How To Take Care Of Yourself When You're Teacher-Tired Part 2

Hi, Teachers!

This past month has been super crazy for me. My grandma is in the hospital, I'm trying to plan a wedding, we're looking for a house, and on Tuesday night I was in a car accident. Do you know what I have right now? A SERIOUS CASE OF TEACHER-TIRED. Teacher-tired is the worst kind of tired, and I know you can agree with that.

In my previous post about teacher tired, I talked about some really important things you can do to take care of yourself and make your days easier and happier. The things I focused on were:

1. Getting adequate sleep.
2. Preparing healthy meals ahead of time.
3. Learning systems to manage your time effectively.

I think these are really important tips, but I left out one of the best tips I can possibly share. It's something some people love, and something some people dread. It's...
GETTING EXERCISE!!

Now before you go all cray on me, HEAR. ME. OUT. I used to be a certified couch potato, and now I'd NEVER go back. I'm going to say something that you've heard before, but might not have believed. I really want you to read my whole idea before dismissing it.


The right exercise for you is any type of movement you choose to do.


It's that simple. Do you like yoga? Great! Go do it! Do you like running? Terrific-put on your sneakers! Do you like P90X or Crossfit? Super-start lifting! But... do you HATE doing high intensity interval training? THEN DON'T DO IT!!!! Seriously, it's that simple. If all you want to do is walk and talk to a friend on the phone or watch Netflix, then just do that!! Moving = stress relief, no matter how you move. Any trainer who tells you your exercise isn't long enough or hard enough and suggests that you try something you don't like to do is just wrong. You don't need to have chiseled abs to benefit from exercise. This is about taking care of yourself, not starving yourself or over-training. (I'm not saying that people who have chiseled abs do that--I'm simply saying that I'm not talking about toning up or bulking up in this post.)

Exercise has been my sanity when things go wrong. I haven't been able to exercise for the past week, and believe it or not, I'm chomping at the bit to get back into the gym. I feel so much better after spending some time moving. Sometimes all I do is walk around on the track, and that's OK. Don't let anyone tell you that your walking isn't good enough. And don't let anyone tell you than 10 minutes a day isn't good enough. Fit it in where you can afford it, and make it consistent. If all you can do is stretch for 5 minutes every morning, it's a great start. Here are my tips for fitting in some enjoyable exercise.

1. Use GoNoodle with your class.

GoNoodle is really fun. You can do calming or energizing little brain breaks with your class. Honestly, if you do it, you can get your heart rate up in only a few minutes. Click the above link to see the site. It's 100% free (unless you upgrade to the premium version, which you don't have to do to enjoy the benefits of the site), and your kids will love it! You can do a little yoga with your kids, or you might even choose some brain breaks that teach academic content too. My kids love Airtime Space, Mr. Catman, and the Sports brain breaks. The benefit of using GoNoodle is that you will build your community within your class.

2. Use YouTube.

There's TONS of free content on YouTube. I happen to love Blogilates more than I can possibly explain. I am a POPster through and through. Cassey Ho, the creator of Blogilates, even creates a free training schedule for you and has a free app you can download on your smartphone, all with her hundreds of free videos! I'll show you a few of my favorite videos. I love her stretching videos, and I also love some of her quick videos. They provide a really difficult workout in a very short amount of time! She also has thirty minute workouts that are totally do-able for beginners. Seriously, go check her out.

This is my favorite thing to do before bed! Soooo relaxing, and it feels so good. There's a bridge in this video. Don't like it? Don't do it! Or try a modified bridge.

This is going to BURN your legs and butt, but it is effective and quick. No time in the morning? Pop this on! Want to make use of your lunch time? Play it... you won't be terribly sweaty afterwards because it's quick! Don't like workouts that burn? Okay then, look at the next video.




This is a really fun video in my opinion. It's 27 minutes and it gets your whole body done. She shows you everything you need to know to do this healthfully.

Maybe these videos aren't for you, but check her channel out. She has so many workouts it's insane!

3. Take advantage of your time.

Do you have dogs? Make it a double whammy and take them for a walk. You'll feel better, your dogs will feel better, and you will have taken care of a chore while taking care of yourself! If you have kids, play with them outside for quality time. The possibilities are endless with this one. I also know some people who exercise during commercials. Maybe it's jumping jacks or sitting with a shake weight. Look up "exercising for lazy people" on Google and you'll find a surprisingly large amount of stuff!


Those are my tips for fitting some movement into your day! I feel such a noticeable difference in my mood when I get to exercise. What do you like to do? Do you like training hard? Do you like being zen? How do you fit it in? Comment below!