The biofeedback breathing program by Rural Opportunity Institute (ROI) teaches students how to change their body’s conditioned responses to stressful situations in order to improve learning outcomes and interrupt cycles of generational trauma. As a training technique based on research from brain and body science, biofeedback breathing helps students develop the resilience and self-determination they need to live healthy, safe, and connected lives.
Biofeedback breathing is widely utilized by athletes, astronauts, and the military as a training tool to enhance performance and manage stress. By providing real-time physiological response data about Heart Rate Variability (HRV), biofeedback helps regulate breathing patterns, leading to better focus, resilience, and performance. Similarly, students can use biofeedback to improve self-regulation of their emotions and body, which makes it a valuable tool to use to cope with issues like anxiety, ADHD, depression, PTSD, and chronic pain.
Biofeedback breathing has produced positive results in a range of settings by helping people manage the health of their nervous systems. ROI has successfully piloted it in middle schools, county jails, and non-profit organizations, where it proved to be a preventative tool that helped to create a more supportive environment for students.
What Makes This Model Innovative?
Whole-Child Focus
Customization
Active Self-Direction
Related Models
Compass
The Compass model fosters holistic and adaptive development— including key physical, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual disciplines—through a focus on community and relationships as well as individual identity work.
Compass
The Compass model goes beyond academics to develop students in mind, heart, body, and spirit. Compass ensures that all members of the community (young and adult) are engaging in deep, holistic, and adaptive development work.
The Compass model is implemented in 64 schools and is helping over 30,000 students experience more social acceptance, social concern, and social reciprocity as well as less emotional exhaustion. Valor offers cohort learning communities, one-on-one coaching and consulting, resource toolkits, and school visits to others interested in implementing the model.
Da Vinci RISE High
The Da Vinci RISE High model uses a responsive and holistic approach—including flexible scheduling, blended learning, credit recovery, and wraparound social services—to meet the unique needs of students navigating foster care, housing instability, and other circumstances that have disrupted their schooling.
Da Vinci RISE High
The Da Vinci RISE High model was designed to provide an equitable education for students traditionally left out of the larger educational narrative—those navigating foster care, housing instability, probation, and/or other circumstances that have interrupted their academic journeys. RISE believes that if we build with the needs of the most at-promise youth in mind, we will not only create an empowering school for them, but we will create a school that is well equipped to serve students with a vast array of skillsets and needs. The RISE model takes a responsive and holistic approach to education, acknowledging and adapting learning to accommodate the additional responsibilities and priorities students have in their lives outside of school. To do this, each RISE student co-creates and regularly updates a Personalized Learning Plan outlining their unique pathway to graduation. Plans leverage flexible scheduling, blended learning, mastery-based grading, and holistic wraparound support to ensure students meet their academic goals while managing their personal needs.
Da Vinci currently operates three RISE High schools serving 250 students in Los Angeles, California. Da Vinci Institute provides workshops to share model best practices. Da Vinci RISE: Student Profile Da Vinci RISE Brochure
Goals
The core goal of ROI biofeedback breathing work is to help students learn to manage stress and navigate adversity in their lives. ROI Biofeedback Breathing Presentation
Self-Awareness
Students can identify the causes of stress in their lives. They understand how they tend to respond to stress.
Self-Determination
Students know that they have the power to manage their response to stress. They develop an increased sense of control over their minds and bodies.
Improved Coping Skills
Students possess tools to handle stress. They are able to avoid negative coping behaviors.
Increased Emotional Well-Being
Students better understand their emotions. They can regulate them with behavioral awareness.
Experience
ROI’s biofeedback breathing model uses technology to teach students how to train their heart rate variability (HRV), which impacts the autonomic nervous system and is an indicator of physiological and psychological capacity and well-being. In sports science, HRV is used to assess an athlete’s training and preparation for performance.
Different from the talk-based interventions typically used in schools, biofeedback breathing helps students learn how to control their HRV, which, in turn, helps them control how their emotions impact their body and behavior. The model is based on research about how to mitigate the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and stress on learning.
Students who opt into the program use HeartMath Inner Balance Trainer technology to monitor their HRV as a part of practicing biofeedback. The technology itself is a small, wearable sensor that clips to an earlobe and measures heart rhythm. This information is then sent to the HeartMath Inner Balance mobile app, which provides visual, real-time feedback on HRV. This feedback helps students learn how to understand and control their HRV, which is a measure of how evenly a heart beats in relation to signals it receives from the nervous system.
