five objects

• 4 Things You Can Touch: Notice textures under your fingers

• 3 Things You Can Hear: Focus on surrounding sounds

• 2 Things You Can Smell: Identify scents in the air

• 1 Thing You Can Taste: Pay attention to the taste in your mouth

• Physical Sensations: Place your feet firmly on the ground and notice the contact

13. Popping Thoughts Bubbles - Sit tall and take a few deep breaths.

Imagine that your thoughts are like bubbles; they may keep appearing in your mind but you can pop them whenever you want with your finger or an imaginary needle and they burst and disappear.

Each thought is encased in a bubble; small bubbles, big bubbles, pink and red and blue bubbles.

You can practice pooping all the bubbles/thoughts you don’t enjoy or don’t want in your mind right now, or you can simply pop all of the bubbles that appear and enjoy some peace of mind.

14. Rainbow Visualisation -  Guide children to close their eyes and imagine a beautiful rainbow above them. Encourage them to visualise each colour washing over them, one by one, starting with red, and moving through orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

As each colour flows over them, it brings a unique feeling: 

• Red (Strength)

• Orange (Joy)

• Yellow (Energy)

• Green (Calm), Blue (Clarity)

• Indigo (Wisdom)

• Violet (Peace)

 

Ask them how they feel after bathing in all the colours.

15. Mindful Drawing - Provide paper and colouring tools. Ask children to draw their emotions as shapes, colours, or patterns.

Encourage them to focus on the drawing process, letting go of worries as they create.

This helps with emotional processing and calming through creativity.

16. Finger Tapping - Instruct children to gently tap each finger to their thumb one at a time, saying “Peace Begins With Me” as they tap.

Repeat as many times as needed, focusing on the sensation of the tapping and the words.

17. Breath Ball - Have children sit comfortably and imagine they are holding a large, soft ball between their hands.

As they inhale, they expand the ball by moving their hands apart.

As they exhale, they gently bring their hands together, making the ball smaller.

This visualisation helps slow down and deepen their breathing.

18. Cloud Watching - If outdoors, encourage children to lie down and watch the clouds move across the sky.

If indoors, have them close their eyes and visualise soft, fluffy clouds drifting by.

Ask them to imagine their worries floating away with the clouds.

19. Positive Affirmation Breathing - Inhale deeply while thinking of a positive phrase like, “I am calm” or “I am safe.” Exhale and release any tension or negativity.

Repeat several times while focusing on the meaning of the affirmation.

20. Balloon Release - Ask children to imagine their worries as balloons. Visualise tying each worry to a balloon and then gently letting them float away into the sky.

Encourage them to feel lighter and calmer as each balloon drifts away.

21. Havening Touch (Self-Havening) -  Havening is a gentle, self-soothing technique designed to reduce stress and improve emotional regulation by generating calming delta waves in the brain. This technique is especially useful for children because it’s simple, non-intrusive, and feels like a comforting, nurturing gesture. Research supports its effectiveness in calming the nervous system and easing anxiety.

Cross your arms over your chest (like giving yourself a big, gentle hug) or simply place your hands over your upper arms. Slowly and gently stroke downwards from your shoulders to your elbows, repeating this motion continuously.

While doing the motion, take deep, slow breaths and visualize a peaceful place or recall a positive memory.

Optionally, say calming phrases to yourself like “I am safe”, “I am calm”, or “Everything is okay”.

Continue for 1-2 minutes or as long as needed to feel calmer.

The gentle, repetitive touch stimulates areas of the brain associated with relaxation and safety. By engaging the parasympathetic nervous system, it helps to reduce the body’s stress response and promotes emotional regulation.

Remind the kids now that they can use ANY of these techniques when they need to calm themselves down.

15 Minutes

Yoga In Challenge City 

This exciting practice is somewhere between our famous Yoga Obstacle Course and a giant real life board game.

There will be stations on yoga mats and/or chairs and students will go through the different stations in Challange City and use the techniques we just learned to cope with the slightly stressful situations.

