Integrating Full Body Breathing with Community Arts
By Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander, M.F.A.
Your hand opens and closes and open and closes.
If it were always a fist or always stretched open,
you would be paralyzed.
Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding,
the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated
as bird wings.
—RUMI
I am a professor, cinema artist and community artist. I also teach yoga in a public grade school and direct a
community documentary program for teen girls entitled Finding Our Wings – a program grounded in youth
produced media responding directly to personal inquiry, public health and creativity.
Interacting with multi-ethnic grade school children and teens from Baltimore’s east side has lead me to integrate full
body breathing with the community documentary curriculum I teach to youth. I constantly witness how full body
breathing allows children and teens to slow down and cultivate their focus on the task at hand.
The benefit of full body breathing, which includes inhaling deeply into the lower abdomen and nourishing the body
with bountiful oxygen, transcends cultural and ethnic backgrounds. It does not matter who we are, what we have
achieved or where we live. We can live for weeks without food or water but only moments without breath.
Community arts programs that reach out to diverse communities in order to cultivate social are empowered to the
highest degree when there is a communal practice where all participants are having the same essential, physical need
met. When I breathe with children and teens we are all on the same page and at the same level. They feel safe with
me because I have met them in a core essential place simply by breathing in unison with them.
In the Anatomy of Hatha Yoga, a book on anatomy and physiology by David Coulter, he explains that breath and its
oxygenated nutrients are literally digested upon inhale – but cannot be fully received by the body if posture is
compromised. The majority of my students are reverse breathers. This means their shoulders are rounded forward
and that they are contracting their abdomens upon inhale and thus are only breathing halfway into their lungs. I help
my students investigate how they can adjust their body posture in order to breathe more fully into their lungs. When
they do this, they demonstrate more energy and focus in class, break through creative blocks more quickly, and say
that they feel better about themselves and the art they are creating. The bottom line is that full respiration supports
the brain to function at its most optimum, liberated and creative state.
For almost 20 years I have studied the different benefits of conscious breathing by way of my own yoga practice, my
yoga certification studies and by watching my students’ body posture while they work at their easels, hold their
camcorders, write in their journals, work at the computer, etc. When their bodies stay open and vibrant they are able
to capture the life force qualities of their subject matter. When their posture is compromised and slumped they
cannot respond fully to the life force of their subject matter – or to the life force of their peers and teacher in the
classroom.
Recently, I was asked to take a class picture of 300 middle school children in an inner city school. The children were
Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander
Integrating Full Body Breathing with Community Arts
1
having challenges settling down and following instructions so the picture could be taken. With a microphone in
hand, I asked the children to put their hands on their belly and I proceeded to lead them through a three-part full
body breathing exercise that lasted no more than 60 seconds. The room of utter chaos actually grew still and quiet –
the picture was taken and the children were ultimately happy to have smiled consciously into the camera.
Approximately 285 children of the 300 children in the room were meeting me for the first time and they were not
willing to behave for a stranger so she could take their picture. Something in them responded to the breathing and in
turn, they were able to respond to me and then to the goal at hand.
In her book, The Breathing Book, Donna Farhi, registered movement therapist and yoga teacher points out that
reverse breathing causes a disorientated and confused state of mind. Farhi also states that reversed breathing causes
chronic tension in the upper body, including the back of the neck, the jaw and shoulders. All this affects the function
of the brain and lends to distressed reactions as opposed to positive action. When visiting inner city schools I see
reactive behavior lead to violence and in turn, to more stress and more violence… I also witness that some children
and teens know they can create positive action by first taking a deep breath as opposed to reacting violently to
challenging and sometimes abusive comments made by their peers. Reversed breathing, in my experience is a core
challenge of personal and public health in most inner city communities.
Reversed breathing can often be the result of living in constant fight or flight situations; often catalyzed by peer
pressure to partake in sex or gang related activities at preteen ages. (In middle to upper class communities reversed
breathing can often be the result of fashionable clothes that bind the body – particularly at the waist.) As a
community artist I have the privilege to work with youth from the inner city on a regular basis. If I offer them the
knowledge of full body breathing they are empowered to improve their health and the cognition of their minds. In
addition, I do not have to write another grant to acquire funds to integrate full body breathing into my community
arts curriculum. It is free –and the outcome of the community arts program, in my experience is much more
successful.
