MASARYKOVA UNIVERZITA V BRNĚ

PEDAGOGICKÁ FAKULTA

Katedra anglického jazyka a literatury

Usage of breathing, physical and relaxing exercises as daily tools for working with motivation and focus

during schooling

Bakalářská práce

Brno 2014

Vedoucí bakalářské práce: Vypracoval:

PhDr. Alena Dobrovolná Martin Winkler

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Prohlášení

Prohlašuji, že jsem svou bakalářskou práci zpracoval samostatně a užil pouze citované literární prameny, materiály a zdroje. Souhlasím, aby byla tato práce uložena na Masarykově univerzitě v knihovně Pedagogické fakulty a byla tak přístupná ke studijním účelům.

V Brně dne 4. dubna 2014…....................................................

Martin Winkler

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Bibliografický záznam

WINKLER, MARTIN. Usage of breathing, physical and relaxing exercises as daily tools for working with motivation and focus during schooling : bakalářská práce. Brno : Masarykova univerzita, Fakulta pedagogická, Katedra anglického jazyka a literatury; Vedoucí diplomové práce PhDr. Alena Dobrovolná

Acknowledgements

I would like to express sincere gratitude to my supervisor PhDr. Alena Dobrovolná for her

valuable advice, help and enthusiasm. Furthermore I would like to thank Mgr. Miroslava Vychytová

and other teachers for the most valuable help with the research and the practical part, Bc. Juliana

Tomková for her assistance with the photo documentation and overall support and, above all, all the

deities, Kami and gods that are making all that exists possible.

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Anotace

Bakalářská práce 'Využití dechových, fyzických a relaxačních technik při práci s motivací a

soustředěním během běžné školní docházky' se snaží zdůraznit význam dechu a relaxace při výuce.

Cílem práce je shromáždit dostupné informace k danému tématu, porovnat dostupné zdroje a

informovat čtenáře – učitele o problematice. Dále se práce snaží najít propojení mezi dechovými,

relaxačními a motivačními cvičeními a běžným školním prostředím a zjistit, jaký názor mají učitelé

a žáci na daná cvičení. Ve své práci téma představuji v teoretické části, po níž následuje část

praktická, sestávající z výzkumu a praktických cvičení. Výsledky výzkumu jsou porovnány a

vyhodnoceny na základě teorie obsažené v první části práce.

Annotation

The diploma thesis 'Usage of breathing, physical and relaxing exercises as daily tools for working

with motivation and focus during schooling' aims to emphasize the significance of breathing

patterns and relaxation during schooling. The objective of the thesis is to gather data on the topic

and to compare available sources while informing the target reader, the teacher, of the issue.

Furthermore the thesis attempts to establish a connection between the breathing, relaxing and

motivational exercises and the typical school environment while establishing what opinion the

educators and learners have towards the exercises. In my work I introduce the topic in the

theoretical part and follow with the practical exercises themselves as well as the research in the

practical part. The research results are compared and evaluated on the basis of the theoretical part of

the thesis.

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List of contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 61.0 Theoretical part ........................................................................................................................ 9

1.1 Objectives and the concept .............................................................................. 91.2 Importance of breathing patterns ................................................................... 131.3 A brief summary of mechanics of the breathing apparatus .......................... 161.4 Breath, learning environment and axiety ....................................................... 211.5 The educator - Dan Millman .......................................................................... 23

1.6 Introduction to exercises ................................................................................ 241.6.1 Health and safety ............................................................................. 251.6.2 Physical, breathing and relaxation techniques ................................ 271.6.3 Auto massage as a part of exercises ................................................ 28

2.0 Practical part .......................................................................................................................... 312.1 Practical exercises .......................................................................................... 31

2.1.1 Background behind the four exercises ............................................ 332.1.2 Exercise n.1 ..................................................................................... 342.1.3 Exercise n.2 ..................................................................................... 402.1.4 Exercise n.3 ..................................................................................... 432.1.5 Exercise n.4 ..................................................................................... 46

2.2 Practical observation ...................................................................................... 552.2.1 Background behind the practical observation ................................. 552.2.2 Observation n.1 ............................................................................... 562.2.3 Observation n.2 ............................................................................... 58

2.3 Survey methodology - questionnaires ........................................................... 602.3.1 Background behind the questionnaires ........................................... 602.3.2 Extensive questionnaire for teachers .............................................. 612.3.3 Short feedback questionnaire for students ...................................... 622.3.4 Limited questionnaire for teachers ................................................. 632.3.5 Evaluation and comparison of the results ....................................... 63

2.3.5.1 Evaluation - Extensive questionnaire for teachers ........... 642.3.5.2 Evaluation - Short feedback questionnaire for students ... 722.3.5.3 Evaluation - Limited questionnaire for teachers .............. 75

2.4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 76Resume ........................................................................................................................................ 78Key words ................................................................................................................................... 79Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 80Attachments ................................................................................................................................. 85

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Introduction:

The issue of motivation and focus during schooling has been a relevant one since the first ancient

teachers started to teach their ancient students. To this day it is one of the crucial tasks of the teacher

to work with focus and attempt to support her students in the terms of motivation (here it should be

stressed that throughout the thesis I use 'she','her' and 'hers', in place of both 'the student' and 'the

teacher', instead of the more traditional 'he', 'his' or 'he or she' simply as a matter of preference and

convenience). It has been proved repeatedly that the motivated learner who is feeling comfortable

and is willing to learn has much smoother and more significant positive results in the learning

process than the student who is uncomfortable and lacking motivation. During the past decades

there has been a significant number of works, books and academic writings on the topic of

motivation, stress and on how to support the students and help them learn. A substantial number of

known educators and experts in the didactic field (Harmer, Lightbown, Widdowson..), many of

which can be found in the bibliography of this thesis, have touched on the topic in their works.

There have been books and scholarly writings on how to motivate students, how to achieve a

healthy class environment, how to relieve stress and tension and on how to help students focus

during long school sessions. This thesis attempts to provide a different opinion and take on the topic

of motivation and focus using unconventional methods, teachings of American author and educator

Dan Millman, and practical exercises not often seen in traditional schools while trying to establish

connections between described methods and traditional approaches.

I (also referred to as 'the author' in the text) have chosen this topic for the bachelor thesis myself

mainly due to the fact that the theme of breathing, relaxation, stretching and meditative exercises lie

both within the fields of my interest and my expertise. I have been acquainted with Dan Millman, in

whose seminars I have participated in in the past, for a number of years and during my studies at

Faculty of Education I have repeatedly contemplated on how to conjoin his education methods with

classical schooling. There is a strong connection between the exercises and techniques of Dan

Millman and my own life experience since for over a half a decade I have been actively spending

time doing half-professional singing, both in a choir and solo, practicing Hatha Yoga, Tai chi and

'The Peaceful Warrior Exercises' with skilled lectors and learner groups and I have been generally

focusing on the state of my body and mind and its connection to learning process while closely

observing learners around me. This is relevant to the thesis since all of those activities mentioned

above are closely connected to breath work, breathing patterns and practical exercises and

workouts. It was during those exercises and sessions that I have come to realize the deep connection

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that exists between the inner state of a mind of a student, her breathing pattern and the amount of

tension and the results of a learning process. It is clear that just as the more motivated person learns

more easily that a person unmotivated, the student who is feeling comfortable, is focused and calm

has much easier job learning and memorizing the relevant than the one who is feeling stressed, tired

or aching. It would be almost impossible to argue against the fact that physical welfare of a students

plays just as important role in the learning process as the psychical, mental state of a learner. This

fact is supported both by the 2011 German study of University of St. Gallen and by D. Millman,

who repeatedly reminds the reader how important it is to feel well physically when doing mental

work and vise versa. I strongly believe that the correct breathing and stretching exercises directly

influence the one's ability to focus and learn. During the past years in the group sessions of Hatha

Yoga, Tai chi and other activities I have regularly observed that stressed students tend to learn

significantly slower and with more difficulties than those who are relaxed with minds at peace. And

since this fact does not apply only to martial arts or physical exercises but to all human doing,

including teaching and learning, I realized it might be beneficial to attempt to connect the specific

breathing and relaxing exercises with learning and teaching process. Every educator and any teacher

is aware of the fact that it is better for her students when they are relaxed and calm but rarely she

would practically work on it. It could be argued that educators tend to focus significantly more on

the sole process of teaching using intellect than on how the students feel physically and how can

that affect the learning process. Teachers would often hope that the students will stay relaxed and

calm enough during the lessons to learn properly and unhindered rather than actively strive to help

maintain the balanced state in which the best study results can be achieved.

During the research and the process of writing of the thesis a number of well-known authors have

been consulted. It would come as no surprise that the more recent works and books of known

authors such as J. Harmer, P. Ur, T. Hedge or J. Scrivener have been worked with along with the

works of D. Millman. However a great deal of comparison and information have been drawn from

older titles of perhaps less known authors such as E. A. Charlesworth and R. G. Nathan, whose

book Stress Management: A Comprehensive Guide to Wellness was published in 1982. It is clear

that the topic of motivation, stress and the ways of working with it during learning processes have

been relevant ones for a significant amount of time.

The objectives of this thesis are, due to the length and the scope of the background connected to

them, discussed and presented in full length and depth in a separate section at the beginning of the

first chapter (1.1). In regards to structure, this thesis consists of two major parts. In the following,

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shorter, theoretical part the objectives of the thesis are discussed in more detail, the teachings of

educator Dan Millman are presented complemented by the introduction of the practical exercises

(chapter 1.0). In the second, longer, practical part I describe the practical exercises and discuss,

report and contemplate on the experiments, observations and surveys connected to the topic

(chapters 2.1 – 2.3). The second part and the whole thesis concludes in the last section of the work,

the conclusion (chapter 2.4).

As mentioned above, this work consists of theoretical and practical part. Since the extent of this

thesis does not allow for deep theoretical comparison of classical 'western' didactic methods,

'eastern' educational methods and Dan Millman's 'peaceful warrior' methods, it focused mainly on

the practical aspect. Even though the opinions of Dan Millman on teaching and learning seems

relevant to me as the author it would be unwise at best to expect the target reader to share the same

feeling. It is because of this that an extensive research, practical experiments and multiple surveys

of opinions of both teachers and students has taken place and are discussed and presented in the

practical part. As said earlier in the thesis, the issue of breathing, exercise and its effects on one's

ability to learn lies within my field of interest and as such I plan to develop the topic further during

and at the end of my master's programme through the diploma thesis. Should an opportunity arise I

intend to devote a great deal of work to the theoretical field and comparison of known authors, their

approaches and methods with those less conventional (such as those from Dan Millman). The

purpose of this bachelor thesis is merely to introduce the topic and attempt to establish whether the

teachers and students in Czech schools would be even interested in such exercises and techniques

and what the general opinion on and what level of knowledge of the techniques and exercises is

among our teachers. What is more, the major part of the teachings of D. Millman are more of a

practical value than theoretical and thus it is only natural that the theoretical part serves as a

background and is shorter than the practical segment which carries the bulk of the thesis with the

exercises, experiments, questionnaires and conclusions.

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1.0 Theoretical part

You're never promised your next breath.

Lenny Kravitz

1.1 Objectives and the concept

The objectives of this thesis are numerous. In the first, theoretical part they are as follows: To

introduce the topic of breathing patterns and its effect on learning process. To introduce the

opinions and approaches of American author and educator Dan Millman. To establish a connection

between Millman's teachings and didactic and educational process. To introduce innovative

techniques and practical exercises that can be used in classroom environment.

In the second, longer, practical part the objectives are: To present in clear, simple and structured

way guidelines for the exercises so that they can be easily taken into practice by a teacher. To carry

out a research and a survey on teacher's and student's opinions on the topic of the thesis. To

practically test the presented exercises in real classrooms and observe whether the exercises and

techniques have an impact on the lesson and the learning process. Make a conclusion based on the

predictions and theory from the theoretical part compared to the gathered feedback and results from

the practical part. Based on those steps and objectives two main research questions could be

formulated: What is the attitude of learners and educators towards the practical exercises? Do the

exercises and techniques have any impact on the learning process?

Furthermore, there are two basic concepts behind this thesis that are directly connected to the

objectives: Firstly it is the fact that in traditional schools, where often frontal teaching of sometimes

rather excessive number of students takes place, the main focus lies on the learning process and the

state of student's mind, on an ability to remember and understand using intellect. Students are

encouraged to focus on what they do with their heads and brains solely and thus they are

memorizing, learning and understanding while often completely neglecting the rest of their bodies

such as muscles, backbone and spine nerve system or digestive and breathing apparatus. Teachers

are encouraged to support their pupils in learning, to try to keep them motivated and help them in

any way possible to learn what the curriculum asks them to. It is often a struggle because students,

especially during longer lessons or when in big groups, tend to feel uncomfortable, tired, bored and

thus unmotivated. An argument could be made that this disconnecting of physical and mental is

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bound to lead to undesirable consequences. In eastern societies this thesis would not come as major

surprise since this connection between the 'physical and emotional' is deep rooted in the culture and,

in fact, even in traditional schooling. However in the traditional educational environment the

tendency is to forfeit the physical part of a student and maximize the focus on the intellectual part.

This leads to both students and teachers ignoring the aches and pains of their bodies, ignoring the

physical frames that sit in classes, ignoring the tension that starts to build up during the long and

demanding lessons as well as ignoring the needs of fresh air, light and sufficient water supply. All of

this has a strong negative effect on the learning process and, more importantly, the motivation of a

student and yet it would seem that very few works dealing with motivation, learning and teaching in

schools concerns itself with this topic. Jeremy Harmer describes motivation as 'some kind of

internal drive' which certainly is the case however it could be argued that motivation is, at least

partially, also an 'external drive'. Harmer in his book The Practice of English Language Teaching

discusses the topic of motivation as a 'drive' to sufficient length. He describes two categories of

motivation: Extrinsic and intrinsic, later of which consists, among others, of physical conditions that

'have a great effect on learning and can alter a student's motivation either positively or negatively'.

(Harmer, 1991, pages 3-8) This hints at Harmer's awareness of an issue of physical conditions in

class however he chooses not to focus on the topic further. It is worth mentioning that even though

the author of such caliber would choose not to focus on the topic of physical conditions and

physical welfare of the students further he is still aware of the issue and lists it as one of the

important factors during schooling. (Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching, 1991,

page 5, subchapter Success in language learning) It would seem that even today a significant

number of schools employ the traditional frontal teaching in larger classes where both students and

teachers have grown accustomed to the pains, aches, shortages of breath and air and physical

troubles that they experience and they do not attempt to do anything about the problems since they

feel those are a necessary evil. It is clear however that it is most demanding to focus on the learning

process when feeling uncomfortable, stiff, dehydrated, sleepy or aching all over from the constant

sitting in an unnatural position on a school chair. It should be noted that many modern schools

employ alternative, new approaches other than the traditional teaching but even such schools could

benefit from the teaching of Dan Millman and the activities presented within this thesis.

Unfortunately it is not possible to fit all of those problems into this work and thus the focus lies

solely on the uncomfortable feelings, stiffness, pains, aches and problems with breathing patterns

while touching on topics of sitting patterns and feelings of anxiety. The issues of insufficient water,

light or flaws of energy field, which many scholars would rather believe does not exist, are not

discussed here despite their major and direct impact on everyday schooling.

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The second concept is based around the fact that the most demanding and stressful situations in

schools are often the moments of examination and tests. In a typical situation when a student is

asked to step forward and stand in front of a whole class the chosen student already feels

uncomfortable. It is exactly the moment when she is asked a question that she needs her brain and

memory the most. Unfortunately, since stress and feelings of anxiety that go together with such a

stressful situation dampen the ability of a student to think and remember what she needs, at that

moment the student often fails to recall the particular information. This effect is by Dan Millman

called 'brain suffocation' and basically describes the state when the brain needs the fresh oxygen the

most, either for intellectual or physical feat or test and does not get it due to the tension build up

within the body. It is exactly the stressful situation when the breathing pattern of a student changes

and the brain gets even less oxygen than before. It should be noted that the brain is not really

lacking the oxygen required for its proper biological function but the term brain suffocation is rather

a way of describing the moment when the person in such situation finds it difficult to think

rationally or produce results due to the stress and altered breathing pattern. Even if an average

student does breathe normally during the class to properly supply her brain with an oxygen and

feels relaxed, calm and ready to learn, at the second she is asked a tricky question or given a test the

breathing pattern shifts and the brain starts to 'suffocate'. Those moments of stress can be

devastating in the long run for both the younger and older learners and humans in general. An

argument could be made that this example leads only to limited exposure to stress and tension,

possibly once a school day or less. However a student is stressed repeatedly by various situations

and occurrences during a schoolday even though the stressors might not be particularly strong.

