Breathing seems so natural that hardly anyone stops to think whether they are doing it correctly. Yet breathing incorrectly is much more common than we think. “Data tells us that 90% of people breathe poorly. This has direct consequences for health and quality of life,” says Pedro Sampedro, principal of Mirasur School. “We are born ready to breathe slowly, through the nose and deeply, but as we grow—and with the fast pace of today’s world—we end up breathing quickly, shallowly, and mostly with the chest.”

Based on this idea, the school has launched Just Breathe, Mirasur , a project aimed at bringing conscious breathing into classrooms, from Preschool to Baccalaureate. It is not a one-off activity but a structured program designed to establish healthy breathing habits in students. “Throughout the summer, the entire teaching staff received training and took specific courses on conscious breathing because we wanted the project to be well-grounded and pedagogically consistent from the very beginning,” explains Elena Crespo, the school’s Well-being Coordinator.

A Tool for Self-Regulation and Well-being

The project is built on a simple but revealing fact: in an optimal breathing pattern, the respiratory rate sits at the lower end of the normal resting range, usually between 6 and 10 breaths per minute—but most of us breathe at more than double that rate. “Fast, shallow breathing activates the sympathetic nervous system, putting us in a state of stress. On the other hand, slow, diaphragmatic breathing is linked to numerous benefits for physical and mental health. This slower rhythm allows for more efficient gas exchange, better blood oxygenation, and greater activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for recovery and relaxation, promoting well-being,” Sampedro explains.

“What’s interesting is that you don’t need to be an expert—just becoming aware, pausing, and breathing already makes a big difference,” adds the principal. Changing breathing patterns from an early age not only helps reduce daily stress but also prevents future health problems linked to poor oxygenation. “And we are teaching children to use this tool at any stage of their lives, whether during moments of stress or when they need to focus.”

Pause to Breathe

The key to Just Breathe, Mirasur is to integrate small conscious-breathing pauses throughout the school day. “The idea is that students pause three or four times a day, for just one minute, to breathe consciously under their teachers’ guidance,” says Crespo. “It might seem like very little, but the cumulative impact is huge: it lowers their heart rate, calms the nervous system, and helps them refocus.”

For Sampedro, conscious breathing becomes “a sort of physiological remote control.” “Breathing is the only function controlled by the autonomic nervous system that we can voluntarily regulate. We cannot decide to slow our heart rate at will, but we can consciously slow and deepen our breathing. If a student learns to control their breathing, they can also control their stress, center themselves, and focus their attention. That is what we mean by Education for Well-being, which at Mirasur is one of the pillars of learning.”

From the Classroom to the Future

The goal is for conscious breathing to stop being a one-time practice and become a habit. “We don’t want Respira Mirasur to be just a one-off awareness activity. We want it to stay, to become part of daily life, like brushing your teeth or exercising,” says Crespo.

Sampedro agrees: “In the short term, it helps with emotional regulation. In the long term, it improves health, prevents problems associated with poor oxygenation, and gives students a tool they can use at any stage of life. If we manage to make conscious breathing a daily routine, we will be contributing to their present and future well-being. And we hope it can also serve as a model for other schools, because breathing well is as simple as it is essential.”