Physical Self-Care for Teachers: Energy, Rest, and Resetting Your Body
Physical self-care is of paramount importance for educators, as it directly impacts their energy levels, patience, and overall resilience within the classroom environment. In this episode, we delve into the essential components of physical well-being, emphasizing the vital roles of sleep, movement, and proper nutrition. We underscore how prioritizing adequate rest can enhance cognitive function and emotional stability, thereby mitigating the risk of teacher burnout. Furthermore, we explore the significance of intentional movement throughout the day, which not only invigorates but also fosters a more dynamic teaching experience. By making deliberate choices regarding physical health, we not only fortify our own capabilities but also elevate our capacity to support and inspire our students effectively.
The realm of physical self-care for educators is explored in a manner that elucidates the pivotal role it plays in enhancing both personal well-being and professional efficacy. The discussion emphasizes the necessity of prioritizing sleep as a foundational element in combating teacher burnout. Through the lens of shared experiences, the speaker advocates for a consistent sleep schedule, underscoring how adequate rest not only sharpens cognitive function but also fosters a calm and patient demeanor in the classroom. Practical strategies are presented, including establishing a no-grading boundary during nighttime hours to safeguard personal time and promote restorative sleep. Furthermore, the conversation extends to the importance of intentional movement throughout one's day. Educators are encouraged to incorporate brief, purposeful physical activities into their routines, whether through morning stretches or engaging in invigorating outdoor activities such as hiking or biking. The speaker shares personal anecdotes of their journey towards improved physical health, illustrating how movement can invigorate both body and mind, ultimately enhancing one's capacity to teach effectively. The episode concludes with a call to action for teachers to embrace small yet impactful changes in their physical self-care routines, reinforcing the idea that maintaining one's health is paramount to sustaining long-term success in the demanding field of education.
Takeaways:
- Prioritizing sleep is essential for teachers, as it significantly enhances energy, focus, and patience in the classroom.
- Incorporating movement into a teacher's daily routine fosters increased energy levels and combats exhaustion.
- Nourishing the body with healthy food choices directly impacts a teacher's stamina and overall effectiveness.
- Utilizing micro recoveries throughout the day can provide necessary resets for both physical and mental energy.
- Teachers should consider naps and rest as investments in their health, rather than signs of laziness.
- Establishing consistent sleep routines is crucial for maintaining optimal well-being and preventing burnout.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Be a Funky Teacher
- DDPY yoga
Transcript
Yeah, he's Mr. Funky.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker A:Mr. Funky Teacher inspires greatness, makes you feel good.
Speaker A:Like your favorite playlist.
Speaker A:Keeping that fresh and funky.
Speaker A:Yes, he does.
Speaker A:He got some funky cool ideas to share for all you teachers.
Speaker A:He can empower others, students and teachers.
Speaker A:It's all about hard work and creativity.
Speaker A:He brings out the kindness in everyone.
Speaker A:He's got the passion to teach you hear it when he speaks.
Speaker A:He knows how to build strong relationships.
Speaker A:If you're seeking the best bunkiest, he is it.
Speaker A:He will empower you to improve.
Speaker A:You'll be helping others and loving it too.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker A:Yeah, he's Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:This is Mr. Funky Teacher with Be a Funky Teacher dot com.
Speaker B:I'm coming to you with another Be a Funky Teacher podcast.
Speaker B:It is so exciting to be back with all of you today.
Speaker B:Everyone, welcome.
Speaker B:I'm glad you're here with me.
Speaker B:Let's start our episode.
Speaker B:Today we are going to be focusing on physical self, care for teacher energy, rest and resetting your body.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker B:That's what we are going to be focusing on today.
Speaker B:But before we get into it, let's talk about three things I'm thankful for.
Speaker B:First thing I'm thankful for is my dad's good news.
Speaker B:My dad went to the doctor yesterday and he got good news.
Speaker B:The doctor shared that his brain tumor has not grown.
Speaker B:And it's.
Speaker B:The brain tumor is in a spot where they can't operate anyways, I'm told.
Speaker B:And so they were hoping it wasn't growing at all.
Speaker B:And I'm very thankful for that.
Speaker B:And it's just a huge relief and a blessing that it's.
Speaker B:It's just kind of staying as it is and not, not really bugging him too much.
Speaker B:So I'm very thankful for that.
Speaker B:That is just the best news I could have gotten here all.
Speaker B:All we all month.
Speaker B:Really.
Speaker B:I'm so thankful for it.
Speaker B:The second thing, some extra sleep.
Speaker B:I'm thankful for extra sleep.
Speaker B:I was kind of feeling pretty tired so I went to bed extra early last night.