Charlesworth and Nathan write: 'Smaller stressors and briefer stress responses can add up to

hundreds a day. These can be parts of our lives that we hardly notice and almost take for granted.'

(Charlesworth and Nathan, 1982, page 4) The authors in this context refer to a working member of

modern society but schooling ought to be perceived as an occupation, work or a job of students.

Moreover, the whole concept of brain suffocation, the difference between being relaxed or stiff and

stressed relates to a different term - affective filter, which is discussed below. Any teacher of martial

arts, sport, physical education or any exercise in general will confirm the importance of breathing

and breathing patterns on one's ability to focus, learn and to provide results. Breath is directly

connected to heart rate, blood pressure and thus directly to emotions of a learner. It is a common

practice in some of the eastern countries to integrate a short physical, breathing exercises or

stretching activity into the classes to help students not to lose the connection between the body and

the mind. To help them relax and not to 'suffocate' prior to or in between exams. Thus one of the

topics of this thesis is to attempt to provide examples and guidelines as to how to achieve this

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connection and not to forget the physical welfare of a student that has so much to do with the

learning process.

The hints and confirmations of this important connection between the body and the mind can be

found in most of the well respected authors' works in some way or the other. For instance, Hedge in

her Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom in the chapter 1.3.3 Affective factors

rephrases Krashen and explains his concept of affective filter in her own words:

Krashen (1985) has suggested the notion of the affective filter. This is a representation of the way in which

affective factors such as attitude, anxiety, competitiveness, and other emotional responses can help or hinder

language learning. The filter can be imagined as a sliding barrier which moves into place when a student is,

for example, tired, dispirited, tense, or angry, and which prevents the processing of input. (Hedge, 2000,

chapter 1.3.3)

For the argumentation in this thesis the most crucial part of Hedge's text here is the effect of

anxiety, tiredness and other factors on the learning process. Even though the term coined by

Krashen - 'affective filter' does not claim too much attention nowadays it is a concept to which

many other approaches from different authors could relate. One thing is certain: The fact that the

effect of feelings of anxiety, fear or simply when the students are tired or sleepy have substantial

effect on their ability to learn and Hedge acknowledges this. Thus it is the main objective of this

thesis to attempt to highlight the issue that does not claim much attention in our culture and school

environment despite its importance.

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1.2 Importance of breathing patterns

Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.

Thích Nhat Hanh

To breathe in (to inhale) and breathe out (to exhale) is a fundamental skill of any human.

Breathing pattern directly effects the health, mind state, stress level, blood pressure, function of

majority of the inner organs, ability to focus or face strain and general well-being. Correct and

natural breathing ensures the brain and other crucial body parts are sufficiently supplied with

oxygen and thus can operate properly. In the modern age of anxiety and lack of physical labour, it is

most importantly brain that often suffers from unnatural and harmful breathing pattern. When

observing children during a game it is clear that they breathe naturally and normally. Without

negative stress and with an opportunity to move freely, stretch out and breathe in unhindered the

breathing pattern of kids is usually sound. In contrast to this under the circumstances of stress or

tension the breathing patterns become suffocated and strangled by fear, stress or feelings of anxiety.

The breath's ability to supply the body with oxygen it needs diminishes quickly when under

pressure. A constant worsening of breathing patterns and less healthy life style in general is

especially true for people living in the very fast and stressful 21st century when majority of the

population suffers from feelings of anxiety or stress on a daily basis. This, together with decline in

physical work, movement and exercise and the rise of cars, elevators and comfortable chairs leads

to majority of the population spending more time with unnatural, shallow breathing than with the

natural, proper one that uses the breathing apparatus to its full extent with minimal energy usage. It

is not however only the society and the 21st century causing this issue; the issues do develop slowly

during a lifetime of a person, since childhood, and often acquire the maximum devastating effect in

the adulthood. Throughout Millman's books an example of infant or a young baby is referred to

multiple times which is relevant to what has been discussed above. Millman says that when

observing a small baby one can observe that the baby breathes in and out naturally and deeply, its

belly bulging in and out, chest expanding. The breathing pattern and the whole body of an infant is

in harmony, not burdened by the situation or society. When scared however this natural healthy air

exchange ceases to exist if only for a very limited time. Children even when upset for a longer

period of time, when crying for instance, do not loose the ability to breathe in and out naturally. It is

during one's lifetime that one forgets the natural state of breath and more and more uses the tension

related high breathing (also referred to as upper breathing) which is discussed in chapter 1.3. The

recent rise in modern high breathing goes in hand with rise in unnatural, twisted sitting positions

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and body posture in general, Millman observes. Consequently it is the breath and physical welfare

of students that is often neglected in modern schools which contrast with the clear fact that the

breathing pattern as well as the physical state directly influence the student's ability to learn. It is

not only the above mentioned example of the student asked a question by the teacher in front of the

whole class ceasing to breathe properly, airway suddenly clenched and tight. It is also a case of a

student sitting still by her desk for hours, working intellectually, without properly breathing in to the

abdomen, supplying her body with oxygen it needs for the intellectual work. Another thing that

should be kept in mind is that it is during schooling when children sit at their desks and listen to

their teachers when they create and form patterns of behaviour, movement and thinking for the rest

of the life. This is nothing new and one of the main reasons the schooling occurs. However with

positive changes in children's behaviour and with beneficial patterns and new knowledge being

learned they are also susceptible to learning and creating harmful patterns. An example might be an

incorrect sitting position; student, collapsed in her chair and breathing almost entirely without the

help of diaphragm, develops a habit that can stick to her for the rest of her life. Should schooling

since early childhood help develop a habit of shallow unnatural breathing, should the breathing

apparatus and airway debilitates and brain gets accustomed to working with insufficient oxygen,

being that because of unnatural breathing pattern, collapsed sitting position or breathed out

classroom, then it is reasonable to suspect that similar habits will persist throughout the whole life.

It is generally understood that school ought to help prepare its students not only intellectually but

also to educate them in a fields of healthy lifestyle, humanistic approaches etc. and yet it would

seem from the practice that it is the healthy lifestyle, healthy breathing and stress management, that

is often lacking.

In the previous chapter an issue of stress caused by testing or asking students questions has been

introduced. That is a situation when a student subconsciously employs a natural breathing pattern

and her body functions are unhindered until a test or similar stressful situation is introduced. It

should be noted that the ability to cope with stressors in a class is different for each individual

student. Incorrect breathing pattern that many students (and adults alike) shift to when in certain

situation (sitting in a classroom or in an office) and not moving from the place sometimes for hours

is bound to impact the ability to think, learn and reach desired results. Charlesworth and Nathan

recognize this. In their Stress Management: A Comprehensive Guide to Wellness they have

expressed scepticism about students and working people alike being able to keep healthily prepared

for the stresses of a day. They underline how important it is to 'squeeze' an exercises, relaxation or

stretching technique into a stressful work or a school day. They warn that in response to stress, one's

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body often become tense. The tension accumulates and hinder one's ability to achieve good results,

especially during a long day. Even though it could be argued that Charlesworth and Nathan are not

accomplished educators nor is their work directly connected to teaching practice and thus their

remarks are not to be taken too authoritative, they do, however, raise issues that have a direct

bearing on the theme of teaching and stress and are worth quoting at some length:

When we are in good physical condition, we have a greater capacity to resist stress and strain. We react

more slowly and less drastically to environmental, physical and psychological stimuli. Physiologists have

repeatedly shown that a regular exercise program will improve endurance, reduce total peripheral resistance

in blood circulation, lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure, increase the inner size of arteries, increase

the number of capillaries, lower blood lipids and improve lung capacity and muscular strength.

(Charlesworth and Nathan, 1982, page 425)

Later in the chapter the authors stress that during a long taxing day at work, or school for this

purpose, an exercise have always a positive impact on the results even if the exercise takes some

time that would otherwise be used for working, or learning for that matter. Even if one cannot have

a proper exercise regularly during such a day, they say, at least a limited exercise or stretch is in

order. It is on this basis, among others, that the short practical exercises for classrooms are

presented in the practical part of this thesis. The quotation from Stress Management above

correlates directly with what Millman writes in his works. Exercise, including relaxing, stretching

or breathing exercises help resist and cope with stress and strain. Relaxed, active learner reacts less

drastically to psychological stimuli and a student who is overall fit, as Millman writes in Wisdom of

the Peaceful Warrior, have demonstrably and consistently better study results than a student

suffering from harmful movement patterns and breathing habits.

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1.3 A brief summary of mechanics of the breathing apparatus

Even though it is not in the purpose of this thesis to discuss and describe the breathing apparatus

and how the breathing works in detail, at least basic concepts are required. It is important to

remember that the processes of respiratory system and lungs are closely connected not only to blood

pressure, heart rate and digestion but also the function of hearth, abdomen muscles, pancreas, liver

and other body parts. The focus here will however lay mainly on the lungs and abdomen since those

are the most crucial for the understanding of practical parts of this thesis and the exercises. The

breathing pattern affects the body posture and vice versa and all of the mentioned body parts and

functions are interconnected. However, this thesis has allowance for discussion of only limited

number of functions and organs. What is more, this thesis is not a human physiology scholarly text

and consequently a number of more common terms instead of Latin ones is used in the descriptions

and later in the practical part so as to allow the potential teachers to understand more easily what is

the thesis discussing and describing.

When breathing in (which is often referred to as inhalation) it is the respiratory system doing the

majority of the work. The diaphragm (on which more below) tightens and contracts and by doing so

it increases the space in the chest cavity, where lungs lay, so that the lungs themselves can expand

and fill with air. As the lungs enlarge, the chest cavity gets bigger as well complemented by the

belly bulging out (to an extent which depends on the type of breathing), air travels through the

mouth or nose, through windpipe into the lungs and bronchial tubes that they contain. The

minuscule parts of lungs that hold the air are called alveoli and it is there where oxygen is taken to

the body by the blood vessels. At the same time, carbon dioxide which is a waste product of a body

is shifted and moved from the body to the lungs and to the alveoli so that it can be safely breathed

out.

When breathing out (often referred to as exhalation) it is the respiratory system together with the

rib cage muscles and the diaphragm doing most of the work. During the exhalation the diaphragm

relaxes and thus returns to its original space within the lower chest cavity from which it shrank

during the inhalation. The rib cage muscles also recede to reduce the space in the chest cavity. With

the amount of space within the chest shrinking, the air with more carbon dioxide and less oxygen

that has been gathered and stored for a short amount of time in alveoli is then breathed out from the

lungs through the windpipe and nose or mouth from the body. Both inhalation and exhalation can be

done in several ways with the bulk of work laying on different body parts and organs.

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Consequently, breathing in and out can, depending on the breathing pattern, suppress or assist

different body functions while required more or less energy depending on the type of breathing.

Professor Michael White from breathing.com describes two effects: hyper-inhalation and

hyperventilation. He describes hyper-inhalation as 'relaxing and energizing breathing' even though it

can be under certain circumstances forced and chest-based. He writes:

Bad breathing is over-stimulation (high chest dominant). When the faster breathing is predominately chest

it can still be somewhat appropriate but only in the sense that it resolves an immediate emergency and then

reverts back to healthy slower deeper easier balanced breathing as soon as the emergency is over. Within

seconds to a few minutes hopefully. Wild animals seem to do that (adapt and recover) much better than most

humans but humans can be trained to adapt by developing their breathing in optimal fashion. (White, 2013,

breathing.com, breathing-mechanics article, fifth paragraph)

It is exactly what M. White describes as high chest dominant over-stimulation that many students

experience during schooling. Particularly at times of stress and tension the shift from middle or

lower breathing, the hyper-inhalation as White calls it, to fast upper breathing happens almost

immediately and automatically. However this kind of breathing hinders the ability to focus, recall

and think as mentioned earlier and thus is not well suited for typical schooling environment.

Millman simply calls those two different breathing patterns 'deep breathing' and 'shallow breathing'

and in School of a Peaceful Warrior stresses the importance of not falling into the trap of shallow,

upper breathing that is becoming a staple of our age in every stressful situation.

To understand the differences between 'deep' and 'shallow' breathing patterns a function of

muscles deserves deeper understanding. Expansion and shrinking of lungs and the whole movement

of chest (in academic discourse often called thorax) are ensured mainly by breathing muscles:

diaphragm, abdominal muscles and inside and outside rib muscles of respiration. The capital role

between different breathing patterns, mainly lower or middle and upper breathing, is played by the

several times mentioned diaphragm muscle. Diaphragm is a dome-shaped sheet of internal muscle

that extends across the bottom of the rib cage and separates the upper part of the torso, chest cavity,

from the lower part. The extend of the movement of diaphragm is usually about 2-3 centimeters but

with shallow breathing this movement can be greatly reduced and on the hand greatly increased

during physical activity such as sport. In school environment where the students sit still, often

shrugged, collapsed and bend into unnatural positions for longer periods of time, the shallow

17

breathing with reduced diaphragm movement takes place. In attempt to improve the breathing

pattern of such student a special care should be taken to work with diaphragm. See Illustration n. 1

for reference.

Illustration n. 1: Diaphragm

There are two major kinds of breathing, here also referred to as breathing patterns: Costal, or

more commonly chest breathing (by some authors also called upper breathing) and diaphragmatic

or abdominal breathing (by some authors also called middle breathing) later of which is sometimes

divided further into 'middle' and 'low breathing'. Furthermore a special term here is so called

'clavicular breathing'. Since the practical part of this thesis revolves around those basic types of

breathing a short description follows:

Upper breathing

During chest or upper breathing an outward, upward movement of the chest takes place,

effectively creating more area for lungs to expand to. This movement is often accompanied by the

rise of shoulders as a result of the skeleton and the ribcage shifting position. The way the muscles

and lower and upper halves of the lungs work makes it so this type of breathing is not as effective

when resting or lying flat. One of the numerous but perhaps most important problems with chest

breathing is that the body needs more effort and energy to reach the same results as with the middle

breathing due to the fact that chest breathing requires more work to be done in lifting the rib cage in

opposition to exploiting the natural movement of the muscles. This extra work means that the body

18

uses up more blood oxygen and thus more frequent breathing occurs. Even though the upper

breathing has its uses, in modern day particularly during exercise, it is not appropriate for ordinary

day when walking, sitting, resting or walking slowly and it is not suitable for school environment

due to turbulent and disturbing effect it has on focus. Originally the upper breathing was meant to

provide energetic way of pumping the oxygen into body as quickly as possible during alerts or fight

situations. Another function of upper breathing is that shorter, shallower breathing helps the body

should it suffer an internal injury which under most circumstances is not the case in school

environment. Consequently chest breathing is most often associated with other symptoms of arousal

and tension such as fear or feelings of anxiety. The unsteadiness of the body connected to the high

breathing is directly connected to the emotional state of a student meaning that she experiences

unsteadiness of the emotions and mind in general and lowered ability to think rationally and focus.

Upper breathing can be often observed in classes especially of young adults and adults and

particularly in the stress situations. With this becoming a common sight and chest breathing

becoming more prevalent over time it may be difficult for a student to switch to middle or lower

breathing consciously. Thus a vicious circle is formed without the student realizing it: The student

finds it difficult to concentrate and focus due to the wrong breathing pattern which in turn leads to

difficulties in focus and student feeling uncomfortable. The student becomes unsteady, her inner

state turbulent and not suitable for the schooling environment and learning process.

Middle breathing

Abdominal breathing or middle breathing makes the most out of the dome-shaped diaphragm

muscle. Diaphragm, being pushed downwards providing more space in abdomen cavity so that the

lungs can expand, in particular the lower half of the lungs that has bigger air capacity. When

breathing out the diaphragm relaxes and returns to its original position naturally forcing the air from

the lungs out of the body without the extra effort and energy usage. Middle breathing is thus the

most efficient energy wise due to the greater expansion of chest cavity and due to the fact that the

lower half of the lungs that is prevalent with this kind of breathing is more effective than the upper

half (this is caused by a greater number of alveoli). Abdominal breathing also saves energy because

of the natural movement of the diaphragm. Less energy and oxygen is expended on the breathing

itself because expending diaphragm helps sucking the air to the lungs and expelling it back.

