Working through anxiety with prayer and glitter jars

Recently I came across this excellent video produced by Julie Bayer Salzman and Josh Salzman called “Just Breathe.” It can be found here. What I like best about it is that children explain in simple terms what it feels like or them when their emotions are getting out of control. And, conversely, they use the example of a jar full of glitter as a tool to explain how their thoughts go from feeling all jumbled up and out of control to feeling much more settled and calm after they have taken time to simply breathe.

Those who practice quiet times of prayer with God or have engaged in ancient Hindu and Buddhist breathing postures know intuitively what science is just now validating. Deep breathing can actually change our body chemistry. It’s one of the few things you can do “in the moment” (even when you don’t feel like it!) that will have a noticeable effect on your mood and stress level.

As reported on NPR,

Research has shown that breathing exercises… can have immediate effects by altering the pH of the blood, or changing blood pressure. But more importantly, they can be used as a method to train the body’s reaction to stressful situations and dampen the production of harmful stress hormones.”

In an article called “Take a breather,” posted August 31st on Arkansasonline.com, Benjamin A. Sigel references additional benefits of deep breathing,

Deep breathing is good for your physical and mental health. It decreases stress, decreases the heart rate and reduces the amount of carbon dioxide and stress-related chemicals in the bloodstream… Moreover, deep breathing relaxes the mind and body and can help you sleep better and increase your energy level. Other side benefits can include pain relief and even weight loss…. The human body is hard-wired… with a quick response to a snarling predator, a matter of life or death. This is the ‘fight-freeze-flight’ response. It creates anxiety and insecurity; the heart rate skyrockets, breathing becomes fast and shallow and the body releases stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol into the bloodstream so we’re instantly ready for action.”

Deep breathing and slowing ourselves down is one of the major techniques employed on a day-to-day basis at Intermountain. I thought it would be useful, then, to discuss with the children how this practice truly is spiritual and how God wants us to give him all our stressful feelings and out of control emotions.

The verse we focused on was 1 Peter 5:7— “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

We had a conversation that ranged from the types of things we got anxious about to fishing! Because, after all, if you are going to be “casting” your anxieties and cares, you want to make sure you get them WAY out there… far enough away from you that they truly are given over to God and you can experience his peace.

After our conversation and a brief story, we took time to each make a glitter jar like the one referenced in the video “Just Breathe.” We talked about how just breathing and slowing down can help. I emphasized that I thought one of the best ways to do this was to breathe and say a quiet prayer, “Lord, help me let go of my worries. Thank you for caring for me.”

The glitter jars turned out AWESOME, and I hope they help the children remember that when they are feeling overwhelmed they can “be still and know” that God loves them and cares for them (Psalm 46:10).

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