Dates:  4 Zoom sessions on Mondays from 4:00 -5:00 p.m. via Zoom  (April 12th, 19th, 26th, and May 3rd, 2021)

Covid has shifted our world dramatically and many of us, especially educators, have worked overtime using a seemingly endless amount of creativity, compassion, patience and then more creativity to provide not only an education for their students, but more importantly a stable and caring presence.  The job description of “teacher” continues to ask more and more of us.  And we do it because we love our profession and the children, and we know how essential our work is.  

But many of us can feel it wearing away at our health and our own stability.  The intensity of the job on an emotional and mental level has always taken an intense amount of energy, and now that has increased significantly.  And we cannot do this important work if we are running on fumes!  

Many of us do not have the extra time or energy to do much more than survive.  Which is why this course may be right for you.  I do not aim to teach you the entirety of the field of mindfulness, but instead offer you simple and efficient practices to use before and after you teach, and while you teach.  We will explore a wide array of tools and approaches so you can easily layer these practices into your daily life, along with practicing a general sense of awareness and curiosity into your physiological state so that you may discover your own methods of keeping a calm nervous system.  Research has proven that practicing Mindfulness - which can be simply defined as paying attention, on purpose - not only reduces our stress levels at the time, but has a lasting effect in your day to day life as well!  So come join us as we dive in, let out a big sigh, and practice fueling up!

Session 1:  After a chance to settle in, we will dive right in with some simple practices that you can start using immediately while teaching, a preparation for teaching a way to refuel afterwards.  We’ll practice them together and make a plan on how to integrate them into your life.  

Session 2:  After a week of experimenting with the mindfulness practices, we’ll revisit them, explore some of the nuances, and do some troubleshooting.  I will lead you in a longer guided meditation designed to calm your nervous system, a practice that can “re-set” your “fight or flight” tendencies and that you can revisit during your own mindfulness practices during the week.  

Session 3:  We will check in with questions and successes from the week and add a few more simple mindful practices to your repertoire.  I will guide another nervous system calming meditation to deepen the practice.  We will learn strategies and do some brainstorming to incorporate all that we’ve learned into a personalized plan for your already established rhythms of your daily life, such as eating breakfast and walking the dog.

Session 4:  After another opportunity to check in with questions and successes, we’ll revisit any components of the class that may need deeper exploration.  

Instructor:  Jess Matthiae, Peaceful Heart Yoga

Registration fee:  $49/per person
4 OPI renewal units available
Event #21560001
If you have any questions, please contact director@wmplc.org