Furthermore, the rhythmical massage that the contracting dome-shaped muscle provides during

19

middle breathing for the rest of the organs in abdomen helps blood circulation and overall peace and

relaxation of the body. It has been observed repeatedly that breathing using diaphragm reduces

fears, feelings of anxiety and high blood pressure all of which have negative effect on the learning

process. The natural, rhythmical and deeper abdominal breathing leads to mental relaxation and

allows deeper focus while helping the mind to stay on the desired topic without losing motivation to

do so. Middle breathing is often associated with infants, babies and young children who still did not

have a chance to develop harmful breathing patterns. That is why more cases of incorrect breathing

can be observed with classes of young adult and adult learners. J. Friedman and N. Saunders say:

If breathing of small babies is observed, it comes clear that their bellies, their abdomens, are bulging and

getting bigger and a few seconds ago they fall and flatten back into the original position. The reason for this

is that the three quarters of what babies breathe in and out is done via diaphragm and not via lungs.

(J. Friedman and N. Saunders, 2007, page 21)

Clavicular breathing

Sometimes put together with upper breathing, clavicular breathing is based on drawing the

minimal amount of breath into the lungs in one in-spiration. This kind of breathing is accompanied

by a movement of rib-cage muscles which carries the bulk of the work instead of the diaphragm.

Similarly to the high, chest breathing, a significant effort must be subconsciously made in order to

breathe in and out. Breath frequency with clavicular breathing is usually faster than with middle

breathing however it has been observed that in situations when the person is passive (such as sitting

at one place for a longer period of time) the frequency and speed can slow down. Consequently the

body might suffer from slight lacking of oxygen - the small amount of air is still breathed in, at

slower rate, and a chunk of the oxygen is used for the breathing itself. Shallow, clavicular breathing

is harmful if used for prolonged time for it is the most superficial and least effective kind of

breathing. The problem with clavicular breathing is that it is similar to the upper breathing but,

while being more harmful and taxing for the body, majority of the people are unaware that their

breathing pattern is as such. As described above, the shift to the shallow breathing can happen easily

during longer periods of sitting still especially when the body posture is unnatural, twisted or

collapsed which is often a case in school environment.

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1.4 Breath, learning environment and anxiety

One way to break up any kind of tension is good deep breathing.

Byron Nelson

Unnatural and shallow, fast breathing is one of the typical symptom and consequence of fear and

feelings of anxiety and stress. Peter Owen wrote in 1966: 'No one has ever described the horrors of

illness called anxiety. Worse than any illness of body is this illness of mind for it's elusive and does

not cause sympathy.' (Peter Owen: The Journals of Anais Nin, London 1966) As established earlier

in this thesis, fears and feelings of anxiety have a significant negative impact on the learning

process and thus it should be in every teacher's interest to help her students in this regard. More than

one hundred years ago S. Freud wrote that all of the emotional descriptions have basis in feelings of

anxiety. Even though there are much more consequences of anxiety than just thumping heart or

sweaty hands during schooling, none of them can compare with the devastating effect that the

shallow breathing has on the learning process.

So far mostly situations that can cause stress and fear in the student were discussed. Giving

presentation or being tested in front of the others, when the correct breathing pattern is crucial, is

affected by the shallow upper breathing. It has been observed that the teacher often notices the fear

or anxiety and the breathing difficulties that the student experiences but rarely she will focus on

students breath pattern further. Despite all of this it is breathing during the calmer periods when

students simply sit still at their desks that is equally important for the learning process. Boredom,

sleepiness, lack of interest or apathy all depend, among other things, on the breathing pattern and

sitting position of the student. Upper and clavicular breathing described earlier being the top causes.

And it is through breathing and a manner of sitting that the teacher can dampen the negative effects

those harmful habits have on the students. This is supported by a fact that children up to eight years

old are often encouraged by their teachers to sit straight so that they do not 'collapse' into their

chairs as some young adults and adults would do.

It would be difficult to argue against the fact that the air in the classroom also effects the learning

environment. The difference between stiff and fresh air is even more important for classes where

dozens of students sit sometimes for hours. To allow students to be able to focus, think and learn to

the best of their abilities, the sufficiency of fresh air and oxygen is just as important as enough

water supply. The issue of water supply and the connection between drinking and learning is not

21

however the topic of this work. It is often observed that when teachers notice depression in student's

work or weaker study results they often search for the reasons among insufficient preparation,

absent mindedness, student not paying attention or students not interested in the topic. The teacher

would rarely blame the physical state and well-being of the students or the classroom environment

for the study problems. It is however insufficient air supply that can very well cause a number of

problems and even without students realizing it directly causing their study difficulties. Nonetheless

it should be kept in mind though that even when class is full of fresh air it will do little good to the

learning process when students do no breathe in properly. Long periods of sitting still and the

absence of movement and physical activity results, as mentioned above, in the practice of shallow,

upper breathing. It is argued by Millman in his School of Peaceful Warrior that those effects of

stiffness, sitting still unstretched and insufficient air supply can cause more harm to the learners

than not paying attention, weariness or genuine disinterest.

Yet it is not only Millman who writes about the topic of breath, anxiety and learning. An

extensive research of various works of various authors has been carried out with the result of

discovery of several authors tackling the issue. Tricia Hedge, the author of Teaching and Learning

in the Language Classroom, does touch the issue of environment of the classroom and its effect on

the learners several times throughout her book. In chapter 1.4 she gives several examples of

important factors that provide potential or constraint (for learning) one of which is: 'the physical

constrains of the classroom'. Hedge then proceeds with different topic but returns to the effect of

physical environment later in the book saying that the students have easier time learning if they feel

comfortable. Even though the authors like Hedge rarely go into depth when it comes to the issue of

physical welfare and physical environment of the students it is clear that they are aware of the issue.

Another point that should be mentioned is the beneficial effect of any physical exercise, not just

the breathing and relaxing exercises presented within this thesis, on mood and happiness. It is, as

Millman reminds us, in human nature to find enjoyment in their bodies and work and that is

especially true for young learners and students. Students at school are often deprived of physical

activities and thus even the little bit of exercise with their bellies, lungs and breath can help them

feel better, hence improving their ability to learn. As B.A. Luttman from the Orchard Vale

Community School found out after lengthy observations and experiments, the capacity of young

learners of elementary education raises dramatically after any exercise or an physical activity or

after a break during which they are allowed to go outside, run around and relax (2013). This further

highlights the importance of including some sort of exercise into the standard class.

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1.5 The educator - Dan MillmanCorrect body posture is a way of amalgamating with gravity (…).

Correct life attitude is a way of amalgamating with life.

Dan Millman

A significant portion of the ideas and opinions expressed earlier in this thesis have originated

from the books and teachings of one very special teacher – an American author and lecturer in the

self-help field mentioned in the introduction as well as in several places earlier. He published a

number of works on the topic of learning, self-improvement, exercise, breathing and meditation.

The works of Dan Millman are interesting and relevant to this thesis because they connect the

eastern philosophies and techniques of Yoga, Tai chi and many other exercises and philosophies

with the classical approaches and philosophies of the western countries. In the majority of

Millman's books he talks about the doctrine of 'The path of peaceful warrior' which consists of

several conceptions dealing mostly with physical and emotional welfare, learning, breathing,

meditation, various exercises and ways of dealing with other people and ways of improvement one's

life in general. Since Millman has been a tutor and a teacher for over thirty years his teaching is

very relevant to an average teacher on any kind of school. His predictions tend to be accurate and

relevant to the learning environment both in standard classes in state schools and in various courses.

Dan Millman's conceptions and opinions on how to improve teaching and learning in a particular

field or how to tackle a problem often varies from the standard approaches described by Penny Ur,

Scriverer, Harmer and other well-known authors and it is this difference that bears special

importance for what other way of improvement and progress is there other than testing and

comparing new strategies and approaches. He offers an alternative angle from which to look at the

learning process and attempts to conjoin the teachings of eastern cultures with those deep rooted in

America or Europe. It is not the purpose of this thesis to present Dan Millman or his teachings in

greater detail however his opinions and approaches are expressed on several occasions in theoretical

part be that direct quotations or paraphrases. The second, practical part of this thesis carries the bulk

of what has been inspired by Dan Millman with its exercises. See the activities and the background

for them below.

Apart of the term 'The path of peaceful warrior' mentioned above there is one more expression

coined by Millman – 'The exercise of peaceful warrior'. The workout is a whole programme that can

be found in multiple books dealing in self-help, training and performance and consists of between

23

ten and fifteen individual exercises most of which are in theory fairy simple and easy to learn. The

exercises that Dan Millman suggests as tools of working with improvement, energy, stress and

training have roots in Hatha Yoga, Tai chi and meditation but also consists of segments from Aikido,

Ninjutsu, Ju-Jutsu and others. Millman's exercises come from various sources but they all have

several aspects in common: They all work with physical and emotional at the same time, they all

focus on breath and breathing pattern, they are all devised to help relax and combat oneself rather

than other people and they all focus on improvement of the fundamentals and basics. Consequently

'The exercises of peaceful warrior' are not a form of martial art and rather a self-improvement

technique. The exercises presented within this thesis inherit this approach and under no

circumstances should the potential teachers be worried about the health and safety of their students.

See chapter 1.6 for more on health and safety.

1.6 Introduction to exercises

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

L. Frank Baum

This chapter introduces the exercises that are used throughout the whole second part of this

thesis. It deals with health and safety and the connections between the exercises and the typical

class environment. Lastly the chapter introduces the concept of breathing, physical and relaxation

techniques and the concept of auto massage that all play crucial role in the exercises themselves.

It should be noted that the chapters here describe and introduce the exercises of the author of this

thesis, not those of Dan Millman presented in his books. For the original workouts of Dan Millman,

not altered or changed for the needs of class environment, a reader would have to consult either

Everyday Enlightenment, Body Mind Mastery or other publication by Millman that deals with the

'Exercise of peaceful warrior'. Several exercises from this thesis are inspired by Millman's but

besides the inspiration they are new and presented only in this thesis. Those are Three breaths for

life and Fear not – auto massage. Others have been borrowed from Millman and slightly altered to

better reflect the needs of students and to better fit into classroom environment, those being Circle

out distracting thoughts and Antedate back ache.

24

1.6.1 Health and safety

As with any physical, active activity a teacher has to take great care in order to minimize the

potential of injury or any harm that could come to her students. Since the exercises from this thesis

are aimed at all different manners of teachers, being that teachers of elementary education, grammar

school teachers, university tutors or face to face 'one to one' tutors, it is imperative that they weight

the possibility of injury of their students. However, none of the exercises is particularly difficult and

should be safe to use even with larger groups of students in full classrooms. Original exercises of

Dan Millman's 'Peaceful warrior exercise' often consist of sweeping movements and actions that

require a considerable space and skill. No such requirements are the case for the exercises Three

breaths for life, Circle out distracting thoughts, Antedate back ache and Fear not – auto massage

that have all been devised or altered so as to suit conditions of a classroom where the frontal

teaching , possibly with a large number of students, takes place. During the experiments and

observations no injury was sustained by any of the students or the teachers and no major health

problems were encountered. However special care is required when dealing with the following

potential difficulties:

Chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma

Students suffering from asthma or any condition hindering the ability to breathe should take

special care when doing breathing exercises. It is expected that in most cases it would be possible to

ignore the instructions concerning the breathing in and out and focus merely on the relaxation and

physical part. For instance a student could still participate in the exercise number two (Circle out

distracting thoughts) when she would simply do three full circles on both sides disregarding the

breathing instructions. Similarly with exercise number four (Fear not – auto massage) the student

could do all the required movements and positions without breathing in and out as instructed and

breathing freely.

Spatial perception or stability issues such as dizziness

In rare cases it is possible that a student will get dizzy or sick while doing the exercises

(especially when doing the circular movement with her head). In such a case it is recommended to

either interrupt the exercise immediately and not push the particular student into participating or

allowing the student to sit down during an exercise in order to lower the chance of her falling down.

25

It should be noted though that all the exercises are supposed to be exercised in a slow, meditative

pace so that the possibility of injury caused by fall or hitting another student is minimalized. A

subject of closed and open eyes is worth mentioning though: In the exercises it is stated that should

students prefer to close their eyes during certain exercises there is not a reason not to allow them to.

Similarly if a student would rather have her eyes opened the whole time, it should not be a problem.

Sometimes a problem of dizziness or spinning head can be solved by opening or closing eyes.

Eyeglasses

It is expected that some of the students in class will be wearing glasses. They are advised to take

them off to minimize the chance of injury or damage to the glasses during exercises two and four

(Circle out distracting thoughts and Fear not – auto massage) however there is no reason why the

glasses should hinder the students in the other exercises.

Movement impaired students

Should a student have any physical movement disability, is unable to perform certain movements

or has difficulties to do so, such as when she is wearing a splint, have a part of a body in a plaster or

when she is on a wheel chair she is advised to alter the exercises to her own needs. Such as

remaining seated during the whole activity or just breathing in and out without the movement of

limbs or hips. There is no reason however not to introduce the exercises into a class with such a

student or students since even if the students were to experience only the breathing part of the

exercise without extra movement it would still prove beneficial.

Other difficulties and conditions

There are number of other conditions and circumstances that could collide with the exercises

such as pregnancy, severe cases of visual impairment or problems with spine and neck. In such

cases the responsibility is left to the teacher and common sense should be followed as well as the

safety regulations of the school. Pregnant student should for instance be advised to remain seated

during the exercise, in case of visually impaired student an instructions might need to be repeated

more times since such student would not be able to properly see the teacher demonstrating the

exercise and students having problems with their spines or necks ought to skip the parts when the

circling of the head or similar activity takes place.

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1.6.2 Physical, breathing and relaxation techniques

Stay calm and keep breathing.

Anonymous

As mentioned in the chapter 1.3 a proper body posture effects not only the emotions of a student

but also the breathing pattern and digestion among other things. And yet this part of life is

something teachers and people in general tend to ignore for the most part and notice it only when

they start to suffer from chronic pains and illnesses that are caused by neglecting the posture for

years. Millman in Wisdom of the peaceful warrior observes that the physical exercises are only just

as helpful as is the positive attitude towards natural body posture and a way in which they are

exercised. It is in the academic publication How languages are learned by Lightbown and Spada

that the authors repeatedly on several occasions write: 'Get it right from the beginning'. In most

cases they discuss the topic of teaching students and learning language in terms of structure and

grammar however an argument could be made that their favourite sentence 'Get it right from the

beginning' should be embraced by all the teachers in all the aspects of teaching and in various

fields. Such as 'getting the body posture and breathing habits right from the beginning' so as to

allow students to feel better and learn to their full potential while protecting them from possible

difficulties later in life.

Millman in Body Mind Mastery on page 76 writes that breathing and respiration is a key to the

emotional state because it both reacts on the level of tension and alters it. He continues saying that

should a student know how to re-spire she will also at the same time learn how to in-spire herself.

'Breathing is a bridge between the mind and the body' Millman states, and explains that meditation

works with a mind in such a way that the body is also relaxed. In other works Millman claims that

by working with body one stimulates and works with emotions and psychological self because of

the deep connection between the three. This also works the other way around: Relaxing exercises

work with the body and through that they relax and ease the mind. Various types of exercises and

martial arts demonstrate how closely connected those three centers are: physical center,

psychological center and the emotional one. All of those three alter the ability of a student to learn

and thus should be worked with during schooling as mentioned earlier. The exercise described in

the practical part of this thesis are devised in such a way so that they stimulate and work with all the

centers - physical, psychological and emotional.

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1.6.3 Auto massage as a part of exercises

Although it might seem that little of first three exercises from this thesis is connected to

massaging a whole exercise four is based around the approach and the concept of kneading and

relieving body parts. As established earlier, the physical state and potential pains or aches have a

direct impact on the mental state of a student. Working with different body parts and 'Fear zones'

(discussed below) with stretching and massages plays a significant part in all the exercises of this

thesis, not only the fourth one. In this sub chapter a topic of auto massages and the connection

between auto massages and breathing is discussed. Thus, even though massages and auto massages

are not a major focus of this thesis an auto massage in connection to breathing exercises can play a

considerable part in class environment and learning process. As Millman writes in his book

Everyday enlightenment: The Twelve Gateways to Personal Growth on the page 211:

Fear is introduced by a single thought, feeling, belief or anxiety and ends by eating through our body in a

form of accumulated tension and difficult or shallow breathing. One of the methods of fighting the fear lies

within the work on one's own physical body, on his cleansing of fear and feelings of anxiety. (Millman,

Everyday Enlightnment, 1999, page 211)

Millman elaborates on this approach further in the book and suggests auto massages as a

complementation to breathing exercises to fight the feelings of anxiety and fear that cause bad

breathing habits. Should those uncomfortable states and feelings of tension or pain that build up

during longer lessons persist they can lead to an effect called 'biological anesthesia', a term coined

by Millman to describe a state with lowering in physical activity and sensitivity and also, more

importantly, less mental sensitivity and lower adaptation to thinking and rationalization. What auto

massage does is focus on a stressed body part, tissue or a particular muscle and physically relief it

out its pain and tension. Auto massages are considered an excellent way of working with all three

centers: physical, psychological and the emotional one. During the creation process of this thesis

two specialists, tutors of Tai chi on Masaryk's University, Jana Šedivá and Mgr. Titus Ondruška,

Ph.D. have been consulted on the topic and both agreed that an auto massage plays a crucial role in

certain exercises while working with the centers. Moreover, it is Mgr. Ondruška Ph.D. who

repeatedly teaches the energizing auto massaging techniques as ways of 'waking up the body and

mind'. It is however a difficult topic when it comes to massages and what body parts ought to be

worked with. It is clear that in classroom environment not all massages would be appropriate or

even possible and a teacher employing auto massages as parts of her exercises should have

28

sufficient knowledge about the different body parts.