Over time, students learn to use biofeedback to shift stress and frustration into balance and resilience using breathing exercises and meditation. The goal is for students to use biofeedback to achieve coherence, which is a physiological state when breathing, heart rhythms, and brain rhythms are in sync with each other. Coherence promotes overall well-being for students both in the near term in school as well as long term in the future because they have learned stress management tools and skills. What is Heart Coherence?
The primary tool within the biofeedback breathing model is mindful breathing. Students use the Inner Balance app to track their biofeedback and learn specific breathing techniques and meditations. As students practice biofeedback, the Inner Balance app uses color-coded visual cues to guide students through their breathing to get the most out of exercises. This gamification helps students maintain engagement. For example, in one exercise, a multicolored circle expands and contracts, signaling when to inhale and exhale respectively. The goal is for students to keep the indicator light green, which means they are breathing at the proper cadence. If the light turns blue or red, the student needs to refocus their mind and body to enter a calmer state of mind and turn the light green again.
Students participate in at least one 10–15 minute session per day, ideally twice a day for 5–8 minutes, over a 4–6 week span. Sessions can be scheduled whenever it is convenient but would ideally take place at the beginning and end of the school day. In later stages of the program, students practice without devices to help them further develop self-regulation skills. At the end of a session, students may also choose to follow a guided meditation to further their practice. ROI Breathing Techniques
Once students conclude a biofeedback session, they are prompted to describe their mood using the Inner Balance visual scale. This is a simple process in which students tap the emoji that reflects their current mood. This data is synced with other information to provide students with a progress report as they move through the program. Inner Balance Mood Selection
Students receive real-time feedback during sessions, but they also receive progress reports that help them build growth mindsets and celebrate their successes. Progress reports based on data from their sessions help them track the relationship between their moods, their breathing, and the state of their parasympathetic nervous system. Depending on the level of investment from the program coordinator in terms of time and from the school or district in terms of technology, progress monitoring can be either simple or complex. Schools determine who sees progress reports besides students. ROI only collects anonymized data. Sample HRV Report How to Read HRV Assessments
Supporting Structures
The biofeedback breathing model can be incorporated into any existing school design with the purchase of equipment and some basic accommodations regarding scheduling and space.
ROI’s biofeedback breathing model is easy to incorporate into any curriculum but is best when implemented with an SEL curriculum.
The biofeedback breathing model is compatible with any curriculum. When adopting the model, students must first be introduced to the science behind biofeedback and how it can counteract the negative impact of trauma on learning. Students should also receive education around Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) as a source of trauma that makes self-regulation and executive functioning difficult.
Understanding the basic principles of a trauma-informed approach to teaching and learning will bolster the positive effects of the biofeedback breathing model. Ideally, the model will be paired with social-emotional learning curriculum that provides additional support for students. The only instructional requirement is the use of technology that measures HRV. ROI uses HeartMath Inner Balance technology. If a school does not yet have a SEL program, ROI offers some somatic tools as a starting point. ROI Resilience Cards
At least one staff member is needed to manage ROI’s biofeedback breathing model.
Although ROI’s biofeedback breathing model consists of several elements, one staff member could manage all of them as a part of their workload. Every staff member who helps to run the program must receive educational training in ACEs to understand the impact of stress and trauma on the body and brain. They must also learn how to use HeartMath Inner Balance technology, how to manage student data, and how to enroll students in the program.
One person can take on more than one specific role in the program. Roles to be played within the biofeedback breathing model include:
- Program Champion(s): advocates for the program
- Program Recruiter: finds and enrolls eligible students in the program
- Program Coordinator: oversees all aspects of program implementation
- Data Manager: documents participation, stores data, and maintains student privacy
The biofeedback breathing model requires students to practice for at least 15 minutes every day for a minimum of four weeks.
Schools adopting the biofeedback breathing model must provide at least 15 minutes in their daily schedule for students to participate in the program. Although students will benefit from one 10-minute biofeedback breathing practice session per day, the ideal is for students to participate twice a day. And although the program typically yields results after 4 weeks, the ideal is for the program to run for 6 weeks.
Schools must provide the program with a quiet, private space where students can practice biofeedback breathing each day.
When practicing biofeedback breathing, students must be allowed to utilize a dedicated space that will give them privacy and allow them to focus on their breathing without distraction. Program staff must clearly communicate procedures for the use of this space.
