It's actually pretty simple (and oh so complex!). Our Amygdala (or Watchdog) protect us from threats. We refer to it as our protective brain because it is always looking out for our safety. When information comes into our brain and is interpreted as a threat, we respond immediately--our Fight, Flight or Freeze response system. Sometimes this can look like hitting, kicking, yelling, running away, avoiding, spacing out, crying, losing focus or concentration, etc. Our Amygdala is a really helpful part of our brain, however, our Amygdala isn’t so good at figuring out if something is truly a threat.

Stress, worry, frustration or anger can cause our Amygdala to work harder than it needs to and cause us to react to situations without using our rational or thinking parts of the brain (we will get to this in a second). When we teach kids to be aware when their Amygdala is activated we can then teach them how to calm their Amygdala so that they are better able to access the reasoning part of their brain which helps them manage their emotions and solve problems more skillfully...respond rather than react.

Teaching kids to use their breath to calm their Watchdog is one of the most powerful tools for self-regulation. When our body and brain are calm, we are better able to access our Prefrontal Cortex. The Prefrontal Cortex (or the Wise Owl) is our learning, reasoning and thinking center of our brain—it is the part of the brain that can see the big picture and problem solve. It helps us control our impulses, focus our attention, and also helps regulate emotions. But it is really hard to access that part of the brain when we "feel" like we are in danger (even though are not). That is why it is REALLY hard to focus on academics or learning when we are feeling this way. The sooner we can calm our brain/body down, the sooner our Prefrontal Cortex can help out.

When our emotions and experiences are viewed through the lens of the Prefrontal Cortex we can respond versus react to them more mindfully; that’s why it is called our Wise Owl. When Wise Owl/Prefrontal Corex is working and the Watchdog/Amygdala) is calm we are better able to solve problems and manage our feelings more mindfully.