Exercises in this thesis focuse particularly on the already mentioned fears and feelings of anxiety.

As discussed earlier in the thesis feelings of fear and anxiety are connected to the breathing pattern

and body posture of a student, not to forget about the tension build up within the body during long

classes having negative effect on students well-being and focus. Thus an exercise number four

(Fear not – auto massage) is introduced in the practical part which works with massage and so

called 'Fear zones'. Millman in Twelve gates builds on research and thoughts of professor Oscar

Ichazo, whose works are not directly quoted or paraphrased in this thesis, and presents a list of so

called Fear zones where the particular tension converges. Fear zones being particular body parts

that tend to gather the tension that could lead to above mentioned biological anaesthesia. Millman

lists fifteen fear zones and the particular fears and feelings of anxiety connected to them (Everyday

Enlightenment, pages 212-213):

1) Feet – fear of natural behaviour

2) Calves and shins – fear of action

3) Knees – fear of death

4) Thighs – fear of inadequacy

5) Genitalia, bottom and tailbone – fear of sexuality

6) Pelvis – fear of living

7) Midriff, lower ribs – fear connected to digesting, eating, breathing

8) Ribcage and collar bone – fear of anger

9) Hands – fear of activity

10) Arms and elbows – fear of stress

11) Shoulders and armpits – fear of disappointment

12) Upper back – fear or losing self-control

13) Lower back – fear or failure

14) Upper back-bone – fear of ridiculing oneself in public

15) Head and face

Fear zone number fifteen on this list does not have any particular fear connected to it due to the

fact that Millman divides the head and face zone even further into ten other smaller sub-zones

which would be overly complicated and complicated for the purpose of this thesis. Suffice to say

that the head and face is interconnected mainly with fear of misunderstanding, anger, shame and

29

fear of disappointment.

The teacher that takes the exercises into her class should understand the concept of Fear zones,

auto massages and stretching since it plays an important role in all the presented exercises. It should

also be noted that it is not required to make students aware of the automasages. They can achieve

just as good results just with the knowledge that they are doing an exercise or breathing exercise.

Lastly a reasoning of why auto massages are used and not massages or other more commonly

known techniques. The reasons are numerous, some of the most important being time (auto

massages take considerably less time), space (auto massage can be done easily during frontal

teaching), hygiene (with student working alone) and safety (a student is unlikely to hurt herself but

could injure others).

30

2.0 Practical part

If you're desperate at the exam,you have two options.

Cheat or breathe in deeply.

Martin Winkler

2.1 Practical exercises

This chapter and the chapters following deal with the more practical part of the thesis. Even

though that all of the experiments have been carried out by the author and all the exercises,

questionnaires and pools have been devised by the author, a number of sources were taken

inspiration from. Most of the activities were influenced by those from Millman's books (Body Mind

Mastery and Everyday Enlightenment) as well as his 'Peaceful Warrior's Workout'. Furthermore

several different authors have been consulted (Stress Management by Edward A. Charlesworth and

Ronald G. Nathan, bachelor thesis Using breathing and relaxing exercises in the fitness by Bc.

Monika Románková and other literary and online sources). The sources of the exercises presented

in the practical part of this thesis exercises are numerous however the most important is the author's

lengthy training experience with singing, Yoga, Tai chi and other martial arts as well as Millman's

'Peaceful Warrior's Workout' as mentioned in the introduction to chapter 1.6 . The teaching and Tai

chi lessons of Mgr. T. Ondruška and J. Šedivá, who are reffered to earlier in the text, has also

contributed greatly to the presented exercises.

In this chapter a number of terms and expressions is used as well as a number of illustrations

displaying various segments of the exercises. Each illustration is clearly labelled and referred to in a

text. However, several terms are used in various places and thus for the purposes of simplification

they are introduced, together with the terms and expressions, below. It should be noted that with the

photographs the movements and positions have been exaggerated so as to better demonstrate the

particularities. In some photographs white markings highlight the important parts of a particular

illustration.

31

Upper breathing

Refers to breathing into and through the upper most part of the chest focusing on the top part of

lungs. See Illustration n. 2 on page 36 for reference.

Middle breathing

Refers to breathing 'into the belly' when the middle part of an abdomen bulges out. This kind of

breathing employs the diaphragm while trying to avoid breathing through upper lungs. See

Illustration n. 3 on page 36 for reference.

Lower breathing

Refers to breathing through the bottom most part of the abdomen. Lower belly bulges out as the

diaphragm contracts and moves lower. The point of conscious lower breathing is to highlight the

difference between breathing through different parts of a chest and help student realize the

difference between high and low breathing. See Illustration n. 4 on page 36 for reference.

Open and closed joint position

Every joint in a human body can be either in open or closed position. With almost every non-

stretching exercise an open position is preferred. With the exercises from this thesis a focus should

lay on the knee joints. To achieve the open state knees are to be very slightly bent. A difference

between open and closed position can be easily spotted by straightening the legs as much as

possible and then slowly bending them. There is a moment when the joints shift into the natural

position, beneficial for exercise and workout. Note that knees are bent very slightly, it is not the

purpose to overdo the movement and 'kneel'. See Illustrations n. 5 and 6 on page 39 for reference.

Natural breathing

Both inhalation and exhalation can be done through the nose and mouth alike however it is

recommended to breathe in via nose and breathe out through nose, mouth or both. However a

teacher practicing the exercise with her students is advised not to force students into a particular

way of breathing in or out and let them choose themselves.

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2.1.1 Background behind the four exercises

Conscious breath control is a useful tool

for achieving a relaxed, clear state of mind.

Andrew Weil

It could be argued that the research based practical part of a bachelor thesis lacks in relevance

simply due to the expected inexperience of the writer. To the defence of the research part of this

particular thesis H. G. Widdowson could be quoted. He suggests that the research work of non-

researcher, a teacher or possibly even a student can carry significant value and be relevant. He, in

his Aspects of Language Teaching at the introduction to the part of his book about pedagogic

research says:

Research is commonly taken to be the specialist and reserved occupation of theorists, an activity which is

carried out in detachment from the immediacy of actual events and requiring knowledge and expertise of a

kind which only academic intellectuals can legitimately claim to have. The activity yields findings which

have the weight of authority and the stamp of truth. This view […], led to an unfortunate separation of roles

which has proved damaging to the pedagogic cause: the researcher as the producer of truth on the one hand,

and the language teacher as a consumer of it on the other. (Widdowson, 1990, page 55)

The exercises were worked with in several different ways. Firstly they have been compared to

classical stretching and breathing exercises that can be found within many modern training

programmes, sports and martial arts. Secondly the exercises have been repeatedly tested with

various age groups so as to gather individual feedback and establish the potential hazards (discussed

in chapter 1.6). Lastly the exercises were taken into classrooms to be used by teachers who were

willing to participate in the experiment and the observations. Within this thesis the way the

exercises are presented and described has been altered to better suit the needs of an average teacher,

using the more common terms such as 'chest muscles' instead of 'pectoralis major'. Each

participating teacher was given full information about how to work with the exercises and then

choose which one to take into the class. Each of the following subchapters containing the four

exercises is structured in the following way:

Name – the name of the exercise that is used to refer to the exercise throughout the thesis

33

When – a particular time suggested for the teachers, when to use the exercise (eg. at that beginning

of the lesson, at the end...)

Introduction of the activity – a brief introduction of the particular exercise

Exercise [name of the exercise] – the specific instructions on how to execute the exercise

Details – in depth analysis of the exercise step by step

Extra notes – any extra relevant information

Theory – an explanation of the exercise to help teachers understand the processes behind it

2.1.2 Exercise n.1

You are where you need to be. Just take a deep breath.

Lana Parrilla

Name: Three breaths for life

When: At the very start of the lesson

Introduction of the activity:

In Czech Republic it is a common practice to have pupils at school get up from their chairs and

stand up at the beginning of the class when the teacher enters. This serves various purposes; not

only it brings the pupils' attention to the teacher and helps them realize that the break is over and

that it is time for a lesson but it also makes the students to move to their correct seats and calm

down. On top of that the activity has a purpose of calming the pupils down. Should pupils have

been running around the place during the break, those few seconds of standing up to greet their

teacher relaxes them a bit and lets them breathe out. On the other hand if the pupils have been

sitting still during the break, reading, preparing for the lesson or having a snack, standing up makes

them breathe in, stand straight and relax the tension that would otherwise start to build up in their

bodies should they sit for too long. It is only natural that teacher should press the advantage of this

'habit' of standing up at the beginning of the lesson even further and use this as an opportunity for a

short exercise aimed at taking those positive outcomes mentioned above even further.

34

Exercise Three breaths for life

1) Stand up straight, neck muscles, back muscles relaxed. Legs slightly flexed, joints in open

position (see Illustration n. 5 on page 39 for reference).

2) Breathe in once very deeply to the lungs – high breathing (see Illustration n. 2 on page 36

for reference).

3) Breathe out entirely.

4) Breathe in once very deeply 'to the diaphragm' – middle breathing (see Illustration n. 3 on

page 36). Do it in a way that the upper half of your belly bulges out.

5) Breathe out entirely, make sure you breathe out all the air including the one from your

diaphragm.

6) Breathe in once deeply 'to the navel' – low breathing so that the navel and the underbelly

bulges out as it fills with air. (see Illustration n. 4 on page 36)

7) Breathe out entirely.

8) Sit down.

35

Illustration n. 2 Upper breathing Illustration n. 3 Middle breathing

Illustration n. 4 Lower breathing

Details:

1) One of the most important rules, concepts, to keep in mind when aiming at relaxation or

exercising is to keep the knee joints open. As can be observed from the Illustration n. 5 on

page 39, the teacher aiming at the best possible outcome should always stay in this position,

not the closed position that is harmful to the overall flow of energy and relaxation shown on

the Illustration n. 6 (page 39). It is recommended that the teacher reminds her students to do

the same and especially prior to the first exercise with the class it is recommended that she

stresses the importance of having the joints open. After the first time it is likely that majority

of the students will keep this simple rule and the only thing that the teacher needs to do is to

36

keep the routine herself. The reason for this is that it is in human nature to imitate physical

posture of people around and thus is of utmost importance that the teacher's body posture is

correct. This tendency to imitate is particularly true for students in their teens and young

adults while not a one hundred percent rule for younger kids (who tend to move, stand and

breathe in natural balance before their environment or their lifestyle starts to alter this

balance) and adults (who on the other hand often stick to their routines and models of

movement).

2) With point two of Three breaths for life exercise the high breathing is the key term. As

described in chapter 1.3, high breathing is the kind of breathing using mainly lungs (in

contrast to lower, abdominal breathing). Even though it could be observed that high

breathing is most commonly connected to defence, anxiety or stress, it is beneficial at this

point of the exercise because it serves as a foil to a lower breathing that is soon to follow.

The theory behind this is that by consciously breathing in to the lungs (upper breathing) one

ought to develop better understanding of the difference between the upper and lower

breathing thus more easily distinguishing between the two. It is not in an interest of this

thesis to completely discourage students or teachers from using high breathing, it merely

aims at establishing connection between the two while keeping in mind that under very

specific circumstances both types have their place. As established in theoretical part though

the abdominal breathing ought to be preferred in the school environment in most cases.

3) The potential teacher employing this exercise at the start of her lesson is advised to keep in

mind that breathing out during this exercise is considered as important if not more important

that breathing in. This fact should be made known to the students considering the likely

possibility of them neglecting the importance of breathing out. Exhalation should not be

automatic and without second thought and is crucial despite the fact that is looks very

simple and irrelevant. It has been repeatedly observed that young adults focus more on

breathing in than on breathing out during all the exercises. This problem is further discussed

in chapter 2.2 but it should be noted here that the teacher has to stress while giving

instructions the importance of breathing out.

4) A viable help to those students that find this kind of breathing difficult, possibly due to the

very deep rooted bad breathing habits, when students employ shallow upper breathing the

vast majority of the time, would be to advise them to stand, rest their hand with open palm

37

on their bellies so that they can physically feel the movement of the belly. The point is to

make the belly bulge out and thus move the hand resting on it. This might not lead to the

perfect middle breathing but managing this still makes quite a considerable difference from

the shallow upper breathing and could potentially help students realize the difference

between the patterns.

5) As mentioned above and later in the chapter 2.2, breathing out is often neglected not only by

younger learners but by unexperienced people of all ages, while breathing in is often

exaggerated, often by younger learners and young adults. This exaggeration is sometimes to

a point when the exercise stops being a proper exercise and becomes a sort of 'blow up

contest'. The teacher employing the exercise as a class activity should mention this tendency

to the students. The fact is that breathing out properly is just as important as breathing in,

although it may seem at the first glance that breathing out is easy and automatic. As

described in the chapter 1.6, with many other exercises a care should be taken if a student

suffers from asthma or some sort of disability.

6) The difference between middle and low breathing is substantial. It has however been

observed (see chapter 2.2) that the learners often struggle to differentiate between the two.

The teacher is thus advised not to force the students to improve immediately and utterly and

instead remember that the main difference lies between upper breathing to the lungs and

lower breathing to everything else lower than lungs. Thus even if students struggle to

breathe precisely 'into the navel' the mere process of trying and the feeling of doing so helps

tremendously. Later, should the exercise be repeated throughout the course the teacher can

easily extend on the exercises and practise more. However the teacher should always

remember that the exercise's goal is to help students breathe out, relax and relieve the

tension and stress and not to stress them further by not being able to manage the exercise

perfectly.

Extra notes:

– While doing the exercise it is quite imperative to remain relaxed and not overdo it. It has

been repeatedly observed (as described in chapter 2.2) that especially younger learners have

tendency to overdo certain parts of the exercise. As example would serve bulging out the

stomach while breathing in so much that the back collapses in or, while employing upper

breathing to the lungs, trying to breathe in and fill the lungs with air so much that the

38

shoulders raise sometimes 5 centimeters. Both of those practices have negative impact on

the exercise as a whole and thus overdoing it and trying too hard ought to be avoided.

– When inquiring the teachers, that took part in the experiment with their classes, most of

them marked this exercise number one - Three breaths for life as what they did.

Theory:

Joining all three – high, middle and low breathing would result in 'complete yogic breathing'.

Although this not being the goal of the task there are other positive effects - on the student's psyche,

body temperature, blood pressure and mood among others. Deep breathing is one of the best ways

to lower stress in the body as established in the theoretical part. This is because when one breathes

deeply the body sends a message to one's brain to calm down and relax. And calming down is

exactly the thing that this exercise is aiming for – for stressed, agitated or nervous student will find

it very difficult to focus on a task given by a teacher and actually to learn anything. It should be also

noted that it is advisable for a teacher to join her students during the exercise. Ignoring the

possibility that if students were to do the exercise alone they could feel ashamed or silly, it is a good

thing for a teacher to participate since she, as well as the students, can suffer from stiffness or

harmful breathing pattern. Lastly, Three breaths for life is a good 'team building' activity when it

comes to student-teacher relationship. Any activity that students and their teachers share helps their

relationship by a small margin especially when the activity is not directly connected to the learning.

This is of course true for all the other exercises that the teacher and students can do together in a

class.

Illustration n. 5 Open joint position Illustration n. 6 Closed joint position

39

2.1.3 Exercise n.2

To control the breathing is to control the mind.

With different patterns of breathing, you can fall in love,

you can hate someone, you can feel the whole spectrum of feelings

just by changing your breathing.

