Five breath exercises to try with the kids

May 30, 2020 Maggie Westhead

Breathing expert, mother and author of Breathe Well, Aimee Hartley, talks us through five easy-to-do breathing techniques

Image above and 1-4, courtesy of School Breathe.

There’s no two ways about it, life has been strange and unsettling recently. But there have been benefits too. Despite the underlying global anxiety, the fact we have been all forced to slow down and step off the treadmill has brought with it new perspective ands a new sense of calm. Some highlights have included more quality time at home with the family, a greater connection with nature and more time to think. And yet, there is still so much to worry about. If ever there has been a time or opportunity to practise good breathing, to help enhance a sense of wellbeing, now is it. Below, Aimee Hartley, a breathworker and yoga teacher, talks us through five breathing techniques that you can easily do with your children. Her recently published first book Breathe Well, has been a bit of a bible during lockdown in our household.

Aimee, who moved her family from east London to the Welsh borders at the end of last year, has been teaching breathing techniques for over 10 years. She is founder of the School Breathe programme which brings the benefits of better breathing to classrooms across London. ‘It’s been proven that a little and often breath work practice can help improve concentration, lower stress levels, boost confidence and help children to connect with the present moment, all of which are essential qualities for learning,’ says Aimee. ‘The programme has reached over 1,500 children already and we are hoping many more will learn the importance of breathing well and how this can benefit them throughout their lives.’

Breathe Well is now available at Amazon. Read more about Aimee at The Breathing Room.

Woman in yoga position from Breathe Well — 1. Cool, calm centered breath

Simple and effective with so many benefits, this allows our breath rate to take a slower pace. Science suggests that by reducing the breaths we take per minute (the average adult takes 12 breaths per min and children can breathe twice as quickly). The ideal breath rate is six breaths per minute for adults. Breath rate for children vary as their lungs are constantly growing. Tell kids to breathe into their bellies so when they breathe in their bellies rise.
**Benefits**
Feel calmer and more present.
Slow breathing lowers blood pressure.
Slows heart rate
Focuses the mind.
**How?**
Breathe in through the nose for a count of four (or five if you can) Breathe out through the nose for a count of four (or five if you can) Repeat this until you are feeling calmer.

Girl in meditation position from book, Breathe Well by Aimee Hartley. — 2. Focus breath

Repeat this between five to ten times whenever you need to boost your focus. You can bring in a count of four or five when you have learned the routine (i.e breathe in for four. breathe out for four). This great for improving focus and allowing the mind to quieten and can also help you drift off to sleep.
**How?**
Breathe in through the nose. Breathe out through the nose. Breathe in through mouth. Breathe out through the mouth. Breathe in through the nose. Breathe out through the mouth. Breathe in through the mouth. Breathe out through the nose.

Breathing box featured in book Breathe Well by Aimee Hartley — 3. Box breathe

Learning to perfect the classic box breath technique will help you to feel calm and focused.
**How?**
Make the ratio threes if counting in for four is too much. Or if you find this really easy, please extend to five or six. Please note: don't hold the breath if you are pregnant.
Breathe in for a count of four. Hold for a count of four. Breathe out for a count of four. Hold for a count of four. Visualise going along the side of a box (see diagram, left) as you take each breathe - this will help you stay focused throughout.

Illustration of boy opening arms as if embracing the air. Image by Kyle Cathie Ltd. — 4. Tarzan breath

Channelling our ancestral ‘inner gorilla’ can help us flex our vocal chords, and reconnect us with this primal sound. This breath exercise can often bring on a bout of the laughs too, which can be a welcomed workout for the diaphragm.
**Benefits**
Releases anger and frustration.
Clears stagnant energy around the throat and vocal cords.
The elongated exhalation will aid the ‘rest and digest’ response.
Challenges your comfort zone.
**How?**
Stand or sit with a comfortable posture. Inhale slowly and deeply through the nostrils, taking a deep belly breath in and then take in a little more air to fill the upper chest with air. On the exhalation, open the mouth nice and wide and make a Gorilla-like sound ‘AHHHHHHHHHH’.
Continue with this sound until the breath and sound runs out. Keep going…..there’s always more ‘out breath’ than you think. Now, you can bring your ‘gorilla hands’ into play. Contrary to how films portray the great apes, they use the palms of their hands to beat their chests not their fists. Bring both hands to the upper chest, place the palms flat on the upper chest, you can make light fists should you prefer, just below the collarbones. Close the eyes if that makes it easier to feel physical sensations in the body. Breathe in slowly through the nose. Open the mouth, breathing out, make a low gorilla-like “AHHHHHHHHHHH” sound as you exhale.
Channel your inner gorilla, as you beat the palms of the hands on the upper chest, just below the collarbones. Take a few resting breaths in through the nose, out through the nose, between each round. Breathe in through the nose, out through the nose and notice any physical sensations in the body. Some can feel energy moving in the upper chest and vibrations just below the collarbones and sometimes mild vibrations in the throat. Repeat this breath technique with the gentle beating of the upper chest three to five times.

