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Breathing Deeply With Hoberman Spheres

photo by Marcie Bolton Educator Mary Nienow working with Hoberman spheres and two Mary Hogan Elementary School Students in the classroom.

Tuesday February 7, 2012

By Marcie Bolton

    Breathing patterns can have a deep effect on our health.  Being aware of our breathing is essential for relaxing oneself and feeling mindful, especially when perhaps slightly upset.  A classroom at the Mary Hogan Elementary School, in Middlebury Vermont is using a very modern technique with a Hoberman Sphere as a visual guide when teaching children in the classroom deep breathing techniques.  

    In case you are not aware, a Hoberman Sphere is, (according to Wikipedia), a structure invented by Chuck Hoberman that resembles a geodesic dome, but is capable of folding down to a fraction of its normal size by the scissor-like action of its joints.

    School/mental health counselor, Wes McKee, has helped institute the breathing exercise in room E-13’s classroom and often times he guides the students.  He explains, “We do the guided breathing to learn body control so as to calm the autonomic nervous system so we can begin to access our thinking, planning and the problem solving parts of our brain.”

    Sitting in a circle, he asks the kids to breathe in deeply from down in their belly’s and at the same time, slowly expand the sphere.  After the lungs are full of air and the sphere is round the kids are asked to hold their breath in their belly for a second and then the teacher asks group members to slowly close the sphere, and everyone exhales slowly, congruently.  The deep breathing continues for around ten to twelve cycles.  

    In times of stress, breathing can become shallow and quickened.  One sure way to relax is slow rhythmic breathing.  In the classroom breathing work helps students to focus and find mindfulness, assisting the learning process.  With the colorful visual representation of the Hoberman Sphere, and the teacher counting aloud while the sphere is expanding and contracting kids learn to self regulate and calm any anxiety they may have.

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