Marina Abramovic

Name: Circle out distracting thoughts

When: At the very start of the lesson

Introduction of the activity:

This activity is similar to the first one in its purpose and the time when it happens in class but at

the same time it varies in process and tools. Not only that, activity Circle out distracting thoughts

has its aims slightly shifted. This time the main goal is not to help relieve the stress and ease the

shift from break to lesson but to scatter various thoughts that can be filling the learners' heads and

that are completely unrelated to the study task ahead. This being said, activity number 2 can either

be used at the very beginning of the lesson in place of the first activity Three breaths for life but

also anytime during the lesson when the teacher wants to start a new topic or a task unrelated to

previous one. The idea behind this exercise is that while students focus on relaxing exercise and

circling their heads while focusing on their breathing, they do not continue thinking about the now

redundant thoughts (connected to the preceding topic for example). By doing this exercise the

students clear their heads in a sense of forfeiting what they have been thinking of a couple minutes

ago and prepare their brains and minds for a new task or topic. It should be noted that this is not the

only positive effect of the exercise; as established in the theoretical part, relaxing neck muscles and

breathing slowly and deeply has a multitude of positive benefits on one's ability to focus and learn

not to mention that stretching during long sitting session anticipates, counters and eases the neck

and back ache. Pain or feelings of tension are very common even with younger learners (as

observed during the experiments, observations and as confirmed by findings of B.A. Luttman) and

they have negative impact on their ability to learn. This exercise can be done either standing or

sitting; should teacher choose to employ this activity at the very beginning of the lesson, students

should be standing up as noted above in exercise number one. Should this activity be employed

sometime during the lesson itself to separate different topics or parts of the lesson, students can

remain seated and just make sure they sit straight and relaxed as noted below. The final decision lies

40

on the teacher as both variants are equally valuable.

Exercise Circle out distracting thoughts

1) Either stand up straight, neck muscles, back muscles relaxed, legs slightly flexed, joints in

open position or sit straight without your back leaning against backrest. In the second

scenario make sure your nape and shoulders are relaxed and there is little or no tension in

shoulder and back parts.

2) Let the head drop backwards so that you look up. Do not force the movement in any way

and let the gravity and the weight of the head to do the movement.

3) Keep breathing in slowly, deeply and without interruption until your head finishes three full

circles clockwise; ending position is the same as the starting one – looking up, head dropped

backwards.

4) Exhale all the air from your lungs and at the same time let the head drop forwards down on

your chest. Do not force the head – let it fall naturally. During the movement of the head do

not force it in any way, use its weight and gravity to do the stretching for you.

5) Breathe in slowly, deeply and without interruption like the first time but this time the head

travels anti clockwise. Three full circles while slowly breathing in. As with the first instance

of head turning do not use force and let it happen naturally. The ending position is looking

up, head dropped backwards.

6) Breathe out entirely and again let the head drop forward so it falls towards your chest.

7) Look up straight and finish the exercise.

Details:

1) In some circumstances, especially with older students and adults it is possible to let the

students make a choice concerning standing or sitting during the exercise individually on

their own although this is not advised with casual classes and younger learners. In such

situations all of the students and the teacher should be either standing or sitting.

41

2) The key phrase here is 'let it happen'. This is often repeated in various meditation, Tai chi or

Yoga classes as well as in Dan Millman's books. The meaning essentially is that the person

doing exercise should not be forcing the movement but rather just starting it and leaving the

gravity and the body to do the movement itself. In this case all that is required is to lean the

head backwards a little and it ought to drop back itself. However, as mentioned in chapter

1.6 Health and safety it might be difficult, painful or dangerous to do so for some people. A

special care should be taken if students are after accident or injury or when they have back

or neck problems. As with all of the exercises discussed in this thesis; should the student or a

teacher feel pain while exercising he or she ought to stop immediately and either skip the

particular part of the exercise or finish the exercise entirely.

3) It is not one hundred percent required to finish the full three circles with the head while only

breathing in once. Although this is the proper way of doing the exercise it is likely that un-

experienced student will either run out of lung space before he finishes the circles or finish

all three circles when only partially breathed in. In such cases it is sufficient to keep

breathing in and out slowly, deeply and naturally while finishing the circles.

4) During the observations it has become clear that breathing out is of a no difficulty to

students. It should be noted though that the same principle of 'let it happen' as described

above also applies here.

5) Hh

6) Setting an ending position is just as important as starting from the correct position and

students should be asked by the teacher to always keep the starting and finishing positions in

mind. The reason for this is that the positive effects of the exercise can be greatly diminished

should the student finish or cut off the exercise in unnatural, twisted or tense position.

Extra notes:

– During this exercise keep teeth together but do not fasten them.

– At all times shoulders must not be stressed and should not move, only the head, neck and

nape moves.

– Some students can be more comfortable doing the exercise with closed eyes. That is, as

mentioned in the chapter 2.1.1, fine and the students ought to be encouraged to keep their

eyes open or shut however they prefer.

42

– Some students and teachers can have difficulty with turning head backward; the top part of

spine connected to neck can be blocked or otherwise difficult to move. In such a case it is

important not to force the head back due to the serious injuries that can be caused by doing

so. Under no circumstances force the head into unnatural or painful positions. It is a viable

option to make only half-circle movements with the head instead of full circles, should

twisting the head back is found to be painful.

Theory:

This activity is one of the most universal exercises that the teacher can take into her class. It can

be used to a great extend at the beginning of the lessons, in between or as a finishing activity to let

students relax after a session. Most of the theory behind it and the benefits have been discussed

earlier in the thesis. The whole concept of 'replacing the old thoughts with new ones' (mentioned

above in the Introduction of the activity) comes from the Tai chi and Yoga classes as well as from

Millman's warrior workout and is based on the concept of the 'memory of a mind' connected to the

'memory of a body' (terms used in both Tai chi and Yoga practices). It has been proven countless

times that there is a connection between the physical and mental memory and that starting a new,

possibly demanding, physical activity helps the person forget the preceding thoughts and similarly,

starting to deeply meditate or think about a new intellectual topic, causes previous physical feelings

to evaporate.

2.1.4 Exercise n.3

Breathe and learn. Nothing else is required.

Zen saying

Name: Antedate back ache

When: After a period of sitting still, especially during 2 hour sessions

Introduction of the activity:

This is another simple activity introduced by Millman in his School of Peaceful Warrior but is in

its simplicity used in some form in almost every physical training programme. Exercises very

43

similar or even the very same are part of traditional warm-ups that happen in sport teams and

schools, are part in one way or the another of Yoga, Tai chi and many other martial arts. Like the

other activities presented in this thesis the lack of personal space in classroom for individual student

is taken into consideration. This being said, the activity Antedate back ache requires very little

space and is well suitable for even big groups of students in small classrooms. The main idea behind

this activity is that sitting still for too long tires the neck and back muscles and this is especially true

in schools where more often than not students sit in unreasonable, twisted, unnatural positions for

an extensive amount of time. As established earlier, physical comfort has a strong link to the

process of learning and thus it should be every teacher's goal to try to make sure his or her students

are feeling as comfortable as possible, thus having better predispositions to learn. Twisting and

relaxing the hips and lower back stretches spine and relieves tension build in back muscles so that

learners are not hindered by uncomfortable pains, aches or other outcomes of tiredness and

stiffness.

Exercise Antedate back ache

1) Stand up straight, neck muscles, back muscles relaxed. Legs a bit apart and slightly flexed,

joints in open position. See Illustration n. 5 on page 39.

2) Breathe in slowly while carefully circling three full circles with your pelvis to either side.

3) Breathe out slowly and gradually while making three circles to the other side.

4) Sit down.

Details:

1) It is of utmost importance, more so that with other exercises, that the knee joints are in open

position. The topic of open and closed joints is discussed above at the introduction to the

practical part of this thesis.

2) The circular movements are to be achieved by the movement of pelvis, not stomach or

abdomen.

44

Extra notes:

During the exercise it is recommended that hands lean and rest on hips. Head, while relaxed, is

not moving during the exercise, it is just hips and legs that are in motion. Some attention ought to

be paid to the head and shoulders so that they don't move and float. Although this does not mean

that the student should keep the neck or back muscles clenched and tense. One of the challenges of

the activity number three Antedate back ache is to find the proper balance between relaxing the

body while controlling it. Even though this exercise may seem much shorter and simpler than the

others it is just as important and beneficial as the other ones while having its own subtle difficulties

and challenges. Dan Millman calls the exercise which Antedate back ache is based upon 'Elvis

Pelvis' which might entertain the students as, after mentioning the name, has been observed from

the experiments. This interesting and entertaining fact might be beneficial due to the fact that the

exercise, as well as all the other exercises, is a way of relaxing in schooling environment and

enjoying oneself. The teacher employing any of the exercises from this thesis is encouraged to

maintain positive atmosphere and not be too serious about the exercises. As mentioned several

times, doing exercise should not be stressful for the students but fun and relaxing experience that

they can enjoy.

Theory:

Both the exercises 'Elvis Pelvis' and Antedate back ache carry a substantial number of benefits to

the learner. Especially during schooling, in classroom environment, this unique combination of a

workout, stretching and breathing exercise is beneficial for the students of all ages. Firstly it is the

effect on stiffness and tension that builds up during the time the student sits still at her desk. As

mentioned above, the accumulated tension makes the student uncomfortable and hampers her

ability to focus properly. Secondly it is the positive effect on digestion, lower back and pelvis. The

former being clear since the digestive apparatus gets exercised and stretched and thus it helps the

student to better process the food she has eaten or, if meal is yet to come, helps relax the digestive

apparatus and helps future digestion. During the experiments and fieldwork one young student

pointed out that this is a very good thing because: 'We need encouragement to eat the food from our

school canteen.' The latter, that is the positive effect on the lower back and pelvis, is true especially

for students that sit still during the whole mornings and can feel pain and ache in the pelvis and

lower back. Lastly it is the positive effect on the overall energy field of the student. Although the

topic or energy is not discussed in this thesis it is clear that it plays some role; even if the students

45

simply enjoy the exercise Antedate back ache, possibly due to the nature of the movement, they feel

better and thus are better prepared and tuned for the learning process.

2.1.5 Exercise n.4

Sitting in class taught me one thing - how to breathe deeply.

Martin Winkler

Name: Fear not – auto massage

When: Before a difficult activity or a test or any other stressful situation

Introduction of the activity:

This activity is based on theory from the theoretical part and mainly chapter 1.6.3 from where the

idea of auto massages and their possible combinations with breathing techniques to create a

combined exercise originates. Exercise Fear not – auto massage is designed to relief the stress and

feelings of fear that build up in the body. Although the other three exercises also work with the fear

zones neither of them is revolving around the concept like this one. As established in the theoretical

part, the importance of relieving the stress and tension is especially true prior to a stressful situation

in schooling such as test, translation, listening test or dictation. Learners' ability to focus and show

what they know in such situation is often hampered by the feelings of anxiety, stress and various

versions of so called 'exam fever'. Even though this activity can be used in different circumstances,

such as to let students relax after a long period of writing, its main purpose lies in preparation for

testing. The main nemesis and the target of this activity is the biological anesthesia mentioned in

chapter 1.6.3 . This build up tension, to which the student is particularly vulnerable in stressful

situation, partially shuts down particular body parts and hinders the ability to focus and thus creates

an unfavorable learning and testing conditions. Prior to a difficult schooling experience such as

testing the student should be maximally comfortable because any major discomfort has negative

impact on the student's results. Uncomfortable conditions are caused by various effects some of

which can be negated by the techniques described in this thesis. As described earlier in the thesis the

harmful conditions can consist of many different factors, such as hunger or thirst, biological needs,

too high or low temperature in a classroom or pain, aching or stiffness. Fear not – auto massage

aims to assist with the last item on the list while calming the student down by employing a simple

46

breathing exercise. This activity thus combines the positive effects of breathing exercise, discussed

in chapter 1.6.2 of preceding activities one, two and three with calming, relieving and helpful

effects of auto massage. In connection to learning process and feelings of anxiety and stress due to a

testing situation the following fear zones should be taken into account: hands (connected to fear of

activity), arms and elbows (fear of stress), shoulders and armpits (fear of disappointment), lower

back (fear or failure) and head and face (particularly the fear of misunderstanding and

disappointment). The topic of fear zones is discussed in greater detail in chapter 1.6.3 at the end of

theoretical part.

Exercise Fear not – auto massage

1) Sit straight but in a comfortable position. If your chair has backrest (which is likely in a

classroom environment) make sure you have some space between your back and the

backrest. Do not lean on the backrest, sit straight, looking forward. See Illustrations n. 7

below.

Illustration n. 7 Natural sitting position

2) Start massaging your lower back while breathing slowly. See Illustrations n. 8 and 9 and

Details below.

47

Illustration n. 8 Lower back finger massage Illustration n. 9 Lower back knuckle massage

3) Breathe in and out deeply (lower breathing) with your hands resting on your lower back so

that you can feel the air entering and leaving your body.

4) With your right hand give a massage to your left arm and then vice versa. Breathe normally

and massage both the flesh, bone and elbow. See Illustrations n. 10, 11 and 12 and Details

below.

Illustration n. 10 Arm massage with thumb

Illustration n. 11 Arm massage with fingers

48

Illustration n. 12 Pressing the sides of an arm

5) Breathe in deeply while rubbing your hands quickly to generate energy and heat.

6) Rub and massage your shoulders and the scruff of your neck while slowly breathing out. If

you run out of breath proceed breathing slowly and deeply.

Illustration n. 13 Neck massage

7) Again, breathe in deeply while rubbing your hands quickly to generate energy and heat.

8) Start massaging forehead with your hands while breathing out deeply and then when

running out of breath continuing with normal calm breathing. Massage forehead,

superciliary ridges and finally temples.

49

9) Massage your ears, both earlobes and the upper part. Notice the warmth and energy surging

through your ears and your whole body.

10) Lean back and finish the exercise.

Illustration n. 14 Collapsed sitting position Illustration n. 15 'Overdoing it' sitting position

Details:

1) In a case there is no school board or backrest on chair do proceed with necessary changes.

By sitting straight but in a comfortable position a position that is comfortable yet healthy is

meant. Sitting too straight, forcing the body to unnatural 'over healthy' position, raising your

shoulders etc. is not desirable (see Illustration n. 15 above). On the other hand sitting too

relaxed, collapsed on the chair is just as harmful for the exercise (see Illustration n. 14

above). Collapsed frame to which many people are used to shorten the breathing patterns

and makes some parts of the massage very difficult if not impossible to do. The middle

ground is the key and the teacher ought to stress this out, complemented by illustration.

2) At this point there are two main ways of massaging. One can either use his or her knuckles

and carefully apply pressure on the lower back muscles or not use knuckles at all and instead

do the massaging with fingers. Should the latter technique be chosen the thumb is advised to

50

serve as a holder and support with the other four fingers massaging. See Illustrations n. 8

and 9 on page 48 for two possible variants) .

3) At this point of the exercise the lower breathing is employed. See chapter 1.3 in theoretical

part for further information and Illustration n. 4 on page 36 for reference. In case of any

other pattern of breathing than the lower pattern, such as upper or clavicular breathing, the

student is unlikely to feel the difference in breathing in and out with her hands resting on her

lower back. Breathing in should be thus made in a way that the muscles touching the fingers

extend and bulge out. Should the students struggle with this kind of breathing a helpful

advice can be provided by the teacher suggesting to the students to try to breathe in deeply

without the focus on belly and diaphragm but not to breathe into the lungs. When the student

attempts to breathe in and consciously tries to 'ignore' the lungs, the air will be naturally

stored in a lower sections of a body hence leading to lower breathing. It should be noted that

not using the lungs is impossible and lungs are always used while respiring but this notion

of 'ignoring' the lungs could help the students achieving lower breathing.

4) While massaging arms a number of approaches can be taken and a number of techniques can

be employed. You can either rub the inner part of your forearm and do so with thumb using

the rest of the fingers for support (see Illustration n. 10 on page 48) or grabbing the forearm

from behind and massaging the inner part with other fingers (see Illustration n. 11 on page

48). Furthermore the focus of can lay on the elbows that can be massaged mainly with

thumbs and the other fingers. Another technique consists of pressing and squeezing the sides

of the arm thus relaxing the skin and muscle beneath (see Illustration n. 12 on page 49 ). If

nothing else even rubbing the arms with open palms, in such a way that a person shivering

from cold would do, is possible.

5) This serves not only as a preparation for further parts of the exercise when the energized and

warm hands will be required but it also serves as a form of self massage for the palms,

pressing and rubbing them against each other.

