The act of mindfulness, connecting the mind with the body and being in the moment, frees us from anxiety. When we can achieve this quickly and effectively, we can live a fuller life and be more present in our work.
As an educator, it is normal to feel a huge amount of responsibility with your job. Take away the stress of state testing pressure, keeping your principal happy, and having a personal life while grading mountains of papers, and you have what is really at stake: The future success of your students. As teachers, we put ourselves under a huge amount of pressure. Most educators got into the field with a sense of altruism, and wanting to make a difference in the world. But we often forget the most important thing we have: Ourselves.
During my five year tenure as a Special Educator in the New York City public school system, it was very difficult to separate work life from personal life. One day, after proctoring a high stakes state exam for a group of students with disabilities who received extra time, I was exhausted. I did a simple yoga exercise, and was amazed to feel almost instant relief from the stress of the moment. I kept experimenting and researching, until I found a system that worked well to keep me refreshed and at my best. Ultimately, my practice as a yoga teacher working as an educator helped me develop the system of mindfulness-based yoga and meditation exercises that are the basis of the curriculum for my office yoga company.
It sounds simple, but the three best ways to find mindfulness as an educator is to breathe, move in your body, and check in with your emotions.
Breathe:
Really feel what breathing is--notice the sensation of air entering and leaving through your nostrils. Feel your chest rise as you inhale, feel it fall as you exhale. See if you can focus your mind only on the sensation of breathing. Slow, even breath can help--inhale for four seconds, exhale for four seconds.
Move your body:
You can do yoga poses anywhere, which is why it was my go-to de-stresser as a teacher. If the word "yoga" makes you feel awkward, call it stretching. The point of adding movement to your mindfulness practice is to literally get the blood flowing. You are likely on your feet all day, spending evenings sitting and grading papers. Find some easy yoga poses that suit your needs, and make the moves part of your daily routine.
Check in with your emotions:
Emotional intelligence is one of the most important skills I learned during my time as a teacher at NYC Lab High School. We did a very involved professional development program with Marc Brackett, founder of the Yale School of Emotional Intelligence. My big takeaway, other than the mood meter, was that being aware of emotions helps us control them. Especially while in a stressful job where behavior can emotionally affect everyone in the room, it is important for the teacher to be aware of emotions, and behave mindfully.
I've spent the past four years teaching yoga and meditation as a workplace de-stressor to some of New York City's most interesting offices, and it all started from what I learned by adapting yoga to my needs as a stressed school teacher. When the opportunity came to pursue my office yoga company full time, I took a leap, but never left the education sector--I am still the lead yoga teacher at Lighthouse Guild for the Blind's teen program, and teach yoga to medically fragile youth in the NYC foster care system: A Master's Degree in Special Education is a terrible thing to waste. Even now, working with students on a low-stakes basis on a physical practice that is fun and usually met with enthusiasm, working with youth requires deep mindfulness.
No matter where your career takes you, knowing to breathe, move in your body, and check in with your emotions will help you be mindful, and become the best version of yourself!
Lauren Coles is the Founder and Lead Teacher of Daisy Office Yoga in New York City, where she brings yoga to people at work. She has co-written the first Office Yoga curriculum backed by research and medical science, and believes in the power of yoga to improve people's relationship with their minds and bodies. Her YouTube series, Ms. Yoga CEO, aims to inspire people to be the best versions of themselves through simple yoga and meditation.