This article explains 6 ways to use breathing for stress relief and mental wellness.

Relaxing and serene app helps incorporate peace into daily life

Calm opens by instructing users to take a deep breath before landing on the home screen. This home screen can be customized, and users can choose from a range of more than 30 nature scenes and sounds to fit their preference. From this point, users can either complete a daily meditation that's provided, choose a sleep meditation, or practice deep breathing. If students choose to complete a meditation, they can choose from a list of more than 25 programs such as body scans, stories for kids, meditations for commuting, calming anxiety, demonstrating kindness, and more. Sleep Stories are fiction or nonfiction narrated stories that can be listened to before rest, which automatically shut off the app once the story finishes.

If students choose to practice deep breathing, they can follow a customizable animated bubble that expands and compresses to simulate inhaling and exhaling. Additionally, students can check their profile settings to set mindfulness reminders, link to Apple Health, analyze session history, invite friends, share statistics, or check their calendar to see how many consecutive days are included in their "streak."

This app is available from: (copy and paste URL into your browser)
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id571800810?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.calm.android

Calm Kids plants seeds of mindfulness for a life balance, confidence, and calm. This site offers videos that introduce students of all ages to the concepts of using meditation, mindfulness and breathing exercises to improve concentration and their sense of calm.

What Is It?

INNER EXPLORER PRESENTS A MINDFULNESS APP FOR FAMILIES - Helping Parents Raise Mindful kids.

Inner Explorer is a free mindfulness app (for Apple and Android) from Inner Explorer. Hundreds of school districts use Inner Explorer's mindfulness program to help educators and students become socially-emotionally present and handle situations with calmness and resilience.

Inner Explorer @ Home is specifically designed for parents and caregivers to use with their children and features daily guided mindfulness practices for all age-groups.

THE BENEFITS AND 5 W's OF MINDFULNESS
1. What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness means paying attention to what’s happening right now with curiosity and kindness and without judgment.
2. Why Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is popular because it is very effective for reducing stress and for improving focus which helps learning.
3. When?
One can practice mindfulness any time. However, practicing mindfulness in the morning often sets the tone for a calm and lovely day.
4. Who?
Inner Explorer was designed for Pre K – 12th grade students. However, many adults utilize the program on a daily basis. Practicing as a family magnifies the benefits and creates calm and connection.
5. Where?
Practicing in as quiet a place as possible is always a good idea to minimize distractions.

Life can be overwhelming, anxiety invoking, and stressful. Sometimes we all need a healthy escape. This Virtual Calming Room was inspired by School Counselors and School Social Workers across the United States to help students locate tools and strategies to positively manage their emotions.

Project this video and have everyone be mindful and calm along with the video for 2 minutes (or just do it by yourself)!

The video prompts the users when to breath in, hold, and when to breath out.

Calming and relaxing. Use this to refocus.

Sometimes life can be overwhelming and it can be hard to work through difficult times. This Virtual Calming Room was designed to assist in identifying different strategies for managing emotions.

Resource Links:
-Sounds and Music
-Visual Relaxation
-Guided Practice
-Colouring & Create
-Live Cameras
-Smart Phone Apps