6) It is possible to massage the shoulders with their corresponding hands; eg. right hand for

right shoulder and left hand for the left shoulder (see Illustration n. 16 on page 52) or,

alternatively, do the massaging criss-cross; eg. massage the right shoulder with the left hand

and the left shoulder with the right arm (Illustration n. 17 on page 52). It is also relevant to

51

note that at this point of the exercise two crucial parts of the body ought to be massaged and

relaxed: Not only it is the shoulders but also the scruff of the neck (see Illustration n. 13 on

page 49). The teacher should stress out or at least keep in mind the importance of

consciously relaxing the neck at this point due to the fact that massaging and relaxing neck

full of tension is impossible.

Illustration n. 16 Shoulder Illustration n. 17 Shoulder massage corresponding massage criss-cross

7) hide?

8) 8) Again, multiple versions of the massage can take place. The face massage can be either

carried out using the index, middle and ring fingers or, alternatively just thumbs using the

rest of the fingers for support or even using knuckles. The similar applies to the temples that

can be massaged either with thumbs, with knuckles or alternatively with all the fingers.

Illustrations n. 18 and 19 below show two recommended methods. While massaging face it

is especially important to take great care not to hurt or injure eyes. Students wearing glasses

ought to be advised to take them off for the exercise.

52

Illustration n. 18 Massaging temples with knuckles

Illustration n. 19 Massaging temples with thumbs

9) It is recommended to end with the massage of ears as it leaves the student with warm,

pleasant feeling that persists when the student proceeds with her work. In classroom

environment it is most imperative to take heed of earrings. Similarly to the glasses, students

and teachers alike are advised to be especially careful and consider taking the earrings off.

Extra notes:

Although this exercise can be finished in a short amount of time as is the case with all the other

exercises presented and discussed in this thesis, it is the Fear not – auto massage that is in the

biggest danger or prolonging. Longer list of activities and several spots to massage can not only

make the exercise longer and thus taking up more valuable time from the class but it can also, due

to the complexity and the nature of the exercise, be quite daunting and confusing for inexperienced

53

student even teacher. For this reason two pieces of advice ought to be taken into account: Firstly it

is possible to simply ignore a part of the exercise, such as massaging the arms (point four above) or

massaging the shoulders (point six above) in order to shorten the exercise and make it more

accessible and less confusing and demanding when it comes to structure. On the other hand it could

be argued that the teacher, who knows the activity to a sufficient extend, exercises together with the

students so that they simply follow her instructions and example thus circumventing the difficulties

coming from the length. Secondly a teacher is advised to contemplate on the state of her class and

whether the class would enjoy such an activity. It is of a possibility that one of the other activities,

such as the activity number one Antedate back ache, activity number two Circle out distracting

thoughts or activity number three Three breaths for life, is employed first in the class in order to

gather feedback and see the reactions of the students and only then, perhaps later in the courses,

focus on this exercise Fear not – auto massage for it is arguably the most advanced of the four.

Furthermore it could be argued that the points five and seven, describing the rubbing of hands in

order to generate and gather energy and warmth, are mere filler activities and could be omitted in an

attempt to shorten the length of the exercise or gain more room for the other, seemingly more

important, parts of the exercise. This argument however is valid only to a point when the teacher

chooses to ignore the practice and theory of energy and energy flow. The topic of energy is not

discussed within this thesis however it cannot be denied that energy has an effect on any activity,

particularly the activity connected to exercise such as this. Moreover, even putting aside the fact

that points five and seven help to feel students better via energy fields, it is clear that the warmth

has soothing and relaxing effect on the students. What is more the sole process of rubbing hands

quickly against each other, as described in points five and seven, has been reported to be very

enjoyable by the students. The possible reason for this fact could be that the physical activity

requiring considerable amount of energy wakes students up and breaks in a refreshing way the

routine of the school lesson.

Theory:

This exercise has been specially tailored for the needs of an upcoming stressful situation. For

casual lessons when students are not particularly stressed some of the other activities could be in

preference. It is however the time of examination, trials or for instance the very end of the school

year when this activity provides much needed antidote to the devastating effects of fear of failure

and feelings of anxiety that the students can feel.

54

2.2 Practical observation

I'm obsessed with fresh breath.

Ryan Seacrest

2.2.1 Background behind the practical observation

This chapter consists of notes and evaluation of real life practical experiments and observations

that haven been carried out by the author; complementing the major part of the research work

consisting of survey and questionnaires a number of practical experiments have been undertaken.

The experiments listed in this chapter, the experiment from the 31th of January and the experiment

from the 3rd of February, are supplementary to the rest of the data that has been gathered and

should provide some insight into the practice of exercises. Each of the two experiments discussed

here is organized into five parts in a following way:

Date – stating when the experiment took place

Target of observation: – stating in what manner of class the experiment took place and what the

approximate age of the students was

Plan and predication – stating what the thoughts of the author are prior to the experiment and what

the predicted outcomes might be

Experiment summary – stating in a clear way how the experiment proceeded, what has happened in

the class and how

Conclusions – stating the final conclusions and thoughts of the author as well as the comparison to

the theoretical part of this thesis and predictions

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2.2.2 Observation n.1

Date of the experiment: 31st of January 2014

Target of observation: a class of young children around the age of 8

Plan and predication:

The class that the experiment number one takes place is a class of young learners. Approximate

age of 7 to 9 years old means that the reactions of the pupils are bound to vary greatly from the

reactions of older students, young adults and adults that are worked with in other parts of the

practical part of this thesis. As this work aims at testing the approaches discussed in this thesis with

various age groups and under various circumstances, this experiment from the 31st of January

proves to be vital for the feedback. Information gathered from young learners can be later compared

to the feedback from the older learners. With this experiment it is expected to work with the kids at

the very start of their lesson for approximately five minutes. During that time the activity number

two Circle out distracting thoughts will take all of the focus. Circle out distracting thoughts has

been chosen for this class because its simplicity is better suited for very young learners. The fact

that the exercise takes place at the very beginning of the lesson is also beneficial because it would

not be preferable to affect the lesson flow and teacher's lesson plan more than is necessary. During

the lesson the observer is staying in the class to note down any specific behaviour. At the end of the

lesson the children will be asked for their opinion on the exercise via the questionnaire (see chapter

2.3.3) and orally. Although it is expected that the class will cooperate it is important to count with

certain level of misbehaviour and/or disinterest.

Experiment summary:

Right after the class started the teacher explained to the kids that the lesson will open with a little

exercise in which everyone, including the teacher herself, will take part since it will be the author of

this thesis giving the instructions. The author then followed by quick introduction explaining the

importance of correct breathing and its positive effect on learning. It is intriguing to note that the

class of 8 year olds found this information particularly funny possibly because they understood it as

if they breathe in and out deeply enough they would get better grades without any further effort.

The experiment proceeded in a good spirit by doing the whole of an activity number two named

56

Circle out distracting thoughts. At this point of the research the impact on the learning process and

the teaching was not the priority, the priority was to find out reactions of younger kids. It has

quickly become clear that young children are very easy to work with when it comes to exercises and

that the vast majority of them will try hard when doing the activity. It could be even argued that

some of the kinds try too hard. During the exercise the kids were asked to stand up and remain that

way throughout the whole exercise. Despite the young age of the learners a detailed instruction in

regard to open and closed join positions and proper way of standing straight was provided (see

Illustrations n. 5 and 6 on page 39 for reference). During this experiment it has been observed and

noted that the kids enjoyed mostly two things: Firstly it was standing with knee joints in open

position – some of the learners took great care to exaggerate lecturer's instructions which did not

impede their ability to try their best and enjoy themselves and secondly 'letting their heads drop

backwards using gravity'. It is very likely that this did not harm the exercise in any way, it arguably

just showed that some of the kids were full of energy and that it can be hardly expected to have

young kids behave like adults in circumstances that seem strange or funny to them. Overall, a

substantial amount of enjoyment and giggling on the pupil's part was observed. In regards to 'letting

the head drop' some children took the subject rather seriously but again it should be noted that no

harm was done. Despite all those little difficulties the exercise has been finished in time. Following

the Circle out distracting thoughts exercise was an ordinary lesson that has been observed but no

special behaviour has been noted. At the very end of the lesson a small survey has been carried out

to find out what the kids' thoughts on the exercises were. This survey was done orally due to the

difficulties a written feedback would make. Overwhelming majority of all the kids present, about

90%, liked the exercise which confirmed the initial predictions. The rest did express neither

particularly positive, neither negative feelings. Some of those kids have been observed to be

surprised or possibly too shy to express their opinions however not a single piece of negative

feedback was gathered.

Conclusions:

The experiment with exercise Circle out distracting thoughts from the 31st of January has been

carried out with the youngest children from all the other groups. The energy and positive feedback

of the kids has been most surprising and not at all in correlation with the original expectations that

predicted a certain level of disinterest. After the class the teacher reflected that she and apparently

also the kids enjoyed the activity as a refreshing beginning to the lesson. However she added that

the exercise was not a new thing for the kids – similar activities take place occasionally to change

57

the routine and to allow the kids movement during the classes. During the activity it has been

observed that the children tend to emphasize breathing in and devaluate breathing out to a point

when they might be constantly 'over inhaled'. It is not believed that a serious injury or harm could

be done however it is interesting to note that the students should focus on inhalation and ignore

exhalation. Possible reasons for this were touched on in the theoretical part and could consist of

students understanding exhalation as something natural, easy and automatic whereas inhalation as

something that have to do consciously. The topic of this preference would certainly benefit from

further inquiry. Overall, the experiment was a success and even though no special particular data

have been collected it became clearer that even considerably young learners are not against

exercises such as Circle out distracting thoughts at the beginning of the class.

2.2.3 Observation n.2

Date of the experiment: 3rd of February 2014

Target of observation: a class of teenagers around the age of 10-11

Plan and predication:

With this experiment the goal is to practically test the activity Three breaths for life in a class

while observing the effects on the learners and on the learning process. The class in question

consists mostly of pupils of age ten or eleven years old. The teacher of the class is the same as with

the Experiment number 1 (see above).The goal is similar to the first experiment but with different

exercise to do and with different age group and class the outcome is expected to differ. Considering

the positive feedback that was gathered on the first experiment a similar result with the second

experiment is forecast. As with the previous experiment the exercise is to take place at the very start

of the lesson, followed by observation with gathering feedback at the end of the lesson. The way of

gathering feedback differs from the previous exercise, where for the reason of young age of the

learners an oral feedback was used; instead a proper written feedback with options is used (see

chapter 2.3.3 below). Similarly to the first experiment the whole procedure is expected to take up to

5 minutes at the beginning of the lesson with additional 2-3 minutes at the end of the lesson or right

after the lesson finishes.

58

Experiment summary:

As with the first experiment the teacher of the class explained right at the beginning that the

lesson will start with something different – an exercise that will not be explained by her but the

author of this thesis and she will be joining the class as a student. After the explanation the teacher

sat on an empty chain among students and partook in the activity. It should be noted that even

though this might not have changed the outcome of the experiment in a significant way, the

enthusiasm and positive attitude of the teacher and her effort to help the research has been duly

noted. After a short introduction of the activity a difference between high and low breathing has

been pointed out (see chapters 1.2 and 1.3 for more information). Following was the exercise itself

which took shorter time than with experiment number one from the 31st of January possibly due to

the smaller class size, fewer questions and interruptions on the students' part and more cooperative-

though slightly less enthusiastic students. The level of enthusiasm for the activity differed from a

student to student but nonetheless all the eight points of the exercise have been fulfilled in time.

After the exercise now refreshed class sat on their places, the author sat down to observe the class,

the teacher resumed her place and a proper standard lesson commenced. At the end of the lesson

feedback was gathered and the questionnaires (see chapter 2.3.3 and attachments) have been

distributed to the class and in the following two minutes the opinions and feelings of the

participants have been gathered. All the relevant artifacts of feedback and filled out forms from this

survey can be found in files attached as well as any other artifact of surveys or questionnaires.

Conclusions:

The experiment with exercise Three breaths for life on the 3rd of February has been carried out

with approximately same age group of children as those from survey's in elementary schools (see

chapter 2.3 and attachments). The experiment was a success despite the fact that few students opted

not to show particular interest. Overall, the experiment was potentially more taxing and demanding

for the students for not only is the exercise Three breaths for life more advanced than the Circle out

distracting thoughts exercise but also for the similarity of middle and low breathing. It has been

observed that some students are confused about the two and are unable to consciously achieve the

difference between the two. This is arguably not a big issue since the main difference lies between

'higher breathing' and 'lower breathing' and not between the two similar forms of lower breathing.

The written feedback that followed the exercise was overwhelmingly positive and accounts for a big

part in final assessment of questionnaires (25% of total respondents age 11-15, see chapter 2.3.5.2

59

for more information). During the observation of the lesson following the experiment number two

most of the class worked well including, as the teacher of the class later mentioned, 'those boys that

are often not particularly interested in the class'. It would be unreasonable at best to claim that this

positive change has been solely a result of Three breaths for life but if nothing else then at least no

change to the worst has been observed. As discussed in the theoretical part however, it is not

unlikely that this change of pace and routine, that the exercise Three breaths for life provided for the

kids, has helped them focus and enjoy the lesson more.

2.3 Survey methodology - questionnaires

In love's godlike breathing,

there's the innermost aspect of the universe.

Alexander Scriabin

This chapter deals with the questionnaires that supplement this thesis. During the months when

the work has been done on the theoretical part several questionnaires have been created, distributed

and later gathered for evaluation. The questionnaires were subject to several changes, alterations

and improvements over the time. Different versions of the same questionnaire have been created to

better reflect the different ages of the students.

2.3.1 Background behind the questionnaires

This chapter is organized into four parts, first three of which present different questionnaires and

describe their purpose and the intended responders and the fourth, longest part of this chapter, is

concerned with evaluation and comparison of the results and the questionnaires themselves. Each of

the first three chapters starts with the name that the particular questionnaire has been given and the

total number of copies produced. The sample questionnaires in English can be fond in the files

attached. Finally a paragraph dealing with theory behind the particular questionnaire is included. All

the above is true for the first three parts dealing with individual questionnaires whereas the fourth

part summarizes, evaluates and compares the preceding ones.

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2.3.2 Extensive questionnaire for teachers

We are all teachers, but it's not about

whether we'll teach but what we'll teach.

Anonymous

Name of the questionnaire: Anonymous questionnaire for teachers of elementary schools, high

schools and universities

Number of copies: 50

Theory:

The extensive questionnaire for teachers plays a crucial role in the discourse of this thesis. It has

undergone several alterations and adjustments over the months and during that time fifty copies

were created to be handed to teachers for data evaluation. The questionnaire is expected to play an

important role in the discourse of the thesis mainly due to the fact that it is fairly simple to complete

and thus a great number of experienced teachers is expected to participate. The respondent is not

required to do anything else, it is not needed to read any theory behind the topic neither is it

required doing an exercise – the teacher can simply take The extensive questionnaire for teachers

and choose the answers that are correct for her from her teacher's experience. The fact that there are

no other conditions and no requirements on the teacher's part has been deemed very important

mainly due to the fact that many teachers have only a limited amount of time to partake in such

experiments and pools. The questionnaire has been set up specifically in a way to provide a clear set

of questions for any teacher, not only teachers of English, without forcing them to focus on the topic

further. It is important to note that this general survey's purpose is not to gather specific data about

teaching styles or problems in classes of various age groups, although some of that could be derived

from the answers, but mainly to gather the teachers' opinion on the difficulties they, along with their

students, face in class. The questions are either connected to the issue of movement in class

(questions six and seven), the reasons for students' learning difficulties (questions four and five) or

of a general nature. Thus this questionnaire's purpose lies in either confirming the author's opinions

and statements or their denial.

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2.3.3 Short feedback questionnaire for students

Lecture is simple – it's the student who is complicated.

Barbara Raspová

Name of the questionnaire: Questionnaire for the students

Number of copies: 152

Theory:

There are two major differences between the Questionnaire for the students discussed here and

the preceding Extensive questionnaire for teachers. Firstly it is the vast difference in the number of

copies and respondents. All of the classes that undertook the experiment were consisting of 25-30

students and every teacher that took part in this experiment and tested one or more of the exercises

presented in the chapter 2.1 worked with such a class. A huge number of data has thus been

gathered and evaluated thanks to this questionnaire and the teachers. It is of the utmost importance

to note that only students that got into contact with real classroom exercise answered this pool and

did so immediately after finishing the exercise or at the end of the particular lesson. This creates a

significant contrast between this and the preceding questionnaire with which any teacher could

work with, not only those that experienced the exercises. Furthermore this questionnaire has been

created in several different variants to better reflect the needs of a particular class. Thus a version

for very young students was created as well as the basic version. Most of the questionnaires used

were in Czech language and only then the data gathered through them were translated to English for

the purposes of this thesis. The Czech version and the version for the very young students is not

presented in this chapter, both of them however can be found in the attachments. This questionnaire

should reflect on the exercise from the student's perspective and provide feedback.

