Singer-songwriter Raffi, along with being known as “the most popular children’s singer in the English-speaking world” (The Washington Post) is renowned for his advocacy on behalf of children. He just released a song that can help children and adults deal in a very simple way with the stresses and anxieties of everyday life.
“Take A Breath (The Self-Reg Song)” is both tuneful and calming, and provides simple ways, such as breathing slowly in and out, to feel better when feelings are beginning to overwhelm. Teachers and parents alike will find it helpful when children feel stress.
Says Raffi, “Self-regulation is the awareness of anxiety and our ability to regain a calm centre. Since anxiety constrains intelligence, it’s important for young and old to learn simple self-reg ways to regain balance. I wrote “Take A Breath” to inspire a self-reg response in all who hear it.”
Self-Reg expert, Dr. Stuart Shanker— a Raffi colleague and member of his Child Honouring advisory council— says, “In the Shanker household, self-regulation meant listening to Raffi: and not just for the children!” Dr. Shanker leads The MEHRIT Centre, an organization working with early childhood programs, schools, and communities across Canada and beyond to ground living and learning in self-regulation. “Self-Reg is the ability to deal effectively with stress in all the many forms a child encounters—physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and prosocial—then recover from the energy expenditure involved and restore the energy expended. Raffi’s song will certainly help,” says Shanker.