Speaker B:And rest is healing and it changes everything.
Speaker B:It does.
Speaker B:It changes.
Speaker B:However, it can change everything how I show up the next day.
Speaker B:Just that extra little bit that can recharge your.
Speaker B:Your battery.
Speaker B:And the third thing I'm.
Speaker B:I'm thankful for smoothies.
Speaker B:Simple nourishing and a small thing that can fuel the day in a good way.
Speaker B:I love a tasty smoothie that can just be fuel for the body.
Speaker B:All right, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:I Want to get into it today I want to talk about physical self care, energy, rest and resetting your body.
Speaker B:That's the main focus.
Speaker B:Now we did talk about different aspects of teacher self care.
Speaker B:Well, I want to focus on specifically today on the physical aspect of it.
Speaker B:So first off, the big focus is sleep is your superpower y', all for your physical health if you have.
Speaker B:Okay, so lack of rest is one of the fastest ways the burnout as a teacher, lack of rest.
Speaker B:We have to prioritize sleep.
Speaker B:Prioritizing sleep, it makes you sharper, calmer and more patient.
Speaker B:So I encourage you to aim for consistency with your sleeping.
Speaker B:And that's just not me.
Speaker B:That's like the experts out there who, who are like the sleep experts that I, I've heard talk and they talk about hey, you know, try to aim for a consistent, like the same bedtime or you, you, you even like your routine like your, your waking up routine, you went kind of the same bedtime routine when you wake up, have a certain routine that you follow and making that a priority in your life that sleep because it's going to impact you.
Speaker B:Our, our sleep, our body has to have sleep and it, if we're getting a couple out, I mean if our sleep, sleep schedule is all over the place, our body doesn't like that very much.
Speaker B:And I actually had to dial this and I'm guilty of it where that's one, one area of my physical health I've really struggled on because I sometimes like to grind out at night, working hard into the night and then I feel like garbage the next day.
Speaker B:And so I have to be really careful about doing that because, or careful that I don't do that because I, I, I just sometimes have to pack it in and say, you know what, I cut as much as I can done now it's bedtime now.
Speaker B:Now I need that to get ready for bed because it isn't if, sometimes if I grind into the night, then I'm done for the next two days.
Speaker B:I don't feel good.
Speaker B:So I gotta, I almost had to be strategic and thinking about, hey, you know, sure, I could stay up late and push through as hard as I can trying to get as much stuff as I can tonight, but then at what cost?
Speaker B:So I have to be really careful about it.
Speaker B:And I encourage you to be careful about that.
Speaker B:I, I, I encourage you, I encourage you to have like a, like a, like a creating like a no grading boundary at night when possible.
Speaker B:Be really careful taking stuff home and, and grading like sitting in bed Grading.
Speaker B:I, I don't think that's one boundary that, that, that I don't do.
Speaker B:I think I did really early on, but I haven't done that for years.
Speaker B:I'm not going to do that.
Speaker B:That's, that's a boundary.
Speaker B:Also, treat naps or an early bedtime as investment, not laziness.
Speaker B:Never, never.
Speaker B:Look at, hey, if you need to go take a nap, if you get home and you're feeling really tired from a long, crazy day at work of teaching and you got to go take like a half hour power nap, that's not laziness.
Speaker B:Don't let anyone tell you that's laziness.
Speaker B:That's investment into your health.
Speaker B:And that's, that's something I, I kind of had, I underestimated and didn't really value naps.
Speaker B:Now I think they're great.
Speaker B:I think they can be very beneficial.
Speaker B:Just lay down and just kind of rest your eyes, even just for 20 minutes.
Speaker B:That can make a huge difference.
Speaker B:And that's an investment into your physical health.
Speaker B:Not, not laziness.
Speaker B:But some people see it as lazy.
Speaker B:And you know, it's, it's, it.
Speaker B:I, I guess if, if someone sees it as lazy, then you know that that's not your problem.
Speaker B:That's, you are responsible for your own physical health.
Speaker B:So I encourage you, whether it be making sure that you're getting the bed at her at a decent time and getting some good sleep, getting up, having that routine, incorporating naps into your life as they're needed, man, that's important because you ultimately, you can't, you can't pour from an empty cup if your body is running unempty.
Speaker B:You need some sleep.
Speaker B:You need to heal your body.
Speaker B:Sleep is, is a way to heal your body, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:It is the next big thing.
Speaker B:I want to talk about movement.
Speaker B:Movement, movement, movement.
Speaker B:Movement builds energy.
Speaker B:Teaching is physically demanding.
Speaker B:You know that.
Speaker B:I know that.
