UC Berkeley student teaches peers box breathing to manage classroom stress

Evelyn Mata walked out of her Immigration Studies course almost in tears. Again. The class was covering the El Paso massacre, sexual violence against immigrants, the weight of injustice — material that left her and her classmates emotionally wrung out.

She knew she wasn't alone in that feeling. But she also knew something that might help.

In another class with Professor Dacher Keltner, Evelyn had learned mindfulness and breathing techniques. The practice had steadied her. So she approached her Immigration Studies professor, Pablo Gonzalez, with a simple idea: what if they collectively breathed together at the end of difficult lessons?

Gonzalez was immediately receptive. "The moment calls for us to have these conversations," he said, "but the moment also calls for us to have all of the different ways that we can be there for each other and collectively breathe together."

What Evelyn brought to the classroom

The technique is called box breathing — a four-part cycle that takes just a few minutes. You inhale for four counts, hold for four, exhale for four, then rest for four before beginning again. Repeat for several minutes until your nervous system settles.

When Evelyn first led her classmates through it, she was nervous. But what she saw surprised her: warm smiles. Her peers leaning in. And Professor Gonzalez participating alongside them — not standing apart, but breathing with them.

That matters. Gonzalez understood that collective practice isn't just about the technique itself. It's about showing up together in a moment of shared vulnerability. "If the intention is community building, then you don't separate yourself from that community," he explained.

The breathing practice offered something different from a regular break. Students weren't checking their phones or stepping outside. They were anchored to the present moment, to their bodies, to each other. In a classroom dealing with trauma and injustice, that grounding became essential.

For Evelyn, the practice crystallized something she wants to carry forward. Whatever field she enters — social work, community organizing, policy — she's committed to bringing mindfulness with her. "I want to create a space where whichever community I'm working with, they can just breathe," she said.

What started as one student's response to her own overwhelm has become a small model for how classrooms can hold space for both difficult truths and collective care. The research backs this up: studies on mindfulness-based interventions consistently show reductions in anxiety and stress among college students, particularly when practiced in group settings.

The next time a classroom confronts something heavy, someone will likely remember that you can pause, breathe together, and find your way back to steady ground.