Trainers’ Toolkit – Warmth of the heart

	Exercise nr 34:   Warmth of the heart
Duration	15-20 min
Type of activity	Social / Body / Emotional / Cognitive
The goal of the exercise	The aim is to connect participants with their sense of purpose and contribute it to the group by sharing their positive experience.
Group size	3-8 (use breaking rooms for larger groups)
Hashtags	#storytelling #strengths #teambuilding #empowerment
Materials and tools necessary for the activities	No other materials needed
Exercise agenda	This exercise refers to a personal experience of the participants creating good vibrations and shifting the attention to positivity using it as a perspective for the upcoming meeting. The first step is to ask participants to focus on their bodies. Ask participants to sit down comfortably, as you will guide them through this breathing practice. Encourage them to switch off their cameras to get as comfortable and relaxed as possible. 1st part: Breathing Instruction for participants 1. Slowly inhale and exhale for a few moments. 2. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose to the count of four. In this step, count to four very slowly in your head. Feel the air fill your lungs, one section at a time, until your lungs are complete and the air moves into your abdomen. 3. Slowly exhale: Sitting upright, slowly exhaling through your mouth, getting all the oxygen from your lungs. Focus on this intention and be conscious of what you’re doing. 4. Now, we will add holding of the breath after both inhale and the exhale: Hold your breath for another slow count of four.  5. Exhale again: Exhale through your mouth for the exact slow count of four, expelling the air from your lungs and abdomen. Be conscious of the feeling of the air leaving your lungs. 6. Hold your breath again: Hold your breath for the exact slow count of four before repeating this process. 2nd part: Focus instruction for participants As you breathe, think of an incident, a situation, a memory in your work when you felt a sense of purpose and warmth in your heart. Ask them to think of the first thing that comes to mind. Ask questions that encourage them in bringing the story to life. A few suggestions, when appropriate: – When or how did this shift? – What or who supported you? – How did you find your strength? This list could be endless…you can add your questions. The next step is to join the breaking rooms and share their stories with other participants. Send them to 3-4 groups and set 2 minutes for one person. In the end, depending on time, you can open a discussion on what surprised, touched or amused them and share it in the whole group or the chatbox.
Possible modifications	You can also use this exercise to shift participants’ attention into the future and imaginary situation in the near future when they would feel warmth in their hearts that they are longing for.
Credits	Compiled by Fundacja Culture Shock for TRENDSS – Transnational Roadmap for Educators in Digital Soft Skills (https://trendss.eu/)Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0Co-funded by the Erasmus+Programme of the European Union