Take a Deep Breath

Last week, we officially started the photo project with one of the youth groups. We began with everyone talking about their journey from home to the youth group (which is how every group begins). Then I introduced them to a breathing exercise. We played with paper "cameras" and talked about how they affect how we look at the world. We read over "Terms of Responsibility" and they signed agreeing to the terms. We gave the adolescents the cameras, designed possible photos and brainstormed together about ways to take photos that would follow the "Zoom" theme that the group has been working with.

Phew! It was a lot and it was fun. 

Next week, after taking the cameras home with them, they'll be bringing them back for development and we'll be making a field trip to Santander Cultural to check out the FestFotoPoA, the International Festival of Photography in Porto Alegre. Cool, exciting stuff! There's a part of me that's always a bit nervous about projects like this. Really, there's a lot of juggling and timing and hoping it all comes out well while you're looking up at all that stuff you're trying to keep in the air. I can't wait to see how it all turns out. No matter what, I think it will be good. Especially because this photo project is truly a collaborative, group effort. I am in awe of all the fantastic people who are making this happen.

And so, at the end of the youth group, I asked two questions that I like to ask (ever since working at Communities in Schools (CIS) last year that is). I asked the group members to each tell me their favorite part of the group and their least favorite part. I love these questions because the answers are rarely what I expect. Unsurprisingly, it was difficult for them to come up with "least favorite" parts because of that human tendency to want to be polite I'm sure. It takes a while to be able to respond to this question.

But their favorite part, as expected, was unexpected. Almost unanimously, they all agreed that it was that thing we did with our stomach, with shaking our hands. Yup, what they liked best was the breathing exercise.

Before I started the exercise. I talked about how to breath into one's belly because not everyone knows how to do this (and I've finally stopped assuming that they do. Yup, as my dad has told me, when you assume, you make an ass out of u and me. Or, people just don't know what they heck you're talking about when you blather on about this deep breath nonsense).

There's an image I once heard someone using that I really like and subsequently borrowed. (I think I borrowed it from the woman who taught an awesome yoga class to our Hope & Healing group at CIS last year). Basically, it's imagining you're swallowing an elevator, it's going down your throat and descending all the way to your belly. Yup, put your hand on your stomach to feel it expand as the the elevator comes down.  That's inhaling. Now to exhale, imagine your sending that elevator all the way back up.

We did this a few times and they said they'd gotten the gist of it. So we moved on. I co-opted this particular breathing exercise from a role play of a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) group performed in my Group Therapy class last spring (thank you CBT group!). Everyone plants their feet flat on the floor and sits up straight in their chairs. Then we begin to shake our hands and stomp our feet, increasing the rapidity of the agitation as we go. It looks totally silly, so it helps when everyone else is doing it too. We move faster and faster...and faster...Until I say, "Okay stop." Then we all breathe together, deep inhalations into the belly, deep exhalations, a certain number of times. This time I happened to choose 6. That's it.

There are usually a few seconds of silence that follow this. A pause. It's just enough time to "be" with a slightly stiller, calmer mind...It was nice.

And I totally love that this is what they liked best because all of us (myself very, very included) could use some skills (and frequent reminders) to take a step back and slow down even if just for a minute or two.

Next week we'll do some more breathing, since I'm thinking they'll be up for it, and hmmmm...perhaps I'll be able to throw a yoga posture into the mix too...