Though I am a trained yoga teacher, you do not have to be a yoga or fitness expert to implement full body breathing
in your community arts curriculum. You just have to be willing to practice full body breathing on your own so you
know it in your own body before you share its structure with others. I personally believe that all community arts
practitioners should teach full body breathing because again, we have the unique privilege of serving on projects
where barriers between diverse communities have been removed in the name of art and creativity. As community
artists our hope that our projects will also have a positive affect on public health will increase manifold if we
enhance our community arts classes with full body breathing. Again, there are no added budget costs – and the
potential to further the benefits of community arts is worth billions.
I offer the following step-by-step process. After 6 to 8 weeks of practicing and integrating full body breathing into
your own life, please proceed to offer to your community arts students at the beginning of each class. I also suggest
you do this breathing process at the end of each class to seal the benefits in the hearts and minds of the students. I
could easily make an MP3 audio file of the following breathing exercise for teachers to play in the classroom – but
my point with this paper is that the gift of full body breathing needs to come directly from teacher to student. That is
why it is important for teachers to be practicing this breathing technique for themselves on a daily basis.
Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander
Integrating Full Body Breathing with Community Arts
2
Upon introducing the breathing technique to your students be sure to take notes after each class so you can track the
benefits for yourself. (If it feels appropriate or necessary you can let your students know that the breathing technique
is not in place of seeking medical help when needed.)
Please remember what I offer is a beginning. You and your students will come up with other beautiful and important
visualizations to go along with this breathing exercise. As long as your students are encouraged to maintain the open
and elongated body posture described in this exercise, they will receive the full benefits of the breath. There are
many breathing exercises that can be taught in the classroom. I am sharing this particular three-part full body
breathing technique, because of my experience of sharing it with community arts students for the past two years. It
has worked regardless of age, ethnic background or the community in which the student lives.
Grounding and Full Body Breathing Exercise:
First put all cell phones and electronic devices away so you are free of distractions. A sand timer or small electronic
timer is very helpful to designate a specific period of time to frame this exercise. Get comfortable by either lying on
the floor, sitting in a comfortable cross-legged position on the floor or sitting in a chair. Be sure to gently close your
eyes and relax your jaw by leaving a little bit of space between your lips. And be aware that it is important to let
your belly be soft and expand upon inhalation and then contract the navel point back toward the spine during
exhalation. This creates both the softness to receive and the strength for positive action.
If you are lying on the floor: begin by stretching your arms overhead through your fingertips and then all the way
out through your toes. Now let your arms come back to your sides with hands open and relaxed, palms facing up.
Let your left toes relax out to the left and right toes relax out to the right. Next feel all the parts of your body that are
making contact with the ground plane. Imagine you are lying on your favorite patch of earth, perhaps grass, sand at
the beach, the edge where water touches the shoreline, a pile of autumn leaves or freshly fallen snow.
If you are sitting in a comfortable cross–legged position: be sure to feel where your pelvic bones are touching
down to the floor plane, lift the top of your head toward the sky, lengthening the spine and let your heart come
forward and relax your shoulder blades down the back and away from the ears. Hands are open and receptive at
your knees with palms facing up toward the sky. Imagine you are sitting on your favorite patch of earth, perhaps
grass, sand at the beach, the edge where water touches the shoreline, a pile of autumn leaves or freshly fallen snow.
If you are sitting in a chair: be sure to feel where your pelvic bones are touching down on the chair, lift the top of
your head toward the sky, lengthen the spine and let your heart come forward and relax your shoulder blades down
the back and away from the ears. Hands are open and receptive at your knees with palms facing up toward the sky.
Feel how the bottoms of your feet are touching the ground plane. Imagine your feet are touching your favorite patch
of earth, perhaps grass, sand at the beach, the edge where water touches the shoreline, a pile of autumn leaves or
freshly fallen snow.
Next (regardless of which of the three body positions you are in) feel the weight of your body in gravity and then feel
the air touching the edges of your skin. Continue to notice the edges of your body as you bring one hand to your
belly and the other hand to your heart. Begin to practice inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth.
Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander
Integrating Full Body Breathing with Community Arts
3
It is important to know that the nose cleans the breath and that the sinuses moisturize the breath. And that breathing
out the mouth can feel flowing and powerful.
