Home > Resources > Breathing Exercises > A Breathing Pattern for the School Pickup Line
The pickup line is a strange kind of stressful: nothing is actually wrong, but you are sitting still, slightly late, thinking about the rest of the afternoon, and your body still responds as though there is somewhere urgent to be. A short breathing pattern used while you wait can shift that before you are back in a car with a child in it.
This handout adapts the same structured breathing research used across the other breathing exercises on this site: slow, paced breathing with a longer exhale than inhale reliably lowers physiological arousal within a few minutes, which is the mechanism behind the Stanford trial referenced on the Box Breathing and Physiological Sigh pages.
Use it as you pull into the line, not once the car doors are open. Five rounds is usually enough to notice a difference, and it is easy enough to do without anyone in the car realising you are doing anything at all. If you have more than a few minutes to sit, there is also a short meditation written for exactly this kind of waiting.
Use it as you pull into the line, not once the car doors are open. It is easy enough to do without anyone in the car realising you are doing anything at all.
Written by Storme Brand, HPCSA Registered Counsellor, Reg. PRC0023531, practising from Jeffreys Bay since 2012. Last reviewed 11 July 2026. This handout is general information and not a substitute for counselling.
If the school run is one small part of a bigger pattern of daily overwhelm, a breathing exercise can help in the moment but will not address what is underneath it. You can read more about anxiety counselling, or get in touch, there’s no obligation to book.
Not a strict clinical protocol like box breathing or 4-7-8. It adapts the same structured breathing research used across the other pages on this site: slow, paced breathing with a longer exhale than inhale reliably lowers physiological arousal within a few minutes.
Five rounds is usually enough to notice a difference, and it is easy to do without anyone in the car realising you are doing anything at all.
Use it as you pull into the line, not once the car doors are open. If you have more than a few minutes to sit, there is also a short meditation written for exactly this kind of waiting.
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References
Balban, M.Y., Neri, E., Kogon, M.M., et al. (2023). Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine, 4(1), 100895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100895
