Belly breathing, also known as abdominal breathing, is a simple and easy way to start with the basics in introducing a child to the Gremlin Taming Method. We can't be two places at once, so when our attention is on our breathing it's nearly impossible to put it anywhere else. In gremlin-taming we use the breath as a way of bringing our awareness into the present – the here and now. By focusing on your breath, you begin to tap into the Natural You. YOU begin to see the difference between what is real and what is in your imagination: fears, fantasies, memories, interesting thoughts and that mischievous little gremlin.

Belly breathing is very easy to teach to children as young as three years old. The technique is simple.

First, get a book. It's helpful but not imperative to sit in an upright chair. Hold the book flat against your belly with one hand. Hold your other hand flat against your chest.

Start by slowly inhaling. As you take in air, imagine that there is a balloon in your tummy and that you are going to fill it up. Keep inhaling until you imagine that the balloon is very full. The book you are holding on your tummy will move in relationship to how fully you are expanding your capacity for air. Use your other hand to keep your chest still as you focus your attention on pushing out your belly. Let both hands be your external monitors.

Now, just like letting go of a balloon, let your air escape. Exhale. Let your breath out slowly, watching your hand on the book fall back in closer to your body. Repeat this four or five times. You will have an immediate relaxation response. Your heart rate will slow down, your skin sweat response will fall and your muscle tension will be reduced.

One of the best ways to teach children to belly breathe is at night, lying in bed. Sometimes little ones are too wiggly to get them to sit in a chair to show them. But in bed they are searching for ways not to fall asleep, so you will have a captive audience! Instead of a book, try a stuffed animal or the family cat (just kidding.... they're too wiggly too!) Not only will your child be more relaxed but you'll also be teaching her how to get to her own home base, the place from which she will direct her spotlight of awareness once you introduce her to gremlin-taming.

Frequently, by doing some belly breathing my gremlin takes a back seat. Either that or he pops right into my foreground and I become aware of how I am creating my own misery, conflict, or anxiety. Within minutes my options begin to come to the surface and rather than my gremlin, I am in the driver's seat of my life.

For more on belly breathing or other techniques to use in introducing gremlin-taming to children, contact Jane Massengill or register for her monthly teleclass, Taming Your Gremlin for Kids.