Speaker B:We're on our feet all day.
Speaker B:We're bending, we're walking in a hall, we're walking around the classroom.
Speaker B:It is just super duper intense, right?
Speaker B:But, but intentional movement brings energy instead of draining it.
Speaker B:I want to encourage you to have intentional movement.
Speaker B:What are some options for teachers?
Speaker B:Well, think about this.
Speaker B:Maybe like a morning stretch of some sort or.
Speaker B:I've done morning stretches.
Speaker B:I've done yoga.
Speaker B:I love yoga.
Speaker B:I, I, I've done, I've done different types of yoga and I really enjoy it.
Speaker B:There's some more of the, there's.
Speaker B:Well, I'm not gonna, I am not a yoga expert by any means.
Speaker B:But there's, I know there's different types of yoga.
Speaker B:One yoga that I actually enjoy is it's a DDPY yoga, it's a Diamond Dallas Page yoga, DDPY yoga.
Speaker B:And it's kind of, it's, it, it focuses a lot on balance strains and let's see, balance, strength.
Speaker B:And there's one other thing I can't think of our offhand balance range and intensity I think it is, is that it focuses on like those three aspects.
Speaker B:I've done a lot with, with that type of yoga and it is such a great thing.
Speaker B:I'm not in, I want to get into where I'm doing that, incorporating that into my evening routine where I'm doing that in a daily basis.
Speaker B:I've had a lot of good success with that.
Speaker B:And there's ways where you can incorporate like mini yoga sessions too where you don't have to do like 90 minutes of yoga if it doesn't work for you.
Speaker B:There's, there's things you can do that, that take 10 minutes, even five minutes even that can help reset you and ground you and yet still contribute to your, your overall physical health and so and think and that's something you can incorporate before school, you can incorporate after school, maybe even going for, for, for a walk during prep in the hallway, up and down the hallway just to kind of take care of your physical health.
Speaker B:I encourage you to choose, you know, outside of school some physical activities that are beneficial and contribute to your overall physical health too.
Speaker B:I'm a big biker.
Speaker B:I love road biking.
Speaker B:I love mountain biking.
Speaker B:I love paddling.
Speaker B:Stand up paddling is my jam.
Speaker B:I love hiking on weekdays, weekends.
Speaker B:I love it all.
Speaker B:Now mountain biking, I've been really working.
Speaker B:I've done a lot of road biking.
Speaker B:In fact I have biked across Iowa on Ragbright the Great, the largest bike ride in the world.
Speaker B:It's a bicycle tour.
Speaker B:It's the largest, longest, largest in terms of number of people to do it bicycle ride tour in world right in Iowa where I live.
Speaker B:And, and, and I've biked across Iowa in July 13 times.
Speaker B:One twice has been with my daughter, my teenage daughter.
Speaker B:I've also done it with buddies of mine, good best friends of mine from, from high school and college.
Speaker B:My, my, my best friend from high school, Paul.
Speaker B:My best friend from college, Steel and that has been and done a lot of training that has fed into that and that's been, that has contributed to my overall physical health.
Speaker B:Mountain biking is huge for me too.
Speaker B:I'm, I'm still not, I'm not great at it in terms of like doing jumps and different things, but I'm pretty decent at it.
Speaker B:And I'm still learning a lot about mountain biking.
Speaker B:And we, we have actually, in the area where I live, we, there are actually some really cool jumps or some really nice trails that I have been trying out.
Speaker B:And for the area that I live, we have some really amazing, we have a really amazing trail system available to us as, as individuals living in this area that they're just there and they're.
Speaker B:I think they're underutilized too.
Speaker B:I think they're really underutilized.
Speaker B:They're not used as much as they could be or, or should be.
Speaker B:And I try to utilize them when I can, but there's nothing when you're climbing up a big hill or a mountain.
Speaker B:We don't have mountains here.
Speaker B:But if you're climbing up a mountain but like an incline of some sort that is like.
Speaker B:Oh, I don't know how to describe it.
Speaker B:It's just, there's so much intensity around it.
Speaker B:I love it.
Speaker B:And then, and then getting to come down some drops and you can go as fast or slow as you want.
Speaker B:There's safety precautions you can take around it as well.
Speaker B:But I encourage you, I encourage you to take advantage of biking.
Speaker B:You don't.
Speaker B:I'm just thinking here, you don't have to have, you don't have to be like, do these mountain biking trails or these road biking trails.
Speaker B:You don't even have to, to lean into that.
Speaker B:You could have just like a hybrid bike and just bike around in a neighborhood.
Speaker B:What's wrong with that?
Speaker B:I've done that plenty too.
