Breathing and Pedagogy

I loved this simple idea in the ProfHacker blog today about using a minute of focused breathing to enhance the classroom experience. Here's an excerpt...
"So, inspired by recent research in the neurosciences about how the brain responds to even very simple breath practice, I decided to introduce one minute of conscious breathing into the beginning of each class meeting....I typically teach in the afternoon and my students are primarily working adults who commute to campus. By the time they arrive in my classroom, many of my students have either already attended two or three other classes, worked six or more hours at a job, or taken care of children and family responsibilities. Add to that an automobile commute of sometimes as much as 90 minutes each way, parking shortages at peak hours, and always-on cellphones, and you get a group of tired, wired, and often distracted students.
More often than I'd like, I myself arrive in class having just come out of a committee meeting, another class, or from rushing to make copies of a last-minute handout. Sometimes I'm tired and distracted too. Taking 60 seconds helps all of us set that stuff aside and fully arrive in the classroom and in the present moment. "
Read the full blog post here: http://chronicle.com/blogPost/BreathingPedagogy/26230/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en