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12 Ways to Take Care of Yourself as a Teacher

Being a teacher can be very difficult at times. You want to teach with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. Here are 12 ways you can use to take care of yourself as a teacher divided into four health categories: mental, physical, emotional, and ultimately, spiritual health.

Mental Health

Having a healthy mind is vital when teaching. If you aren’t in a good mental state, it is very difficult to teach and plan effectively. We will go over three tips to help with your mental state as a teacher:

-focusing on your why

-recognizing your growth

-applying breathing techniques

Focus on your why.

Why did you want to be a teacher? Let that desire propel you through the times when you want to give up or when you feel unmotivated. Once you've identified your motivation to teach, it is so much easier to get through the difficulties of life.

Recognize your growth as a teacher.

Sure, there are ups and downs in your career as a teacher, but take a moment to look back at how far you’ve come! Think of it like climbing a mountain. You start off and you’re excited and full of energy. About halfway up the mountain, you’re tired and kind of want to head back. The view is good from where you paused, but you know don’t get the same view or sense of accomplishment as you would if you reached to the top of the mountain.

Think back to the first class you taught, and look at yourself now. See how much you’ve grown and look forward towards continual growth as a teacher.

Applying breathing techniques.

You can try belly breathing or diaphramic breathing. This is a breathing practice done by breathing in through your nose, exhaling through the mouth. You typically want to have 8-12 breaths per minute in this exercise.

Slow deep breathing for even 5 minutes has been proven to help with stress, anxiety, blood pressure, sleep, muscle activity, and much more! Try taking 5 minutes in the morning before going to school or 5 minutes before bed to practice this slow deep breathing.

Physical Health

If you aren’t physically well, you won’t be able to teach effectively. That’s why it is so vital to take care of your physical health. Here are three simple things you can do to feel healthy and ready to tackle every day.

Eat breakfast.

Eating a balanced with protein, fruits, and grains is crucial as a teacher.

Protein is a source of long-term energy, helping you get through every day. Fruits and vegetables contain vitamins that are vital for keeping us healthy. Grains/carbs, though people on diets typically avoid these, are quick sources of energy that burn more quickly than calories from proteins.

A breakfast with few grains/carbohydrates and high protein will help you have energy throughout the day. There are plenty of options for dietary restrictions in breakfast as well. For those on diets and/or trying to lose weight, one of the best ways to do so is with a medium sized meal for breakfast, a larger lunch, and a small dinner. 

Get enough sleep.

Everyone is different and functions better on different amounts of sleep. Some people need 8 hours of sleep, which is recommended by health professionals. However, some people feel like they are more tired if they get 8 hours of sleep than if they were to get only 6 hours of sleep. Understanding your sleep tendencies is important for a good night of sleep. This will help you feel well rested and ready for the day. 

Exercise and drink water.

It can be very difficult to find time to exercise with a busy schedule, grading papers, work, socializing, and eating take up a large portion of our days. However, exercise helps the brain function better due to an increase of oxygen in your system and a healthier heart rate. 15 minutes of cardio can go a long way.

It is also very important to drink lots of water so you aren’t getting dehydrated. Drinking water isn’t just important while exercising, but throughout every day. The recommendation is to drink 8 cups of water or a half gallon of water every day. 


Emotional Health

Having emotional stability can make or break your classroom. You may have noticed that it is a lot harder to interact with others, much less teach when you are sad or upset. In contrast, it is a lot easier to teach others when you are in a good mood and happier. Here are some ideas for how to improve your emotional health. 

Rewrite the story you tell yourself.

If we can come to understand why people do what they do, it will be a lot easier to get along with them, even if we disagree. Similarly, when students are acting out in class, there could be something going on in the home. There is no such thing as a difficult person. You just don't have the tools to deal with said person in a way that is appropriate. Until you know the full story, it doesn’t help to write a negative narrative. When you rewrite the story you tell yourself, you have the power to shape your day. 

Look for the good in every day.

If you look for the bad, you will find it very easily. However, the opposite is true. If you look for the good, you will inevitably find it too. If you focus on the good in your life, whether it is that someone opened the door for you or you got a raise, you will find that you are generally a happier and more pleasant person to be around.

Try to take time to do something you enjoy doing like listening to your favorite songs or reading a book. This helps you to find something good every day.

Think more about others than you think of yourself.

I have found that the more often we focus our attention towards others rather than ourselves, we are happier. When you find yourself wanting to complain, reflect and find where your focus is. This can be difficult because it is a very natural response to turn inward when things aren’t going your way. As we look for ways to serve others, we can learn patience and understanding.

Spiritual Health

Last, certainly not least is your spiritual health. Understanding that not everyone is religious, there are still things that everyone can do for their spiritual health.

Among these are:

-sticking to your moral compass

-meditating

-scripture study. 

Sticking to your moral compass

This is a healthy way to stay true to who you are. You may want to sit down and take time to reflect and examine your personal morals, making a list of what you believe to be right and wrong. For most people, morals are rooted in religious beliefs.

If you stick to that list of right and wrong, you will feel better about yourself, helping you to be a happier person. This allows you to truly believe you are a good person and be more effective in the things you do, including teaching. 

Meditation

You don’t have to be a religious person to meditate. Meditation is very similar to slow deep breathing as discussed earlier. The goal is to focus on breathing and seeking inspiration or revelation. This allows your thoughts to run freely, helping you to sort through everything from random thoughts to deep emotions.

It helps you clear your mind and calm yourself. The Greek word for repentance is “metanoeo”. The Greek prefix, meta, meaning change. The suffix, noeo, has relation to mind, spirit, heart, and breathing. The idea of meditation is to help you change each of these, helping you to be a better person and more spiritually enlightened.

Scripture study

Regardless of your religious affiliation, you can study the scriptures. Even if you aren’t religious, you can find lessons and history in scriptures that you can learn from to improve yourself. Taking time to do this every day is beneficial as there are a lot of scriptures and many lessons to learn even if you have studied them before. 


Conclusion

These are twelve tips and practices that you can do to be the best teacher you can be. These will help you to teach with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, improving your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health as you put these to use. Not only will these help you be a better teacher, but help you to take care of yourself as a teacher.


Have any questions? Visit our ambassadors at the McKay Commons in the Group Study Room (MCKB) from 11am-1pm on Mondays,1pm-3pm on Tuesdays, and noon-2pm on Wednesdays If those times don't work for you, you can set up an appointment here.


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