You can imagine that you are walking down Challange Ciry or maybe catching the subway from station to station here… Again, in each station and with each challenge you must practice one of the coping skills we have learned and stay calm and centred despite the challenges that are presented to you.

If you organise it in a circle, participants can start at any station and move through Challange City without waiting in line.

It is always more fun to do yoga TOGETHER, so I suggest to go through Challange City in pairs or family groups.

You can print and cut the following and use a paper clip to attach the instructions on each station.

Station 1 – Hot temperature: Lots of heat packs + Blanket to cover poarticipants

Station 2 – Cold temperature: Bring ice packs or ice and place on participants

Station 3 – Noise: Pots and pans to bang on

Station 4 – Hail Storm: Stay calm while soft toys and pompoms are being thrown at you

Station 5 – Scarry Corner: Stay calm while your partner scares you

Station 6 – Earth Quake: Stand in Mountain Pose and keep your cool while your partner gently pushes you

Station 7 –  Windy Park: Stand in Tree Pose and keep your balance while your friend embodies wind blowing all around you

Station 8 – Lost in the Maze: Create a small maze on the floor using yoga mats or tape. Participants must navigate the maze with their eyes closed while their partner gives gentle, calming (or not calming) verbal directions.

Station 9 – Lava Bridge: Lay yoga blocks or cushions on the floor as “safe stones” across a “lava river” (the floor). Cross the lava bridge by balancing on the blocks without touching the “lava.”

Station 10 – Crowded City: Have a bunch of pillows, stuffed animals, or rolled-up blankets scattered on a yoga mat. Walk through the “crowded city” without stepping on anything while staying calm and focused.

Station 11 – Blinding Fog: Use a blindfold or ask participants to close their eyes. With eyes closed, they must find their way to 5 yoga poses that their partner will indicate without opening their eyes.

Station 12 – Lightning Flash: Have someone flash a flashlight or wave a shiny object in front of participants. Do 5 Balancing Poses while you keep your focus and balance despite the distractions.

Station 13 – Heavy Rainstorm: Use a spray bottle to lightly spray water (or pretend to do so) while participants try to stay calm and hold a yoga pose of their choice. Remain steady and calm despite the “rain.”

Station 14 – Ticking Clock: Place a loud, ticking timer or metronome nearby. Focus on your breath and stay calm while the ticking sound creates a sense of urgency.

Station 15 – Tunnel of Chaos: Create a short tunnel or obstacle course using chairs, yoga mats, blankets, or a parachute stretched out to form a narrow pathway. Participants must crawl through the tunnel while others (gently) shake the tunnel structure, make silly noises, or create a sense of chaos. Practice staying calm and composed while moving through a chaotic environment.

Station 16 – Tornado Alley: Partners spin the participant gently by holding their hands and twirling them. After spinning, participants must find their balance and regain calmness.

Station 17 – Emotional Roller Coaster: Show exaggerated sad, happy, angry, and scared facial expressions. Maintain composure while watching the expressions and practice self-regulation.

Station 18 – Lightning Quiz: Ask participants a rapid series of fun, silly, or tricky questions. Answer as calmly and thoughtfully as possible, even when the questions are coming fast.

Station 19 – Mirror Madness: Partners stand face-to-face like looking into a mirror. One person acts as the “mirror” and must copy the movements of the other person as precisely and smoothly as possible. Stay synchronized without feeling pressured or frustrated.

Station 20 – Whirlwind of Emotions: A spinner or dice with different emotions written on it (Happy, Angry, Sad, Scared, Excited, Calm). Spin the spinner and act out the emotion using exaggerated body language. If you don’t have this, one partner can simply call out different emotions. Practice shifting from strong emotions to calmness and control.

Each pair or group will spend a couple of minutes in each station. Guide the children to notice their thoughts in each station and use coping skills to stay calm and grounded. 

Clean up and finish with the last station:

Station 21 - Crowded Subway: Put a yoga mat in the middle of the circle (fold it in two if you have a smaller group) and squeeze aeveryone on a single yoga mat or a very small space. Stay calm and find comfort despite the crowded space.