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2.3.4 Limited questionnaire for teachers

Name of the questionnaire: Questionnaire for teachers

Number of copies: 5

Theory:

During the months when this thesis has been worked on a total number of five teachers agreed to

read and learn the theory and the concepts contained within this thesis. Those five teachers then

chose one or more exercises and integrated those to their regular lessons. This questionnaire has

been created with the purpose of giving the said teachers the same opportunity for feedback as their

students. The questions were formed in a very similar way to enable contrast between the opinions

of the students and the teachers. It should be noted that the five teachers that took the exercises also

answered the first, longest, Anonymous questionnaire for teachers of elementary schools, high

schools and universities. Majority of the five teachers worked with students of an age of 11-15 and

16-22 years old. Consequently only a limited amount of feedback has been gathered concerning

adult learners older than twenty-two years old.

2.3.5 Evaluation and comparison of the results

The practical part of this work has taken several months. It had started in late 2013 and finished

in the late February 2014. During that time a number of schools have been visited, a great deal of

both students and teachers were subject to interview and substantial amount of data and feedback

was assembled from all different sources. In total, there are 171 questionnaires that have been

handed to and answered by the students and teachers alike. Respondents to the questionnaires

presented and evaluated within this thesis are ranging from children studying at lower grade

elementary school, through young adults and adult learners and teachers from high schools to

university teachers with several decades of teaching experience. The results of the individual

questionnaires follow below.

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2.3.5.1 Evaluation - Extensive questionnaire for teachers

Name of the questionnaire: Anonymous questionnaire for teachers of elementary schools, high

schools and universities

For the purpose of data evaluation all the questionnaires from the teachers have been divided into

four categories based on the teacher's answer to the first question. First category (Teachers teaching

children up to fifteen years old, answered a) in question 1) thus consists of data gathered from

teachers of elementary schools teaching students up to fifteen years old, second (Teachers teaching

young adults, answered b) in question 1) deals with the answers from the teachers of young adults

and adults age sixteen to twenty, the third category (Teachers teaching adults, answered c) in

question 1) contains all the answers of the teachers working with adults older than twenty years old

and the fourth category (All teachers, answered a), b) or c) in question 1) is concerned with the

comparison of the three preceding sub chapters no matter the answer to the first question and giving

final thoughts. All the percentages in this chapter are rounded to whole numbers.

Teachers teaching children up to fifteen years old, answered a) in question 1

Total amount of respondents: 8

Question 2: BBCCCBCB A: 0% B: 50% C: 50%Question 3: BBCABBCC A: 15% B: 50% C: 38%Question 4: DDBCCDCB A: 0% B: 25% C: 38% D: 38%Question 5: CAACBBAA A: 50% B: 25% C: 25% D: 0%Question 6: BBABBBCA A: 25% B: 63% C: 13% D: 0%Question 7: ABABABBA A: 50% B: 50% C: 0%

Question two: The aim of question 2 was to find out the length of teaching practice. As can be

observed from the list above no teacher in this category has been teaching for less than a year.

Results are neatly divided between teachers with two to ten years of experience and those with more

experience than ten years. This information is not particularly relevant to the topic of this thesis but

provides background of the respondents. As mentioned above an argument could be made that the

length of teaching practice influences the relevance of the feedback provided by the teacher

however for the purpose of this thesis all respondents' responses are equally important.

64

Question three: Only 15% of the respondents state they are not aware of the effects that the

breathing has on learning process. This indicates that the vast majority of the teachers understand

the importance of the topic discussed in this thesis but lack the time or energy necessary to take the

knowledge and understanding into practice. Since 38% of the respondents answered that they 'are

aware of the importance and benefits of correct breathing in education process and do attempt to use

it, it could be argued that the majority of the teachers (62%) could use additional information and

help on the topic. This result supports the notion that the topic discussed within this thesis deserves

further attention.

Question four: Opinions on the 'most serious negative effects on learning process' varies greatly.

None of the teachers consider the answer a) as the most serious effect. However 38% of the

respondents consider the lack of time the biggest issue and another 38% opted to choose an

'inability of students' as the most severe problem. In this question answer b), which 25% of the

respondents chose, supports the general theme of this thesis the most. It should be noted that the

answer of a particular teacher does not imply that there is only one negative effect on learning

process but rather that each teacher sees different one as the most essential. It could be argued that

at least for one quarter of the teachers the specific results, exercises and theory of this academic

thesis would be useful and contribute to their teaching carriers. Furthermore the feedback gathered

on this question suggests that the teachers are aware of the issue and that the work in the field of

energy, movement, breath and other connected topics is not irrelevant.

Question five: Question five, being the exact opposite of the preceding question, further enquires on

the topic of importance or insignificance of exercise and energy in classes. Half of the teachers

consider 'students being naughty, students not concentrating' as the least significant of the problems

they can face in class whereas the other 50% is precisely divided between the answers b) and c).

None of the teachers answered d). Again, as with the question number four it is clear that the answer

b) 'students being tired or sleepy' has some relevance. Even though it is considered the least of the

teacher's problem by 25% of the respondents the other 75% consider the tiredness or sleepiness a

bigger problem. Again this could lead to the argument that the majority of the teachers could use a

help with bringing a breathing or similar exercise into their lessons for the purpose of energizing

and waking up their students.

Question six: Question six attempts to establish how useful would the teachers deem the exercises

from this thesis. The question asks the respondents for the direct feedback on the practical nature of

65

the topic. With quite a high number of respondents (50%) choosing a) as an answer ('I would

definitely find the time and try them out') this question could serve as a testimony to the importance

of the topic. The teachers are generally interested in the special exercises and innovative approaches

with only 13% of the respondents answering that they would rather not use such exercises. Majority

of the respondents (63%) chose b) as their answer saying: 'I would try to squeeze the exercises into

my class, especially in long classes and sessions'. A clear positive feedback and enthusiasm towards

the exercises can be observed even though the majority of the teachers is conscious that such

techniques or exercises would take some of the time in lesson of which there is never enough.

Question seven: In the last question of the anonymous questionnaire the answers were equally

divided between the answers a) and b). 50% of the respondents do attempt to give their students an

opportunity to move, relax and breathe in during a lesson at all times and 50% does so sometimes. It

should be kept in mind that the respondents here are all teachers of children and young adults up to

fifteen years old and thus is might not come as no surprise that such techniques, exercises and

movement in general play a big role in the teacher's lesson plans.

Teachers teaching young adults, answered b) in question 1

Total amount of respondents: 7

Question 2: BBCCCBC A: 0% B: 43% C: 57%Question 3: BABBCBB A: 14% B: 71% C: 14%Question 4: BDCBCBDA A: 13% B: 38% C: 25% D: 25%Question 5: CBADAAB A: 47% B: 29% C: 14% D: 14%Question 6: BBBABBA A: 27% B: 71% C: 0% D: 0%Question 7: BCBBBCB A: 71% B: 29% C: 0%

Question two: As with the teachers that chose answer a) in the first question, no teacher in this

category has been teaching for less than a year. The majority of the teachers (57%) have been

teaching for over ten years.

Question three: Again, as with the first group of teachers above only a limited number of

respondents claim that they are not aware of the effects that the breathing has on learning process.

On the other hand the vast majority of teachers (71%) do know about the topic but find themselves

in a time stress, unable to focus on it further. It is not in the scope of this thesis to help teachers

solve the issue of time stress nor can it focus on the topic of time in lessons further but the results of

66

this question suggest that the teachers are interested in the topic despite the difficulties they could

face. This does correspond to the expectations and predictions (see above).

Question four: In contrast to the teachers of younger students the respondents here chose option b)

more often. The total of 38% of the teachers teaching young adults consider the tiredness and

sleepiness of their students as the major issue. Still, as with the preceding group the opinions vary

greatly with both options c) and d) gaining 25% of the respondents. A conclusion could be made

that the older the students the more important the issue of tiredness and sleepiness becomes. Should

this prove to be the case the importance of the exercises presented here would rise with older

students.

Question five: From the observation and oral feedback it has been observed that the question five

generates a significant amount of debate and contrastive opinions. The results with this group of

teachers thus varies significantly from the preceding group of teachers teaching younger kids; with

14% of the responses being 'the least serious problem teacher faces in class is impotence and

inability of students and the lack of self study and preparation' whereas with the first group none of

the teachers chose such an answer. Unfortunately the limited scope of this research does not allow

further research on the topic. However a potential for further academic work is present.

Question six: Question six asks the respondents for the direct feedback to the practical nature of this

thesis. With this group of teachers however, unlike with the previous one, only a relatively small

percentage (27%) said that they 'would definitely find the time and try them (the exercises) out'.

Overwhelming majority of the teachers of young adults (16 – 20) chose an answer b), saying: 'I

would try to squeeze the exercises into my class, especially in long classes and sessions' which

reveals an enthusiasm and willingness to test new strategies in class while at the same time

highlights the issue of time and stress the teachers face. It could be concluded that the majority of

the teachers is very much keen on bringing new and innovative approaches into their classes but are

unable to due to the time pressure. It can be safely concluded that positive feedback and enthusiasm

towards the exercises is the case even though the majority of the teachers is conscious that such

techniques and activities would take up extra time and energy.

Question seven: Since the teachers tend to employ a wide array of games and exercises involving

movement with younger kids and cease to focus on those exercises with older students it has been

predicted that the percentage of answers a) and b) will drop with the second and third group of

67

teachers. However based on the data gathered the opposite is the case. Even though none of the

teachers chose answer c) as their own the amount of teachers 'trying to let students move or exercise

so that they do not sit during the entire class on one spot' raised substantially, up to 71%. Based on

those numbers it could be argued that the breathing and relaxing exercises presented in this thesis

are more relevant to the teachers of young adults since they already use similar activities in their

classes. Overall, the positive nature of the answers provided by the teachers suggests that the

opinions of this thesis are relevant to real teaching experience of young adults.

Teachers teaching adults, answered c) in question 1

Total amount of respondents: 9

Question 2: BBBCCCCB A: 0% B: 50% C: 50%Question 3: BABCBBBBC A: 11% B: 67% C: 22%Question 4: CDBCDBCBBCB A: 0% B: 45% C: 36% D: 18%Question 5: DCADDADDC A: 22% B: 0% C: 22% D: 56%Question 6: BBCCBBDAB A: 11% B: 56% C: 22% D: 11%Question 7: CAABBABBB A: 33% B: 56% C: 11%

Question two: Majority of the responders here are university teachers. The results here are very

similar to the results of the first two groups of teachers to a point where the results of different

groups of teachers are almost identical. This demonstrates that the research is lacking in the terms

of respondents diversity since none of the teachers have been teaching for less than a year.

Consequently, the exactitude of the results of the pool is lowered. However it should be kept in

mind that this question is not crucial for the discussed topic and that every teacher's opinion is

relevant no matter the amount of experience she has.

Question three: As with the preceding groups the majority of the respondents are aware of the

effects the breathing pattern has on the learning process but they do not find sufficient time to

properly address the issue. As stated earlier in this chapter this finding suggests that the teachers are

potentially interested in the breathing and relaxing exercises presented within this thesis no matter

the potential difficulties.

Question four: Opinions on the 'most serious negative effects on learning process' varies, however

as with the group of teachers teaching young kids, none of the teachers consider the answer a) as

the most serious effect. This could suggest that the age of students is irrelevant to the way the

68

teachers perceive the negative effects of misbehavior. The choice of answer here probably lies on

each teacher's personal opinion and it would prove questionable at best to attempt to establish a firm

generally valid statement. Unfortunately, due to the relatively small number of respondents very

few conclusions can be safely reached. The biggest segment, 45% of the respondents, consider the

negative effects that the 'students being tired or sleepy' have on the learning process the most

serious. The data gathered here again confirm that the teachers are very much aware of the issue and

that the work in in this field is relevant even with university teachers working with adults.

Question five: Several notable differences have occurred when comparing the results of this

questionnaire to the preceding ones answered by different teacher groups. The answer b) (students

being tired or sleepy) that has claimed a relevant number of answers in the preceding groups have

0% with this one – with teachers of adults. In contrast the most common answer was 'impotence and

inability of students and the lack of self study and preparation' with 56% of the total responses. The

most relevant to this thesis however is the fact that not a single teacher working with adults deems

option b) as the least serious negative effect on learning process. Again an argument could be made

that it is not possible to draw conclusions from such a limited number of respondents however

certain conclusions could be suggested. This highlights possible importance of lack of energy, tired

students or sleep deprivation. Consequently, those numbers found in question five supplement and

support the preceding question number four. Based on this pool the findings are clear: The negative

impact of students being tired or sleepy is superior to the one when they do not sufficiently prepare

for the lesson or when there is not enough time in a class. Again this confirms a possibility that the

majority of the teachers could use a help of breathing or different exercises in their lessons for the

purpose of energizing and waking up their students.

Question six: Not surprisingly, the answers to this question are the same as with the first and second

group of the teachers. The majority of them answered that they 'would try to squeeze the exercises

into the class'. The question implies the possible difficulties with teachers not having enough time in

lessons yet a significant positive attitude and willingness to bring the exercises into the classes was

revealed.

Question seven: With the teachers of adult learners a percentage of educators that use some kind of

motion or movement related exercise in class lowers. Still the majority of them, 56% of the

responding educators, say that they give students opportunity to move in some classes. The results

here should not come as a great surprise since it has been predicted that the older students generally

69

sit still more whereas the movement and motion-related exercises are more common with younger

learners. It is however one of the arguments of this thesis that to stretch, move and breathe out is as

important for an adult learner as it is for an adolescent or a young child. Based on the results of this

survey an argument could be made that at least half of the teachers of adults would use such

exercises at least in some of the lessons.

All teachers, answered a), b) or c) in question 1

The results of the three preceding sub chapters combined as described in the introduction to the

chapter 2.3.5.1 .

Total amount of respondents: 24

Question 1: AAAAAAAA BBBBBBB CCCCCCCCCA: 33% B: 29% C: 38%

Question 2: BBCCCBCB BBCCCBC BBBCCCCBA: 0% B: 48% C: 52%

Question 3: BBCABBCC BABBCBB BABCBBBBA: 13% B: 63% C: 21%

Question 4: DDBCCDCB BDCBCBDA CDBCDBCBBCB A: 4% B: 42% C: 38% D: 29%

Question 5: CAACBBAA CBADAAB DCADDADDA: 38% B: 17% C: 17% D: 25%

Question 6: BBABBBCA BBBABBA BBCCBBDABA: 21% B: 63% C: 13% D: 4%

Question 7: ABABABBA BCBBBCB CAABBABBBA: 29% B: 58% C: 13%

The feedback gathered from the respondents and the general theme of the answers that the

teachers provided are generally positive towards the topic and goals of this thesis. The fact that only

13% of the teachers are 'not aware of the effects of breathing and the effect the correct breathing has

on the learning process' implies the possible opportunities with the teachers conscious of the topic

and highlights potential importance of further education and research in this field. Questions four

and five that are aimed at gathering general knowledge of how teachers understand different

negative effects on class have partially succeeded in doing so. In question four the results are

70

moderately similar with only the first answer 'students being naughty, students not concentrating'

having 4% of the respondents deeming it the least serious. These findings could be considered

intriguing due to the fact that general understanding of laic population is exactly the opposite – that

the 'students being naughty or students not concentrating' has the capital negative impact on the

learning process whereas the results here suggest otherwise. On the other hand, to the great support

of this thesis, the second answer 'students being tired or sleepy' is considered the most serious by

the biggest group of the teachers (42%). The data come to a great surprise since it has not been

expected that such a high number of teachers will agree with the general topic and ideas presented

in this thesis. Since the exercises presented earlier in the practical part (chapter 2.1) aim at helping

offset the issues caused by students being sleepy or tired the exercises should be considered relevant

to 42% of the teachers.

These findings are further promoted by the results from the following question five where, along

with the negative effect of 'not enough time in classes', the answer 'students being tired or sleepy'

has been deemed the least serious with only 17% of the respondents. Again the data gathered

strongly suggest that the topic deserves further enquiry, education and research. Question six,

aiming at gathering the information on whether the teacher would be interested in further enquiry

and whether they would prefer to test the techniques and exercises, shows that 63% of the

respondents would 'try to squeeze the exercises into their classes'. Again this justifies the exercises

and corresponds to the preceding questions. It should be noted that only 4% of the respondents

would 'absolutely not employ the techniques and exercises in my class' and 13% of them would

'rather not employ the techniques and exercises in my class'.

