Redefining Self Care
- (Teacher self care exercises)
- Breath practices
- Physical self-care
- Sleep
- Nutrition
- Treating your body with kindness
- Mental self-care
- Social self-care
| Start by sitting comfortably. If it feels ok, close your eyes or just gaze down. Tuning out the world and focusing on you. Find your anchor by planting your feet on the ground. Put your hands on your belly or your heart. Let’s begin by taking a deep breath in through your nose and a deep breath out. Just notice where your mind and body are at this moment. No judgment, just notice. Continue to breathe slowly, in through your nose and out through your mouth. In this exercise, we will work through the word CALM. Beginning with C for our chest. CFocus on your chest. If your hands are not already there, put your hands on your chest. Notice if it feels heavy. Are you breathing from your chest? If so, try to move your breath down to your belly, freeing up space in your chest. Just notice how this feels. Breath as you begin to feel some lightness in this area of your body. ANow, let’s move to A for your arms. Start by rubbing your arms, giving them a little massage. Waking up the arms, creating new oxygen to flow through your body. Take a deep breath as you feel your arms. Notice if you feel tightness or tension from your shoulders to your finders. LNow, let’s move to L for your legs. Give your legs a little attention by rubbing them or massaging them. Whatever feels comfortable to you at this moment. Bring fresh new blood flow as you move your legs in whatever way feels good. Maybe stretch them out or notice if they feel heavy or light. There is no right or wrong. Just tuning into what your body feels at this moment. MFinally, let’s focus on our mouth for the letter M in CALM. Start by massaging your jaw. Releasing any tension in this part of your mouth. Begin to relax your mouth and then put a smile on your face. Notice what this does to your mood. Can you begin to feel a little bit happier with this simple movement? As we close our practice, taking another deep breath or two with a smile on your face, you can move through the rest of your day with a little more CALM and presence. Take one final deep breath and when you feel ready slowly, with no rush, open your eyes and come back to our space in this room. |
Let’s Do it!! Resetting your Nervous System
- In the space below you will write one stressor and name the feeling you had as a result of it. For example: if one of your stressors was a disagreement with a coworker, how did it make you feel? Frustrated, helpless or discouraged? The point of this exercise is to look through what has caused you stress so that you can better understand what pushes your buttons and so that you can be better prepared to deal with the stress when those buttons are inevitably pushed again in the future.
- In this step allow yourself to be curious about what is happening with body and mind as a result of the stressor? For example, do you feel more tired than normal, are you craving something you usually do not eat? Which part of your body feels stressed or why do you think you reacted like that?
- Stressors make us react in ways we do not want, so we can be harsh to ourselves after an undesirable reaction. When this happens, it is important to treat ourselves with compassion. In this part, please write down some compassionate advice to remind yourself next time you encounter the same experience or feel the same way. You can write a word, phrase, or your favorite mantra.
- We have learned about different types of rest! For the last part of this activity, please select which type of rest you need to focus on the most and what activity(s) do you plan to put into practice.
| Type of Rest | Check | Activity |
| Physical– Relieve your body of physical stress like muscle tension, lack of sleep or headaches | ||
| Spiritual- Tap into your spiritual beliefs and higher power. | ||
| Mental- Quiet your anxiousness & refocus on the most important things | ||
| Social- Identify which relationships are nourishing your energy &limit your interaction with toxic and draining people. | ||
| Sensory- Take a moment to be still & silent without outside interference. | ||
| Emotional- Express your true feelings & cut out the “people-pleasing” mentality. | ||
| Creative- Let the beauty of your surroundings inspire you and motivate you. |
Remember consistency is the key!