Speaker B:So ultimately what it comes down to is skip moving.
Speaker B:Oh.
Speaker B:One thing I think that has probably influenced my physical health more than anything is my mountain biking or.
Speaker B:No, no, I'm.
Speaker B:Excuse me, not my mountain biking.
Speaker B:My, my pat, my stand up paddling.
Speaker B:I is kind of crazy because I.
Speaker B:So one of the things that happened was I, in the past year and a half, I've lost 80 pounds.
Speaker B:I have lost 80 pounds.
Speaker B:And it's kind of crazy because I, when I lost that £80, I, I've said to my, my family, I got, I got muscles, stomach muscles.
Speaker B:Where'd those come from?
Speaker B:And my wife said, well, because you're, you're paddle boarding, you do, you're stand up paddling, you do because that's working those core muscles.
Speaker B:And that was underneath some of that weight that was on my stomach.
Speaker B:And that when I took off some of that some of that excess weight that was on my stomach, some muscles under there.
Speaker B:Now I don't have like a ripped six pack, but I got some stomach muscles.
Speaker B:I got, I got some muscles on my, on my core and that's from that stand up paddling that I do.
Speaker B:And I'm a big stand up paddler.
Speaker B:I'm a stand up paddleboarder instructor too.
Speaker B:I love being, I love everything stand up paddling.
Speaker B:And I'm doing some river surfing too with some waves that are set up on rivers, not even ocean waves.
Speaker B:I love ocean waves too.
Speaker B:But river surfing with some local whitewater parks that are kind of in the Midwest that I try to get to and learning about river surfing, that's the next thing that I'm, I'm really trying to learn is, is how to get better at river surfing.
Speaker B:But stand up paddling is my jam.
Speaker B:Stand up pad on lakes, on, on rivers, on white water, running white water on stand up on a stand up paddleboard is, oh, it's, it's just so amazing.
Speaker B:That's all that all ties into, that's working my physical health, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:And, and there I have a really strong core because of that stand up paddling.
Speaker B:If you want to try something that, that really helps you get a stand up paddle board and you know, and a life jacket of course and start on a lake.
Speaker B:I encourage you start on a lake and make sure you have the safety gear.
Speaker B:Make sure you follow local regulations.
Speaker B:Get in the stand up paddling, it's, it's going to transform your physical health.
Speaker B:And then hiking, hiking is, is have some good, good shoes and hit some local trails.
Speaker B:I love hiking with my family.
Speaker B:There's nothing that brings us closer together than sometimes going out for a hike when we're on a vacation or even local some of the local trails.
Speaker B:Going on a hike together, I just love spending that time together, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:I, I do so movement builds energy.
Speaker B:I, I, I, I get so passionate about this topic around, around physical health because I know how much of a difference it's made in my life.
Speaker B:And then fueling your body, y', all, fueling your body is the next big idea.
Speaker B:What you put into your body affects your patience, your focus, your stamina.
Speaker B:Teaching days.
Speaker B:Y' all often run if you're a coffee drinker.
Speaker B:I'm not a coffee drinker, but there's a lot of teachers that run on coffee and leftover snacks.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:But feeling what, but feeling well matters.
Speaker B:I want to encourage you to, to try to keep some, some healthy Snacks on hand, especially things that have protein in them.
Speaker B:And I'm not, this is not offering medical advice.
Speaker B:This is just practical from one teacher to another.
Speaker B:Hey, what are some things that can be helpful from you from a non medical.
Speaker B:I'm not a medical person so I'm not offering medical advice.
Speaker B:But hey, these are just like I said, non medical advice here because I, I would never, never claim to be a teacher.
Speaker B:I'm just saying with things that have worked for me or really things that have maybe nuts in them or, or some fruit or some protein bars.
Speaker B:I, my wife makes these protein balls and, and I try to keep one or two of those on hand.
Speaker B:She makes these amazing protein balls and I keep them in my refrigerator at school and if I need a little pick me up man, they make a big difference.
Speaker B:Much better than, than feeling my body with like something that's more carb based that's just going to cause me to crash or something sugary and then stay hydrated.
Speaker B:Yo water is underrated sometimes.
Speaker B:Smoothies, yes smart smoothies as they, they smoothies can be quick and nourishing for busy mornings or busy afternoons or busy evenings.
Speaker B:Right and then, and then, and then just I encourage you to make small, small changes around your snacking and meals for big differences in energy.
Speaker B:When we fuel our body during the day with sometimes garbage or candy bars or things that process stuff that just jacks up our body or makes us feel, gives us inflammation in our body.
Speaker B:I'm telling you I just feel sluggish.