Illustration of girl drinking hot chocolate for Breathe Well by Aimee Hartley. Illustration by Kyle Cathie Ltd. — 5. Hot chocolate breath

**Benefits**
Exercises the imagination.
Extending the exhalation triggers a relaxation response.
Brings the child into the present moment.
Cultivates a fun relationship with breath work.
Calms the mind.
**How?**
Imagine you are holding a mug of the most delicious hot chocolate.
The warmth of the mug brings heat to your hands.
Bring the imaginary cup up to just under your nose.
Take a long inhale through the nose, imagine smelling all the delicious rich flavours of chocolate.
Gently breathe out slowly through the lips, as you cool the hot chocolate down. Imagine you can see steam drifting away from the mug as you breathe out.
Breathe in slowly as you allow the scent of the hot chocolate to enter the nostrils.
Slowly breathe out through the lips, as you cool the hot chocolate down a little more.
Repeat one more time, breathing in through the nose slowly, breathing out fully through the mouth.
Image: Breathe Well/Kyle Books

Breathe Well by Aimee Hartley is now available at Amazon. Read more about Aimee at *The Breathing Room*.

The three best facial oils

March 6, 2019 Maggie Westhead

Choosing beauty products can be so overwhelming. There's just so much out there. These days I try to keep things simple. I've come to the conclusion that along with a good natural cleanser and moisturiser, a high quality face oil forms the basis of a good skincare regime. I've tried many over the last two decades, during my time as a fashion and beauty editor for both ES Magazine and Time Out, but these three are my absolute favourites, the first two being fairly recent discoveries. By Maggie Davis

Bjork and berries facial oil — Björk & Berries birch recovery face oil

Swedish brand Björk & Berries' gorgeous smelling, easily-absorbed oil is packed with birch leaf extract, borage and jojoba seed oil and vitamin E. I can practically hear my skin singing with joy when I apply it. In the morning and after the gym, I use this in place of moisturiser and in the evening, I apply a few luxurious drops before putting my night cream on. An absolute treat. *£44 at* *www.bjorkandberries.com*

Lumnity facial oil — Lumnity anti-ageing facial oil

This incredible oil has over 32 natural skin-boosting ingredients including argan kernel oil, macadamia seed oil and cranberry extract. It's gained a bit of a cult following recently with fans including Kate Moss and I can totally see why. Used in conjunction with Lumnity morning and night supplements, this is ideal for bolstering 40-plus skin. After a few months of use, I can confirm it helps achieve that hard-to-get inner glow. *£48 at* *www.lumnitylife.co.uk*

Screen Shot 2018-09-04 at 09.18.24.png — Neal's Yard Rehydrating Rose Facial Oil

This is one of my tried and trusted favourites. Not only does it smell glorious but it's light, easily absorbed and can be used alone or mixed with a moisturiser for a richer layer and suits all skin types. A great value beauty product. *£26 at* *www.nealsyardremedies.com*

JUST LAUNCHED: CURIONOIR FRAGRANCE

September 17, 2018 Maggie Westhead

Looking for the fragrance of your dreams? Time to sniff out new arrival to our shores, Curionoir. Maggie Davis meets the inspiring founder

Tiffany Jeans exudes a natural radiance. Strong and sculptural, she has a rare magnetism you only come across once in a while. When we meet, she is surrounded by exquisite glass perfume bottles in various jewel tones. Her rich, heady scents displayed amid a fountain of flowers in her close friend and fellow New Zealander, Jessica McCormack’s elegant jewellery store in Mayfair’s Carlos Place.

Auckland-based Jeans is in London to launch Curionoir, the niche perfume brand she established in 2011, after a career as a successful stylist. “I was was travelling the world, working for big brands and thinking there must be more to life,” she says. The idea was born when she created personalised skull candles wrapped in tulle as a gift for her wedding guests (she married film director Andrew Morton in 2009). “I started studying fragrance while my kids slept.” (She has three children, Lilith, 16, Carmelo, 10, and Dita, five).

Jeans desire to slow down and create something meaningful, resulted in the birth of her first fragrance, Dark Bouquet, a heady mix of orange flower, jasmine and vetiver. Like all her subsequent scents, it makes you sit up and take note. Jeans now has seven scents and even more covetable scented candles, which arrive in covetable glass jars.

Every one of her head-turning scents is a deeply personal creation inspired by her Maori roots growing up on New Zealand’s north island surrounded by family. Her grandmother, mother and aunts were all skilled craftswomen and her uncle, a bone carver, had a huge impact. Cella Fields, for example, is a sweet and heady concoction that instantly makes you smile. Featuring apple, nutmeg, grapes leaves and tree moss, it’s inspired by the pleasant musty smells of the cellar on a family wine-producing farm.

Tobacco Night, on the other hand, is a deep, earthy scent with amber, musk and dried tobacco leaves, inspired by an eccentric “pipe-smoking head teacher from middle school.” Diaphanous, a light, euphoric scent with mandarin, saffron and cayenne pepper was prompted by what Jeans describes as “a moment of clarity after a tough time.'“

There’s a mystery and depth about Jeans fragrances that is totally captivating. Purotu Rose, in particular. It’s a dark, musky rose with bitter orange, teak and vetiver, inspired by the funeral of her grandfather. Despite the possibly sombre connotations, it has has become one of her best-sellers, loved equally by men and women.