At the end, ask the children to share what they felt and how they coped with the different situations.

15-20 Minutes 

Create a Calm Down Spot

This is something you can do at home or in your classroom to create a safe place for family members or students to calm down whenever thy ned to.

Today we will create a Calm Down Spot together.

Every person can bring something they have or something from our space that they know will help them calm down… I will put on some relaxing music.

Then we will all snuggle up here and nest together for relaxation.

You can create a place specially designed to allow to calm down in a few steps

Explain how we can all use a Calming Down Spot like this when they are starting to escalate. We can catch and mental imbalance early and go to our Calm Down Spot to recentre ourselves.

This cool-down area offers students refuge when emotions like anger, sadness, and anxiety make their appearance. These areas are often included in the design of trauma-informed classrooms. 

It is a dedicated space to practice emotional-regulation skills in the classroom, rather than in isolation, and it strengthens the educator-student relationship by communicating to the students that no matter what, they belong in the classroom community. 

At school, the cool-down area can be equipped with dim lighting, an MP3 player with relaxing music and headphones, stress balls, markers and paper, affirmation lists, and even scents, like lavender and vanilla.

Sometimes it helps to invite the student to request their own cool-down area; supply it with items they choose, including pictures of family and friends; and name it themselves—for example, “The Chill Zone” or “My Calm Spot.”

This can always be a safe spot for you to go to when you first feel emotions you might not be able to control. Don’t wait until they feel too big.

5 Minutes

Dealing With Uncomfortable Feelings

 

Now that we are all cozy together…

Notice.

Let’s say you’re experiencing a minor anxiety trigger. Perhaps you’re thinking about attending a party. Before you know it, there’s your anxiety, chanting about loneliness, rejection, and doom. If you allow it to do so, your anxiety could devour all of your attention!

This is where you must boldly notice what is happening. And pause.

Give thanks.

How you feel now is not how you will feel later. Feelings always change. Even if you’re worried right now, there will come a time when you won’t be worried at all. You’ll be just fine. Maybe even great.

With that in mind, can you thank your anxiety for trying to defend you? (Because your anxiety believes it’s protecting you from danger. It all comes from love.) Then let it know that you are going to spend the next five minutes paying attention to something else. Anxiety doesn’t like feeling abandoned. Hearing a short time limit helps it calm down.

How will you feel when you start feeling better?

Take a couple of deep breaths. Feel your body resting on our beautiful earth. Remind yourself that you won’t always feel anxious the way you do right now. Then ask yourself: how will you know when you’re starting to feel better?

What will be the first sign?

Can you imagine it?

Can you visualise it? Can you hear it, taste it, smell it? Can you feel it in your body? What exactly does it look like, sound like, taste like, smell like, feel like?

Slow down. Get curious. Enjoy.

What emotions come up while you imagine yourself in this “feeling better” space?

What happens next?

What happens after that first sign? How does your healthy trance evolve? The more time you allow yourself to pause and enjoy your trance, the more details reveal themselves to you. Details help trances feel real. Details help your feelings shift.

Come back.

After five minutes, give yourself a shake and return to the here and now.

How are you feeling?

Chances are you won’t feel like returning to your anxious trance.

You can repeat this exercise whenever you need to.

Once you’ve calmed down, it’s easier to think critically about the situation that was causing you anxiety in the first place. Once you’re calm, you can contemplate how you would like to address your needs around the situation. We feel strong emotions before we think thoughts. This is why it helps to shift our feelings first.

Practice everywhere!

You don’t need to rely on special objects or special locations to help you soothe your anxiety or stress or uncertainty. You’ve always had the power inside you, all along. Now you can take this new skill with you wherever you go. You can practice it anywhere that anxiety strikes. The more you practice, the more habitual this tool will become. And that will make it really yours.

5 Minutes

Personal Weather Report

 

Pass the cardboard TV set around the circle, and again, one at a time, summon the inner weather report that best describes your feelings now after the class

5 Minutes

Music To Match: