The Hidden Superpower That Helps Kids Regulate Their Emotions
When children feel dysregulated — overwhelmed, anxious, fidgety, or flat — one of the most powerful tools to help them feel grounded is proprioceptive input.
What Is Proprioception?
Proprioception is our body’s internal GPS. It’s the sense that tells us where our body is in space, how our limbs are moving, and how much pressure or force we’re using. Proprioceptive input comes through activities that put pressure on our muscles and joints — like pushing, pulling, squeezing, jumping, hugging, or lifting.
This kind of input is deeply calming to the nervous system. It helps kids feel more in control of their body, more aware of their movements, and more able to self-regulate their emotions and attention.
Proprioception and Breathing: A Hidden Connection
One often-overlooked way we receive proprioceptive input is through breathing — especially slow, deep, controlled breaths.
Here’s why:
When we take a deep breath in, the diaphragm contracts and pushes down, expanding the lungs and rib cage.
This movement creates internal pressure against the muscles and joints of the ribs, spine, and diaphragm.
When we breathe out slowly, the diaphragm relaxes and lifts, and the rib cage gently compresses — again giving our body a gentle, regulating squeeze from the inside out.
This rhythmic expansion and contraction provides the same kind of joint and muscle input that other proprioceptive activities do — just in a more subtle, internal way.
Why This Matters for Emotional Regulation
This gentle internal pressure — especially when paired with slow, mindful breathing — helps:
Calm the fight-flight-freeze response
Lower heart rate
Regulate the nervous system
Improve body awareness
Anchor the child in the present moment
It’s why breathwork is such a powerful tool in yoga, meditation, and therapy. And for children, it can be integrated playfully — through blowing bubbles, pretending to blow up balloons, “smelling the flower and blowing out the candle,” or animal breathing games.
Proprioceptive Input in Everyday Life
Breathwork is just one piece of the puzzle. Other forms of proprioceptive input that support regulation include:
Jumping on a trampoline
Pushing heavy objects (like a laundry basket)
Carrying a weighted backpack
Climbing
Animal walks (bear, crab, frog jumps)
Firm hugs or squeezing a pillow
These activities can help a child come back to their body, reduce emotional overwhelm, and prepare them for learning, socialising, or transitioning through their day.
Proprioceptive input is like a secret superpower for kids who struggle with regulation. And breath? It’s a built-in tool they carry everywhere. Teaching children how to feel their body through movement and breath lays the foundation for lifelong emotional awareness and resilience.