How Breathing Can Help Teens with Their Mental Health

Help your teen take control of their emotions with Pranayama, encourages Victoria Tso

Have you ever had a terrible day that completely turned around? When everything seemed to be going wrong and then suddenly, it all went right. Pranayama - or yogic breathing techniques - can give our teens (along with the rest of us) the power to transform their bad days into good ones. Empowering them with the knowledge that they can control their emotions rather than be controlled by them.

The breath can energise us, calm us, help us manage anxiety and even relieve pain. What a great gift to give a young person! We have no conscious control over most of our automatic bodily functions, we can’t control whether or not we digest our dinner or when we break a sweat in a workout but we can control our breath – it’s what makes breathing techniques so powerful.

Sadly, in recent months, I have seen an increase in messages from parents concerned about their teen’s anxiety. In my own classes and 1:1 sessions, teens have reported to me how pressured they feel by their schools, friends, and sometimes, parents to achieve in all areas.