Speaker B:And so I encourage you to think about what you're putting in your body to have a conversation with your doctor or someone who, who can advise you more too about things that, that you can fill your body with.
Speaker B:But I do encourage you Protein man, I'm telling you what protein is where it's at.
Speaker B:You've got to get protein in your body early in the day or if you feel like you need to pick me up.
Speaker B:I do some intermittent fasting.
Speaker B:Actually I've, I've, I've had.
Speaker B:That's one of my keys to my success for losing a lot of weight myself.
Speaker B:My 80 pounds was intermittent fasting and so sometimes I did not during when I was really I'm not, I'm kind of like just maintaining right now.
Speaker B:I'm at my ideal weight right now so I do intermittent fasting but I also, I'm not doing just like one meal a day anymore and I, I should maybe do a, maybe an episode where I'm just deep diving just on that specifically about My weight loss journey.
Speaker B:But I'm not just, I'm not so intensely focused on losing weight now.
Speaker B:I'm at my, I, I, and I consulted with my doctor and that's why I say encourage you to talk to your doctor too, about your health.
Speaker B:Get physicals, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:Get physicals.
Speaker B:Talk to your doctors.
Speaker B:Because I, when I was doing intermittent fasting and really in the thick of it, I was consulting with my doctor, I was going in because I wanted to make sure I was doing it in a healthy way and, and, and getting correct medical advisement.
Speaker B:And my medical doctor said I was doing it right and that I wasn't losing weight too fast.
Speaker B:Intermittent fasting where I was doing one meal a day, actually I was just doing a supper meal is what I was doing.
Speaker B:And I was skipping lunch and breakfast and I, but you might, you know, there's people who say that's unhealthy.
Speaker B:Well, I was having it overseen by my doctor.
Speaker B:And so it's, it's, I was doing it in a way that was working for me.
Speaker B:And now I do bring a little bit more for.
Speaker B:I don't do breakfast anymore still, but I do do it.
Speaker B:I do do a lunch, but as early as I can, as soon as I, One of the very first things I get into my body in the day is protein.
Speaker B:I gotta get protein in my body, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:And, and I encourage you to get protein in your body as soon as you, as one of the very first things you eat.
Speaker B:And then the micro, micro recoveries, y', all during the day too, for your physical health, you don't have to wait until 8pm to reset physically.
Speaker B:Micro breaks can help you recover while teaching.
Speaker B:So for example, step outside for 60 seconds of fresh air if you can.
Speaker B:If you can get someone to cover your room.
Speaker B:And you need just a reset, you know, can you step outside for 60 seconds to breathe some deep fresh air?
Speaker B:Close your eyes at your desk and breathe deeply between classes or over your lunch break or, or if you have any sort of other break of some sort, keep a water bottle on hand and take sips.
Speaker B:Maybe every time you, maybe every time you, you start a lesson, you go take a sip of water or, or as well you, you're closing part of your lesson.
Speaker B:You go take some, you drink or whatever.
Speaker B:Figure out some sort of routine that you, making sure that you're getting water in your body right, and those are micro recoveries there.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker B:Cause ultimately these resets protect your body and energy.
Speaker B:Not throughout the day where we just don't want to try to focus on our physical health one time during the day or two times during the day.
Speaker B:We want to take care of our physical health throughout the day and kind of keep maintenancing it and part of, you know, taking a deep breath of air, maybe closing our eyes and doing some 30 seconds of deep breathing, getting water in our body.
Speaker B:Those are micro recoveries that's maintaining our body as the day goes on.
Speaker B:And I think you're going to see big benefits from those micro recoveries.
Speaker B:So as, as I kind of bring this episode to a close some as I reflect here and share some big takeaways here.
Speaker B:Physical self care is foundational.
Speaker B:You can't show up well.
Speaker B:You can't show up well if you're running on empty.
Speaker B:Focus on sleep, movement, fuel micro recoveries that recharge your body.
Speaker B:Because taking care of yourself physically isn't optional.
Speaker B:It's how you sustain this work, this teaching work for the long haul.
Speaker B:We want you to be able to go years and years and years as a high level, high performing, funky teacher.
Speaker B:Because when you're able to do that, you're able to change lives of young people and still stay healthy, strong, and providing impact for all those young people who desperately need everything that we can bring to them and help them, setting them up for lifelong greatness and success.
Speaker B:Y' all right?
Speaker B:Are you with me?
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:As, as we come to a close, I want you to remember to inspire greatness in young people.
Speaker B:And don't forget to be a funky teacher.
Speaker B:Bye now.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky Teacher, yeah.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Bonky Teacher, yeah.