Time, care and emotion are the basis for all Jeans creations. Some of the scents, like Opia, with its complex mix of rhubarb, Cambodian aud, cedar wood and Australian sandalwood, take years to perfect. “There’s so much craft involved in fragrance and it should be encased in something special,” she says.

Her exquisite bottles are available to buy separately each one is individually handblown in Auckland, meaning they are all slightly irregular shapes. “Every piece of glass is individual,” she says. “The dab application forces you to slow down and be careful.”

In a world of synthetic celebrity scents and powerhouse perfumes, Jeans’ thoughtful, evocative scents stand out.

Curionoir is available at The Conran Shop, Michelin House, 81 Fulham Road, London, SW3 6RD, Conran shops nationwide.

HOT LIST

Top five: travel beauty products

August 3, 2018 Maggie Westhead

Beauty editor, Rosie Green — Rosie Green on the products you need to travel beautifully

Rosie Green started in *Elle*’s beauty cupboard in the '90’s. She has been beauty director there, at *Red* magazine and now at *Woman & Hom*e. She is also a spa columnist for *The Telegraph* and works for some of the biggest beauty brands on their content. She writes hilariously about midult life, first in her *Life’s Rosie* column for *Red* and now on her soon to be launched website (sign up at www.lifesrosie.co.uk). There’s a book in the pipeline too. Here she selects the five beauty products she can't go on holiday without. Enjoy!

1. Elemis Daily Defence Shield, £46.

It is essential, ESSENTIAL that you find an SPF that feels and looks nice on your skin. That way you’ll use it everyday. And in the process ward off wrinkles and sunspots. Your face will thank you for it.

2. Slip Pure Silk Sleep Mask, £45.

Beauty sleep is real. And holiday is the place your going to get it. Take this luxe feeling (and looking) mask with you and you are guaranteed a lie in.

Trinny London Just a Touch foundation — 3. Trinny London Just A Touch foundation/concealer, £28.

Comes in a no spill pot you can sling in your beach bag. The genius formula subtly conceals redness, bites, eyebags.

4. Sarah Chapman Liquid Facial D-stress, £42.

This spray cools any sticky situation, smells delicious and is loaded with moisture magnets and skin soothing actives.

5. Lumigan at Medicetics, four weeks supply from £95.

This prescription only product makes lashes grow seriously long and lush, so you can skip mascara and look pretty barefaced.

Mystical Kids

May 20, 2018 Maggie Westhead

Journalist Emma Howarth — Emma Howarth

Magazine writer, travel guide editor, nostalgist, Pisces, mother of two girls and founder of Mystical Thinking (which covers everything from meeting spiritual animals to crystal healing) Emma is currently embarking on a year of all things mystical. For *Chic Little List*, she rounds up five spiritual therapies you can apply with children to help them build confidence, deal with stress and friendship issues.

Emma with her daughters Cleo, seven, and Lola, nine.

You’ve probably read about Victoria Beckham’s pre-show crystal rituals or seen Dynamic Astrology by Carolyne Faulkner– in-house astrologer for the Soho House Group –on the shelves at your local Waterstones. Or you might have spotted the ‘Spiritual Address Book’ feature in the June issue of Vogue? Either way, you probably don’t need a crystal ball to tell you that the spiritual world is having a fashion moment.

I’m not surprised (#psychic). And I definitely hope it’ll be more than a flash in the pan trend. Astrology, tarot cards, magic, and wishing on stars have helped me make sense of the world since I was an occult-obsessed teen in the ’90s. More recently, as a stressed out mother and multi-tasking freelance writer, getting back into yoga, meditation and charging chunks of rose quartz under the full moon has helped chill me out for the first time in years.

I wouldn’t say I’m a blind believer in every aspect of the spiritual realm (I’m a journalist…and a cynical northerner!) but I do believe in intuition, positive thinking and that there’s something bigger than all of us out there. So, earlier this year I embarked on a project I call my Year of Mystical Thinking (mysticalthinking.com), in which I devote 2018 to exploring the mystical, expanding my mind and rediscovering all those things that made me tick way back when.

It’s been an eye-opener. I’ve had an out of body experience at a crystal sound bath with Jasmine Hemsley, mastered a perfect yogic shoulder stand and met my spirit animal (an elephant in case you’re interested) in a guided meditation with the coolest shaman in town Wolf Sister. What I hadn’t banked on, though, is how much my children would want in on the action.

My daughters, Lola and Cleo, are nine and seven, so fairies, unicorns and birthday wishes are as real to them as homework and compulsory broccoli. In fact, I’m not sure why I was so surprised when they started taking an interest in my deliveries of smudge sticks and activation decks. Children are natural believers.

But the best part of their engagement with my mystical project has been what a great tool it’s been for helping them cope with some of the worries common to this stage of childhood – school work stresses, friendship issues, building confidence and self belief. In fact, I don’t know why I didn’t pack them off to school with crystals in their pockets sooner.

Interested? Why not try a few of the suggestions below out on the small people in your life. Victoria Beckham would definitely approve.