Prepare now for a minimum of 5 minutes of breathing the three-part breath. Teachers repeat the following dialogue
in your mind if you practicing the exercise yourself. If you are facilitating for your students repeat the dialogue out
loud for them with an inviting voice – for the entire five minutes. As long as you are following the movement of the
breath of the in your own body your voice will be inviting!
To initiate the exercise remind the students to put one hand on the belly, the other hand on the heart, to inhale nose,
and exhale mouth…
Repeat the following dialogue out loud for the next five minutes. Remember that the magic is in breathing in unison
with your students. Since your voice will be audible you can allow the following two lines of dialogue to have the
rhythm of a mantra. You can sing these lines if you so desire.
o
Inhale, belly expands, ribs expand, heart rises…
o
Exhale heart, ribs and belly move back toward the spine…
o
Repeat for a minimum of five minutes…
Upon completion ask the students to leave their eyes closed for a couple more moments and notice the benefits or
sensations of the breath in their bodies. Then invite them to open their eyes slowly and reintegrate themselves into
the room gently. Stretching for a moment is encouraged.
I find that five minutes is plenty of time to open class. And two minutes does the trick to seal the benefits at the end
of class. Teachers are encouraged to practice five to ten minutes a day to truly embody the breathing practice and to
feel confident in teaching it.
An important note is that some children and teens need to be doing something with their hands in order to organize
themselves physically and emotionally so they can participate in structured breathing exercises. I keep clay in my
materials bag for such individuals. Some children simply have sensory integration needs and having something to
squeeze and manipulate in their hands can open them to the benefits of this three-part full body breathing exercise.
In conclusion, I would like to refer back to the Finding Our Wings Community Documentary Program. Wings’
mission is to capture the girls’ journeys from middle through high school. In order to document their journey, the
Wings girls are creating video poetry, using video equipment to cultivate their singing voices and investigating their
health and creative rights by conducting interviews at places such as the City Health Department and the Baltimore
Symphony Orchestra. When the girls are feeling a level of safety in the classroom environment, they sometimes
venture to speak of family members who want to get out of a gang but fear for their life if they do so. The Wings
program offers a safe place for these conversations and for the girls to support one another – cultivating awareness
and addressing inner city pressures of their environment so they may make conscious choices to secure their success
Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander
Integrating Full Body Breathing with Community Arts
4
in and beyond high school.
All Wings classes begin with full body breathing. The Wings girls are learning they can use breathing practices for
self-reflection and to cultivate greater focus. The girls are also aware that time-based media is presently one of the
most powerful methods of communication and that they are serving as role models to their peers by documenting
their actions toward graduating high school in a neighborhood that has a 60% dropout rate – a statistic by Baltimore
Neighborhood Indicators Alliance from 2007.
During Wings’ programming I witness first hand the joy and pride that emanates from the girls, not only when they
are capturing media about who they are, but also when watching their media being seen by the public. It is the girls’
chance to image themselves with their own lens. According to Deborah S. Edelman, DrPH and founder of Public
Health Media, research has shown that media portrays youth mostly in negative ways, disproportionately reporting
on youth crime and violence, which reinforces stereotypes and perpetuates health-compromising conditions. Dr.
Edelman poses the question; might youth-produced media provide more accurate and positive images of youth, and
increase youth and community well-being? This is certainly the intention with the in-progress Wings community
documentary – to not only present more accurate and positive images of youth but to also inspire youth to be
nourished by their own creativity so that they may break out of any cycle that would keep them from graduating
high school and going on to college.
I propose that when the Wings girls utilize their full body breathing for self-reflection and greater focus, they then
capture the most accurate images of themselves. Now I am not talking about the girls always being perfect on
camera. I am talking about the girls being in touch with all the parts of themselves, the raw parts, the parts that make
mistakes, their joy, their grief, their birth right to health and creativity – and the part that knows that they become
stronger and wiser with each step of life.
This leads to the following questions:

Where does community documentary and public health intersect?

Can community documentary, both in the process of its making and in its public screenings help define
what comprises public health?

And if creative art processes are included in the definition of public health, how do essential human needs
such as full body breathing come into play?
At Wings we are a community of diverse individuals, breathing together, creating together and learning to
understand each other as we work toward a common goal – that the Wings girls’ media is widely shared in the name
of the girls’ individual voices and in the name of social justice.
It all begins with the breath.
Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander
Integrating Full Body Breathing with Community Arts
5