The last question of the questionnaire: 'How important the movement of your students and

motion related exercises play in your class?' attempts to gather feedback on how often the teachers

use such exercises in the class. Majority, 58%, of the teachers claims that they sometimes use such

exercises during their lessons. It should be noted however that the practical exercises presented by

this thesis and the theory behind it might be considered relevant to both those teachers that rarely

ever or never employ physical activities and exercises in class and those that do.

Overall, the Anonymous questionnaire for teachers of elementary schools, high schools and

universities has provided the most relevant data that clearly support the notion of the work and the

idea that this thesis is attempting to convey, that is that the topic of the 'usage of breathing, physical

and relaxing exercises as daily tools for working with motivation and focus during schooling' is

71

revenant to a modern teacher. Even though it should be kept in mind that the positive feedback

gathered comes from only a limited number of respondents and for serious feedback and insight

into the issue a deeper extensive research would be required.

2.3.5.2 Evaluation - Short feedback questionnaire for students

As in the chapter 2.3.5.1 the questionnaires have been divided into several categories for the

purpose of data evaluation. First category consists of data assembled from students of age 11-15,

second deals with the older students from the age of 16 to 22. Similarly to the preceding chapter all

the percentages are rounded to whole numbers.

The part of the research that was focused on students rather than teachers was significant. In total

there were three schools that have taken part in the experiments and surveys; the choice of working

with multiple unrelated schools has been made in order to provide the most heterogeneous choice of

respondents. This questionnaire has been answered solely by students of eleven to fifteen years old

that had participated in the exercises presented earlier in the thesis. During some lessons the author

has been present to observe and get direct feedback however with the majority of the classes only

an instructed teacher was present and did the exercise and gathered the feedback via the forms. The

respondents were children of various social backgrounds, interests, both males and females.

Furthermore the subjects during which the exercises have taken place varied. Contrary to the

extensive questionnaire for the teachers there is only one question in this feedback-questionnaire. It

should be noted that the questions (which are for the purpose of simplification referred to as one

conjoined question): 'What effect did the exercise you've done in today's class have on you? What

effect did the exercise have on the learning?' was connected to different exercises. The choice of

particular exercise depended on what the teacher opted to use in the particular lesson. The answers

in the original questionnaire are labeled neither with numbers nor with letters but for the purpose of

evaluation the top most is considered as an answer A or the 'first answer' followed by the answers B,

C, D and E or answers two to five.

72

Students 11-15 years old:

Total amount of respondents: 59

Answer A: 15 (25%)Answer B: 25 (42%)Answer C: 11 (19%)Answer D: 4 (7%)Answer E: 4 (7%)

From the total number of 59 respondents the biggest fraction, 42%, have chosen the second

option as their answer: 'The exercise helped me to feel better/more relaxed and thus it helped my

learning. It was interesting experience but I think once was enough.' Together with the first answer

A counting 25% of the respondents it creates a total of 67% of the students reacting positively to the

exercises. The data gathered via the questionnaires have been confirmed by the observation. During

the observations the majority of the students reacted positively and were enthusiastic about the

exercises. Even though only 25% of the children chose the first, most positive answer it is still a

reasonable number considering that the fourth answer D, the most negative one, was chosen only by

7% of the students. The question C that best reflects the 'middle ground' when the student doesn't

feel that the exercise was neither particularly helpful neither unhelpful, has been picked in the 19%

of the cases which could be considered a rather surprisingly low number considering the common

practice of students being indecisive. Answer C does not particularly support nor oppose the ideas

of this thesis thus mostly only the answers A, B and D carry higher value. Even though the

information from this pool do not prove anything and it would be most unwise to make any

conclusions based just on the numbers from this questionnaire it could be argued that the

experiment was, overall, positively taken by the students. Last, bottom-most, option: 'Different

answer (please say)' that has been provided for the possibility of extensive feedback and with an

aim to give the students a space to express themselves further, has been chosen by 4% of the

respondents. Thanks to a small number of those responses the answers are listed below, together

with author's comments. Arguably, most of the answers could be considered one of the other

answers A, B, C or D but for the purpose of exactitude the answers haven't been counted as

anything else other than the option E. The answers, copied from the original questionnaires, that can

be found in attachments, are as follows:

73

Student's answer: Author's comment:

'I liked the exercise and it was calming.' Which could be considered the answer A.

'I liked the exercise but I felt a bit silly.' Which could be considered the answer B or D.

'I didn't like it.' Which could be argued to be simply the answer D.

'I don't think it changed anything.' Which could be considered the answer C.

Students 16-22 years old:

Total amount of respondents: 83

Answer A: 29 (35%)Answer B: 31 (37%)Answer C: 15 (18%)Answer D: 5 (6%)Answer E: 3 (4%)

With students older than sixteen years old the results were surprisingly different from the younger

students' answers and not at all in correlation with the expectations. Even though the percentage of

answers C, D and E were almost identical, displaying that the exercises are by no means enjoyed by

all the students, an unanticipated differences can be found in the answers A and B. It has been

expected that the amount of positive feedback will decrease with the raising on the age of the

students. It was thus foreseen that there should be fewer answers A with the older students than

there were with the younger ones. As shown above however, the percentage of answers A increased

and the number of students choosing A was almost identical to B. 35% of the respondents 'would

like to do something like this (the exercise)again in the future' which confirms the idea from the

theoretical part that older students want and need physical exercises and movement or breathing-

related techniques just as the young learners. Since this research does not cover learners older than

22 years old it is left to speculation as to whether the amount of answers A would increase further

with older students. Overall, the data gathered correlate with the input gathered during observation

and indicate that the exercises have its room in the classes.

Student's answer: Author's comment:

'It was fun!' Which could be considered the answer A.

'It didn't help learning but it was Which could be argued to be the answer C.

nice to do something different.'

74

2.3.5.3 Evaluation - Limited questionnaire for teachers

The final questionnaire presented within this chapter was given only to a significantly limited

number of teachers. Only those teachers that experienced the exercises with their classes took part.

More than survey this sub chapter serves as an insight into the opinions and feelings of the teachers.

The percentages, rounded to whole numbers, are presented solely for the purpose of unification.

Teachers that partook in the practical experiments:

Total amount of respondents: 5

Answer A: 2 (40%)

Answer B: 2 (40%)Answer C: 1 (20%)Answer D: 0 (0%)Answer E: 0 (0%)

As mentioned in the chapter 2.3.4 a positive feedback from the participating teachers have been

predicted. Even though it is impossible to draw any conclusions on such a limited amount of data

the results are decisively positive and most of the teachers feel that the exercises helped the learning

process and would continue working with the breathing, physical and relaxing exercises in the

future.

75

2.4 Conclusion

This thesis aimed to emphasize the significance of breathing patterns and relaxation during

schooling and the necessity of working with learners' physical as with their mental state. The

purpose was not only to gather data on the topic and compare available sources but also to inform

the target reader, the teacher, of the issue. Despite the usefulness of the exercises for any reader the

main focus lied on teachers, especially those working with larger classes for extended periods of

time. The thesis attempted to establish a connection between the breathing, relaxing and

motivational exercises used in various fields and the typical schooling environment. Furthermore it

tried to determine whether the classical authors, whose work is connected to motivation and focus,

deal with the topic of breathing, tension and exercise. Works of penny Ur, Jeremy Harmer, Tricia

Hedge and other authors have been carefully examined and compared. Lastly it has been a goal of

this thesis to bring the said approaches and unconventional exercises into a practice, into real

classes and to establish what opinion the educators and learners have towards the exercises. All of

the goals and objectives have been fulfilled to sufficient extend. As for the research questions

introduced in the chapter 1.1 , the attitudes of learners and educators towards the practical exercises

have been found overwhelmingly positive and the exercises themselves could potentially have a

positive impact on the learning process. As mentioned in the introduction a possibility of further

research in this field is thus available throughout the means of diploma thesis should this work

prove relevant.

It is clear that a firm belief in the relevance of breathing and relaxation in classes has been

expressed throughout the thesis. In an attempt to support the said judgment a number of established

authors' opinions have been presented so as to provide background and comparison to the topic

from different sources. However it has not been the goal of the thesis to argue for the ultimate truth

of one author but simply to present a different angle from which effects on learning process can be

looked at. It has been the author's objective the whole time to inform the potential teachers of

dangers of shallow and clavicular breathing in classes as well as the dangers of pain and stiffness

build up and the harmful effect those can have on the learning process.

The connection between the theories of Dan Millman and the exercises and the teaching practice

has been established in the theoretical part, highlighting the main ideas of Millman's books while

reminding the potential teacher of the more well-known authors that deal with the topic. Moreover,

the concepts have been compared to those of different authors and then put into practice. Finally a

76

connection between the three centers and their impact on student's ability to focus and learn has

been discussed as well as the link between motivation and physical well-being of a student.

Overall, the results of the practical part of the thesis proved that it is worth both for teachers and

students to devote time and efforts to identify and use learning preferences of individual learners

in lessons and therefore a likelihood of further research and work in this field is sizeable. Finally, an

argument could be made (and in fact was made by one of the participating teachers) that 'forcing'

the students to do physical work such as exercise during average classes or try to alter their deep-

rooted body posture or breathing habits is harsh and not sensitive; especially when the students do

not want to or cannot participate in said exercises not to mention the loss of valuable time in the

lessons. However from all the observation and feedback of the teachers that have participated in the

exercises with their classrooms it would seem that no such negative stance was taken by the

students. None of the participants suffered any injury and the exercises always took the estimated

time. The exercises were generally well received and considered refreshing and innovative and

therefore enjoyed by the vast majority of the students and teachers alike. M. J. Clarke writes in

English Studies Series 2: 'school children probably suffer more from bores than from brutes'. The

teacher doing exercise with class might not be considered 'a brute' however Clarke's comment

reminds the teachers of importance of being active, rather than passive and monotonous.

Lastly, it should be noted that the breathing patterns, physical posture and all the exercises that

have been discussed within this thesis are only partially responsible for potential lack of motivation,

focus and various pains and aches. Potential reader or any teacher ought to keep in mind that the

students should not be stressed about correct breathing neither should they be afraid that they are

not sitting in a most healthy way all the time. All the exercises presented in Dan Millman's books

and in this thesis were devised to help and support the people exercising, not to worry them. As

Millman writes in Wisdom of the peaceful warrior on account of breathing on page 85:

Don't worry about it. You just need to relax a bit more in your life. Now when you know what the natural

breathing looks like you'll gradually breathe in a better and better way until it starts to be normal for you.

Breath is a bridge between the body and a mind, between feeling and doing. (Millman, Wisdom of the

peaceful warrior, 1991, page 85)

77

Resume The objective of my bachelor thesis is to gather data on the topic of breathing, physical and

relaxing exercises and its connection to schooling while comparing available sources and informing

the target reader, the teacher, of the issue. Furthermore the thesis attempts to establish a connection

between the breathing, relaxing and motivational exercises and the typical school environment

while establishing what opinion the educators and learners have towards the exercises.

The theoretical part is focused on introducing the topic of breathing patterns and its effect on

learning process, introducing the opinions and approaches of American author and educator Dan

Millman and on establishing a connection between Millman's teachings and didactic and

educational process. The theoretical parts furthermore introduces innovative techniques and

practical exercises that can be used in classroom environment.

The practical part describes guidelines for the exercises so that they can be taken into practice by a

teacher. Furthermore it consists of a research and a survey on teacher's and student's opinions on the

topic of the thesis. Finally the practical part tests the presented exercises in real classrooms and

observes whether the exercises and techniques have an impact on the lesson and the learning

process and makes a conclusion based on the predictions and theory from the theoretical part

compared to the gathered feedback and results from the practical part.

Resumé Cilem mé bakalářské práce je shromáždit informace na téma dechových, fyzických a relaxačních

cvičení a jejich propojení s běžnou školní výukou. Zároveň je cílem porovnat dostupné zdroje a

informovat čtenáře – učitele o problematice. Práce se dále snaží o provázání dechových, relaxačních

a motivačních cvičení s běžným školním prostředím a zjistit, jaký mají vyučující a žáci názor na

daná cvičení.

Teoretická část je zaměřena na uvedení do problematiky dechových vzorců a jejich vlivu na výuku,

dále na představení amerického autora a učitele Dana Millmana a na propojení Millmanova učení s

didaktickými a školními procesy. Teoretická část dále představuje inovativní techniky a praktická

cvičení, která mohou být užita ve školním prostředí.

Praktická část popisuje postupy cvičení tak, aby se daly učitelem snadno aplikovat v praxi. Dále se

praktická část skládá z části výzkumné a z dotazníků pro učitele i žáky. Praktická část testuje

představená cvičení v reálných třídách, pozoruje a snaží se zjistit, jaký dopad mají cvičení a

techniky na vyučovací proces. Konečně praktická část vyvozuje závěry založené na srovnání

odhadu a teorie z teoretické části a výsledků části praktické.

78

Key wordsanxiety, body posture, breath, breathing, breathing pattern, exercise, focus, learning, motivation,

relaxation, schooling, stress, teaching

Klíčová slovacvičení, dech, dechové techniky, dýchání, motivace, relaxace, soustředění, stres, školní výuka,

tělesný postoj, učení, uvolnění, úzkost, výuka

79

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B.A. Luttman from Orchard Vale Community School in Barnstaple

Mgr. Titus Ondruška, Ph.D. from Masaryk University in Brno

Jana Šedivá from Masaryk University in Brno

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Attachments

Attachment I

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDENTSTask: Please write your age, then read the question and choose and mark one of the answers that is the most true for you:

Your age:

Question: What effect did the exercise you've done in today's class have on you? What effect did the exercise have on the learning?

The exercise helped me to feel better/more relaxed and thus it helped my learning. I would like to something like this again in the future.

The exercise helped me to feel better/more relaxed and thus it helped my learning. It was interesting experience but I think once was enough.

I don't think the exercise had any impact on our lesson. But it was something new and a distraction from routine.

The exercise had a negative effect on the lesson. It made me feel silly and I did not feel comfortable.

Different answer (please say):

85

Attachment II

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERSPlease state the approximate age of the students you worked with during the exercise:

What do you feel the effect the exercise had on your students was? What effect did the exercise have on a lesson as a whole?

The exercise helped to create a better, more relaxed atmosphere. The students were less nervous/more relaxed/more spontaneous.

I did not notice any change in the students' behaviour or the lesson as a whole. I do not believe that the exercise had any major impact on the lesson, positive or negative.

The students appreciated the distraction, the change of activity but I do not feel that the exercise itself improved my student's ability to learn or the lesson as a whole.

The exercise had a negative effect on the lesson. The students could have felt silly and it could have been uncomfortable for them.

Different answer (please say):

86

Attachment III

Anonymous questionnaire for teachers of elementary schools, high schools and universities

Survey for bachelor thesis:Usage of breathing, physical and relaxing exercises as daily tools for working with motivation and

focus during schooling

Please mark one of the answers:1) I work with students approximately of age:

a) children up to fifteen years old (mainly elementary school, art and music schools)b) young adults (16 – 20)c) adults (older than 20)

2) I have pedagogic experience of:a) less than a yearb) 2 – 10 yearsc) more than 10 years

3) When it comes to breathing and its effects on learning process:a) I am not aware of its effects nor do I employ myself with itb) I am aware of its effects but I have little time/energy to actively employ myself with itc) I am aware of the importance and benefits of correct breathing in education process and I do attempt to use it

4) From the following negative effects on learning process I deem the most serious:a) students being naughty, students not concentratingb) students being tired or sleepyc) not enough time in classesd) impotence and inability of students and the lack of self study and preparation

5) From the following negative effects on learning process I deem the least serious:a) students being naughty, students not concentratingb) students being tired or sleepyc) not enough time in classesd) impotence and inability of students and the lack of self study and preparation

6) If you could, how would you employ or not employ special relaxing and breathing techniques during classes:a) I would definitely find the time and try them outb) I would try to squeeze the exercises into my class, especially in long classes and sessionsc) I think I would rather not employ the techniques and exercises in my classd) I would absolutely not employ the techniques and exercises in my class

7) How important role the movement of your students and motion related exercises play in your class?a) during every lesson I try to let students move or exercise so that they do not sit during the entire class on one spotb) during some lessons I try to let students move or exercise so that they do not sit during the entire class on one spotc) in my classes, activities when students move or stretch are employed very little or not at all

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