Actress, writer, producer and comedian Quinta Brunson has teamed up with Sesame Street to create a cute and intergenerational video about how to deal with feelings of overwhelm. The video is part of an ongoing digital series from the Sesame Workshop that brings on celebrities to share mindfulness techniques with the muppets, and of course, young viewers. A goal of Sesame Workshop, a non-profit, is to provide children and families with coping strategies and use storytelling to help grow their resilience. Through the series, they hope to improve emotional literacy.
In this particular clip, Brunson is with Grover and the mindfulness technique they explore is butterfly breaths. It’s where you raise your hands as though they’re the wings of a butterfly and slowly breathe in. You then lower your hands and slowly exhale.
During the episode, a flustered Grover vents about the many tasks he has to get done. Brunson empathizes with him then shares her approach to dealing with overwhelm–taking butterfly breaths.
“When I’m overwhelmed, I have a moment of mindfulness,” Brunson explains to Grover in the episode.
The two then do the butterfly breath technique together. At the end of the nearly two-minute episode, the Abbott Elementary star asks the blue monster how he is feeling, to which he says, much less overwhelmed.
Since many of us likely feel like this when we’re immersed in the demands of our daily lives, it’s a tip that almost anyone can relate to and find relief through.
Kat Graham and Big Bird kicked off the mindfulness series and families can also expect other celebrities in future episodes. Actor Cristo Fernandez and actor and writer Eugene Cordero will be guests and and share their mindfulness techniques.
In addition to videos in the series, families can also access emotional literacy resources on the Sesame Workshop website in the “Resources” section. They’ll have access to printables, videos, articles, a new digital storybook, and a digital interactive game.
