Module 1 Review · Physiology First University

Module 1 Review

Working with kids of any age, they like to be engaged with you. How I would work with kids at the elementary level is to engage them by being silly. It works (most of the time). I would ask the school to break up the event, so instead of presenting to one large group, I would have the event broken down into 3-4 classes for each 30 minutes. That way there would be room for all of the kids to lay on the floor. When presenting, I would be with them on the floor, walking among the kids, not on a stage. Until the classes have arrived, and all sat down, I would wait. Once the kids are seated, I would start with, “If you can hear the sound of my voice, clap twice” while walking the room. The clapping and walking gets their attention. I would then ask, “ Can you see my eyeballs” and point to my ears. There’s usually a lot of yeses from the kids. I ask again, “Can you hear me” while pointing to my mouth or eyeballs. Again, a lot of yeses. Then I ask, “Are you sure?” “Yes…..” with puzzled looks on their faces. I ask, “Are these my eyeballs?” And pull my ears. “Are these my ears?” And point to my eyes. The kids all say, “No.” Then I say, “Now I have your attention.” Following the silliness with introducing myself and what we will be talking about together.

Incorporating breathing, sleep, nutrition, exercise and motivation, I would ask the kids, “What is your favorite animal?” And pick one kid who raised their hand. I’m going to use an elephant as my example and ask, “How does an elephant sound? What part of their body do they make the sound from?” Then ask the kids to all stand up, and to show me what it looks like to be an elephant. Once the sillies are out from being an elephant, I ask the kids, “What do elephants eat?” “Why is nutrition or eating good foods important for elephants?” We talk about what good foods are: veggies, fruits, proteins. “Do elephants exercise? If so, what kind of exercise do they do?” We talk about exercise for our bodies: walking, running, stretching. “Do elephants sleep?” “How, and how much do they sleep?” We talk about sleep for ourselves and why getting enough sleep is important for our brains, and muscle recovery from sports, or body recovery when we are sick.

I would then have the kids lie on the floor, maybe close their eyes, maybe keep them open, and we would do a short breathing exercise together. That would allow their bodies to relax for a few minutes. Once the breathing exercise is done, I would ask, “How do you feel after that exercise?” It lets the kids know that exercise doesn’t always have to be moving our bodies, that it takes brain strength to not move our bodies, and to just breathe.

I feel pretty confident about presenting to the elementary schools. I’ve worked with the elementary age kids for a few years while working at a martial arts studio, and during the pumpkin patch season for school tours at one of the local farms. As silly as it is, I would use the same techniques at the middle school, high school levels. Building the information up based on the kids level of knowledge. I would even use this with adults.

As for incorporating my knowledge into the local community, I’m looking into what it would take to host a breathing class at the community center or at the local martial arts studio where I used to work. Breathwork is important to understand at all age levels because it can turn into a “make or break you” experience. When you have control of your breath, a scary situation can be averted as you listen to your intuition and it allows the cognitive abilities of the brain to do their job. To be able to think of how to avoid the situation and find a way out. This makes you aware of your surroundings. When your breath is out of control, the body panics and flight or fight mode is activated. This can break you. Which would either send a person to shut down physically, or mentally and causes a person to hyperventilate from lack of oxygen.

2 comments

Module 1 Review