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<<First Name *>> Greetings!
I hope you have been enjoying the summer and all the activities and easier pace that the warm weather brings.
This summer, my theme is self-care, encouraging everyone (and modeling myself) time for the important things, the intangibles, the inner riches. Take time to simply be happy, cultivate well-being, enjoy your friends and family, nature and movement, meditation and reflection.
Our technology has enabled us to take our work with us wherever we go, which means we have more freedom. That can be a great enabler. It also means we have to exercise more choice, choice over what to prioritize and the pace of our lives.
Personally, I have been enjoying balance this summer, some wonderful projects for the coming Inner Strength school year, coupled with long walks by waterfalls, my first attempt at wake surfing, and morning practice in my little urban backyard with the bright begonias and droopy ferns. We can all find a pocket of ease where ever we are, I encourage you to notice the good things, drink them in, and rejuvenate yourself.
This week, I’ll be presenting at and learning from Jefferson University’s 3rd annual Trauma Training Conference. Leaders in the field will be sharing new research, brain science, and best practices. Our students carry with them more trauma than anyone should ever have to hold and the students’ stress also affects the teachers in their classrooms. What I have found to be practical and very supportive is teaching educators how to incorporate self-care and a focus on positivity into the workday.
The new Inner Strength program Reducing Secondary Stress for Educators uses principles from active listening, 10 categories of self-care activities, and of course a variety of meditation techniques to help each individual create an actionable and personalized Self-Care Toolkit. In the session at Jefferson, I’ll also be working with the group to deconstruct culturally conditioned beliefs that inhibit our ability to seek out and practice self-supportive techniques. Our culturally absorbed biases and images of “strength,” “success,” or “competence” work against us in a variety of ways. Bringing these to light and unpacking them has helped teachers, social workers, and youth mentors be able to embrace their own well-being with gusto.
As soon as the conference is over, I head straight into the highlight of the Inner Strength Level2 Teacher Training . . . a 4-day intensive. This year’s cohort will meet in person for the first time to engage in practice teaching, immersion in learning more about a Developmental & Systems Perspective, do some deep practice, and enjoy early morning mindful nature walks through the forest. There is so much to share together and 4 days goes by in a flash! Once they complete the program, these instructors will be certified to teach the Inner Strength System, and several who live in the immediate area will be able to join our teachers’ cohort and expand the numbers of students we can serve in the years to come.
If you have found the ultimate enlightening summer read, please do share, I'm always looking to expand our contemplative recommended reading list!
Warmly,
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