B a r b a r a s h e r I l L u s t r a t I o n s b y r a L p h

T
Y P E S O F
A
T T E N T I O N
E
N C O U R A G E D
Open and focused
M
A T E R I A L S
None
D
I R E C T I O N S
Have your teen start by telling herself that she intends to pay attention to
her breathing for the next ten breaths.
As she notices the first inhalation, she should say in her mind, “I’m
breathing in one.” When her body exhales, she should say, “I’m breathing
out one.” At the next inhalation she says “I’m breathing in two,” and when
her body exhales, says “I’m breathing out two,” and so on.
Games for Teens
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This is different from purposely breathing in and out ten times. In this
game, she should just be watching her body breathe and naming each
breath.
She’ll probably notice that different breaths will have different rhythms.
Sometimes one breath will follow another at a regular interval; other times,
there might be a long gap between breaths. Some breaths are shallow, oth-
ers deep. The idea is just to notice and name the number.
She’ll probably find, as most people do, that this task is easier said than
done. We tend to get distracted by passing thoughts, and we may get only
to “I’m breathing in three” before we go on a little mind trip. That’s okay.
When this happens, she can smile at herself and her mind excursion.
Suggest that instead of being harsh, she be exuberant that she noticed and
is now back. (I like to say, “I’m back!” in a congratulatory tone.) Then she
can go back to the beginning: “I’m breathing in one.”
The fun and challenging part of this game is for her to see how far she
can get before she “leaves.” Some days may be a “five day” because she can’t
seem to get past the fifth breath before she forgets what she was doing.
Other days, she might find it so easy to focus that she decides to go on to
fifteen or more breaths.