Easy Ways for Teachers to Work Wellness into Their Busy Lives

The COVID-19 pandemic spawned so many trends: baking bread, hosting happy hours on Zoom, and taking RV vacations. It also created a new category of words: burnout vocabulary.

“The terms self-care and resilience have become burnout words, especially for teachers,” Karla Duff, Organizer at the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA), explained. “When you are mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted, well-meaning advice to meditate, take a bath, go for a walk or ‘just’ power through is not what they want to hear.”

As a former middle school and high school teacher, Karla is very familiar with the stress and pressure that teachers face. Right now, they are struggling most with the demands of the job. “Many schools are low-staffed,” she continued. “Teachers are often pulled out of planning time to cover for another teacher, because there aren’t enough substitutes. Every day is full. On top of that, politics are stressing our teachers. It’s a lot, with no relief in sight.”

When she had the opportunity to join ISEA as an organizer, she jumped at the chance to make a difference for the wider school community. “I work with and organize students, staff, and families to make the classroom a better place,” she said. “My goal is to make people happy.”

At the top of the list: introducing easy ways for teachers to integrate wellness into their lives. With sound healing, yoga, and mindfulness certifications, Karla is in the right job at the right time.

“We have teachers who feel they’re in a horrible place,” she continued. “We are empowering teachers to work on making their situation better, which makes the classroom better. Teachers will help their students before they help themselves. Knowing this, we give them wellness and mindfulness activities to do in the classroom. This is helpful, because the teachers do the activities (and reap the benefits) alongside their students.”


Easy ways teachers can work wellness into their lives

Acknowledge

Acknowledge how you’re feeling. “Yes, this is where I am right now.” Then tame it.

Breathe

This may sound silly, but it’s so important. Karla suggests Five-Finger Breathing. Inhale, exhale, and touch something to ground yourself. You can do this anytime. When you are feeling anxiety rising, practice breathing before the stress escalates.

Connect

Talk to someone about how you’re feeling. It could be someone you are really close to or not. If you’re participating in ELP’s professional support program, turn to your Virtual Instructional Coach or Building Mentor. Just don’t keep your feelings bottled up inside. Let them out.

Re-frame resilience 

You don’t have to be resilient in the face of a bad situation. Instead, work with your fellow teachers to enact change. These don’t have to be big changes. Some schools have quiet rooms for teachers; could your school create one?

Use the four P’s

When you face a challenge, it is helpful to step back and consider the four P’s:

  • What is the problem?

  • What pain is it creating?

  • Make a plan.

  • Make progress towards that plan.

Doodle

Doodling is mindful art; it allows you to focus on something right in front of you. It could be on a scrap of paper or in a notebook you carry with you.

Connect to the outdoors

Whenever you need to pause, walk up to a window and press your hands against the window to connect to nature. Or, sit on the floor in your classroom and ground yourself.

Sit in the suck

Most teachers smile and get on with it. But sometimes, life does suck. Maybe today sucked in the classroom. Just sit it in (this goes back to acknowledge). Breathe through it. Communicate it with someone. And then get out of the suck.

Take time for yourself

Teachers are amazing and will do anything to help their students. If you can put some of that energy towards yourself, you’ll be a better teacher, partner, friend, parent.

Lean on support programs like ELP

ELP doesn’t ask teachers to rely on just one person in their school building. You have the opportunity to network out and talk to Virtual Instructional Coaches. You have more freedom to share and more chances to hear what’s happening outside the little bubble of your school. Take advantage of this!

Karla’s final advice: Work just one of the above wellness ideas into your routine, and you’ll be better for it.

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