SENG & NuMinds May Mental Health Workshop

Workshop - Breath Necessities: Reducing Stress and Anxiety from the Inside-Out with Science-Tested Breathing Methods

Summary: Emerging and historical research on mindfulness and breathing shows us exactly how to support our nervous system in managing stress, improving focus, achieving balance and coherence, and even giving ourselves natural boosts of energy and clarity. In this workshop, we’ll walk through specific, easy-to-do breathing techniques uniquely framed for the busy, fast-paced life of parents, students, educators, and counselors. All participants will receive an easy-to-follow reference guide to apply the tools in the active context of their day-to-day lives.

If you are a human, you experience stress. If you are a human working in education, you are probably experiencing even more stress than the average human. On the one hand, our fantastically intricate nervous system is designed to keep us balanced and healthy, even under stress. Unfortunately, today’s stressors are causing chronic states of cortisol (stress hormone) to stay in our body and lead to negative physical, emotional, and cognitive effects. But a growing body of scientific research on mindfulness and breathwork is confirming what many traditions have known for millennia…we can use our breath as a “master switch” to fine tune and support our nervous system so that we can be flourishing humans, even under the stressful demands of a 21st century lifestyle.

Step one for parents, educators, and counselors is to learn to be the “thermostat” and not the “thermometer.” In other words, as adults we SET the temperature by modeling our own nervous system regulation. So the first part of the workshop will focus on breathing tools for adults to manage their own navigation.

But since breath is universal, everything we learn to support ourselves as adults, we can adapt for our kids. So step two of the workshop is to review and practice methods to coach kids in using the breath to manage stress, calm anxiety, and improve focus.

About the Presenter: 

After a decade in the classroom in Texas public schools, Benjamin Koch co-founded NuMinds Enrichment in 2013, a company dedicated to revolutionizing education with real, inspired learning via curriculum, teacher training, and dynamic student programs. He holds a Masters degree in Gifted Education from Southern Methodist University and has a special interest in the social, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of what it means to grow up human. He is a certified mindfulness, breathwork, and sound healing facilitator and loves to bring his expertise and experience in the realm of personal development to the intersection of education, parenting, and teacher wellness.