Teach for Love, Not Survival

An open letter to our wonderful school educators out there:

I read a post today on a Facebook group for teachers that was disturbing and so sad. The teacher expressed that she cried every Sunday, and that she never experienced this much anxiety over going to work in her life.

Can you relate? I mean it's only October! Do you know what happens to our brains when we are stressed? The amygdala, a.k.a. our emotional center, hijacks the executive function part of our brain responsible for such things as reason, empathy, memory and learning.

That's because the brain only cares about one thing - survival. It doesn't know why you're anxious, it's just clearing out what it thinks is unnecessary so you can respond quickly to whatever is going causing you stress. Back in the day, you might be running from a bear. Obviously that's not happening today.

So, if you are going to school each day just to survive the day, burnout is right around the corner. And that's just not fair to you or those kids whose lives you enrich every day. Remember why you got into education to begin with? I'm guessing you love kids and you wanted to make a difference.

The ability to manage your own anxiety and stress will serve not only you, but your students as well. It is our mission at Live Free Yoga to empower educators like you and your kids with tools to support social and emotional wellbeing.

Our mindfulness professional development workshops do just that. In fact in just two weeks, on November 8-10, our Teacher Training: Mindfulness in Motion for Teens will be at Sacred Space Studio in Frisco, TX. This is a 20-hour deep dive into mindfulness that will give you tools, techniques and skills to not only begin your own mindfulness practices, but you'll get lots of great ideas and resources you can implement in your classroom as well to support your SEL curriculum.

Mindfulness is the act of being present. But it's not as simple as it sounds. It takes practice and consistency, which is scientifically proven to improve your ability to focus, manage your emotions, learn better and prevent depression and anxiety.

And...we are TEA approved, so you could earn up to 20 hours of CEC's toward your annual requirement. That's more than what you need for the year!

I don't want to add more pressure, believe me, but this is our last training for 2019. Time is running out, so I'm giving you a gentle nudge to at least hop on over to our website where you'll get the skinny on what to expect. Simply click HERE, to learn more and register.

And, my friend, since you are there for those kids every day, we want to be there for you. All teachers receive $50 off the regular price. Just go to the registration page now and use this coupon code at checkout. MIM-Frisco (case sensitive!).

*Payment plans are available at your request

LMK if you have any questions. Hope to see you in two weeks!

In joy and service,

Phyllis Smith

Co-founder & CEO

Live Free Yoga

214-497-7982