Powerful You, School Counseling Lessons

How Breathe • Stretch • Life Skills Supports the CASEL 5

The Breathe • Stretch • Life Skills approach offers a simple, structured way for educators to integrate social-emotional learning into everyday classroom routines. Each component supports the development of the five CASEL competencies while giving students practical tools they can use throughout the day.

BREATHE → Self-Awareness & Self-Management

Breathing practices help students slow down and tune into what is happening inside their bodies. As they notice their breath, heart rate, and physical sensations, they begin to recognize their emotions more clearly.

Breathwork also gives students a strategy to regulate those emotions. Instead of reacting impulsively, they learn how to pause, reset, and return to a calmer state.

STRETCH → Social Awareness & Relationship Skills

Movement and stretching help release physical tension and create opportunities for shared experiences in the classroom. When students stretch together, they build a sense of connection and belonging.

These moments support social awareness as students recognize that others have similar needs for movement and regulation. They also strengthen relationship skills by encouraging cooperation, respect for personal space, and positive group interaction.

LIFE SKILLS → Responsible Decision-Making

Life skills tie everything together by helping students apply what they’ve practiced. After breathing and movement, students are more prepared to think clearly, solve problems, and make thoughtful choices.

These skills support decision-making by giving students the ability to pause, reflect, and choose responses that are safe, respectful, and aligned with classroom expectations.

Bringing It All Together

Breathe • Stretch • Life Skills is not an “extra” program—it is a practical way to bring social-emotional learning to life.

• Breathe builds awareness and regulation

• Stretch builds connection and community

• Life Skills build application and decision-making

Together, they create a classroom environment where students feel calm, connected, and capable of making positive choices.

Daily Tools for Nervous System Nourishment

Powerful You is a proactive, grab-and-go social-emotional learning program created by school counselor Julie Frizzi, designed to support both students and the educators who guide them every day. Educators make hundreds of decisions each hour while helping children learn to regulate emotions, navigate challenges, and feel safe in the classroom. Through breathing, stretching, storytelling, and reflection, Powerful You provides simple, effective tools that help calm the nervous system, build connection, and create classrooms where both students and teachers feel supported and ready to learn.

Each of the twenty-six Powerful You kids inspires meaningful conversations, positive self-talk, emotional awareness, and problem-solving — forming a comprehensive, easy-to-use program that supports the entire school community throughout the school year.

Meet the Powerful You Kids

primary Kids Grades K-1

Powerful You Kids Grades 2-6+