The biofeedback breathing model requires the use of an Inner Balance training sensor that must be connected to the HeartMath app.
The model requires the use of specific equipment and software to monitor HRV and teach students how to regulate it. ROI uses HeartMath but other types of equipment are available. HeartMath Inner Balance Sensors
A budget must be in place to purchase the technology needed to run the biofeedback breathing model.
Individual HeartMath Inner Balance Trainers cost approximately $199 per unit. This technology runs on an app that is compatible with both Android and Apple devices.
ROI’s biofeedback breathing model is easy to incorporate into any curriculum but is best when implemented with an SEL curriculum.
The biofeedback breathing model is compatible with any curriculum. When adopting the model, students must first be introduced to the science behind biofeedback and how it can counteract the negative impact of trauma on learning. Students should also receive education around Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) as a source of trauma that makes self-regulation and executive functioning difficult.
Understanding the basic principles of a trauma-informed approach to teaching and learning will bolster the positive effects of the biofeedback breathing model. Ideally, the model will be paired with social-emotional learning curriculum that provides additional support for students. The only instructional requirement is the use of technology that measures HRV. ROI uses HeartMath Inner Balance technology. If a school does not yet have a SEL program, ROI offers some somatic tools as a starting point. ROI Resilience Cards
At least one staff member is needed to manage ROI’s biofeedback breathing model.
Although ROI’s biofeedback breathing model consists of several elements, one staff member could manage all of them as a part of their workload. Every staff member who helps to run the program must receive educational training in ACEs to understand the impact of stress and trauma on the body and brain. They must also learn how to use HeartMath Inner Balance technology, how to manage student data, and how to enroll students in the program.
One person can take on more than one specific role in the program. Roles to be played within the biofeedback breathing model include:
- Program Champion(s): advocates for the program
- Program Recruiter: finds and enrolls eligible students in the program
- Program Coordinator: oversees all aspects of program implementation
- Data Manager: documents participation, stores data, and maintains student privacy
The biofeedback breathing model requires students to practice for at least 15 minutes every day for a minimum of four weeks.
Schools adopting the biofeedback breathing model must provide at least 15 minutes in their daily schedule for students to participate in the program. Although students will benefit from one 10-minute biofeedback breathing practice session per day, the ideal is for students to participate twice a day. And although the program typically yields results after 4 weeks, the ideal is for the program to run for 6 weeks.
Schools must provide the program with a quiet, private space where students can practice biofeedback breathing each day.
When practicing biofeedback breathing, students must be allowed to utilize a dedicated space that will give them privacy and allow them to focus on their breathing without distraction. Program staff must clearly communicate procedures for the use of this space.
The biofeedback breathing model requires the use of an Inner Balance training sensor that must be connected to the HeartMath app.
The model requires the use of specific equipment and software to monitor HRV and teach students how to regulate it. ROI uses HeartMath but other types of equipment are available. HeartMath Inner Balance Sensors
A budget must be in place to purchase the technology needed to run the biofeedback breathing model.
Individual HeartMath Inner Balance Trainers cost approximately $199 per unit. This technology runs on an app that is compatible with both Android and Apple devices.
Supports Offered
ROI offers the following supports to help you implement their approach to biofeedback breathing.
ROI Biofeedback Implementation Guide
Free
A step-by-step guide explaining how to implement ROI’s biofeedback breathing model.
ROI Trauma & Resilience Training
Cost Associated
ROI offers resources to help schools start biofeedback breathing programs and build resilience, including basic consulting or professional development.
HeartMath Training and Certifications
Cost Associated
HeartMath, a manufacturer of the biofeedback technology used by ROI, offers a variety of curriculum, guidance, materials, and support.
Reach
Impact
In a 2019 pilot, 12 middle school students who were frequently disciplined for behavior challenges reported that biofeedback breathing helped them regulate their emotional state.
- 100% of students reported increases in their ability to calm down after using biofeedback.
- 57% reported a decrease in anxiety symptoms after using biofeedback.
Young people readily engage in biofeedback breathing because its positive impact is tangible.
“I was amazed by how quickly our guys got into it. They seemed to enjoy doing biofeedback. I saw it change how they felt.” –Head of detention center
“Biofeedback was simple, and my students loved getting the space and time to do the breathing practice daily.” –Middle school teacher
“The benefits of this program are immense. Students and staff learn self-regulation strategies and communication is improved.” –Middle school teacher