Shift for Wellness

I feel that it’s really important for educators to focus on the whole child, not just the academic piece because children today are dealing with so many emotions. – Barbara McIntyre One of the one things I’ve come to know about facing challenges and tragedies is that kids of all ages sitting in classrooms all throughout Sussex County and the state of New Jersey suffer greatly... The post #47...

The Nutrition Committee evolved into an overall Wellness Committee.  From nutrition, we’d have a Family Activity Night. We emphasized the need to be active as a family.  We also started…Screen Free Time. With a grant we recevied equipment for videos, mats, etc. so the staff could exercise and do yoga after school. – Pat Faris One of the one things I’ve come to know about... The post #46...

Social and emotional learning is so easy to implement in your everyday teaching. – Maggie Reilly One of the one things I’ve come to know about facing challenges and tragedies is that kids of all ages sitting in classrooms all throughout Sussex County and the state of New Jersey suffer greatly from them. Year after year I witness these levels in children increasing. Students trust themselves.....

A lot of kids have this mindset where feeling happy is a good thing, feeling sad is bad, feeling angry is bad, and feeling exciting is good…I want them to start being aware that actually all feelings are good! – Stephanie DiIonno, 3rd-grade teacher One of the one things I’ve come to know about facing challenges and tragedies is that kids of all ages sitting in... The post #44 Sussex County Te...

In Part III of the Mindful Human series, we practiced getting in touch with sound as we played around with Mindful Listening.  If you didn’t get the chance to practice or listen to part three, you can check out episode #40 “Part III Mindful Human Series: Your Brain and Mindfulness”. You’ll want to go to shiftforwellness.com/40.  If you’d like to listen to the series in... The post #43 Mi...

“To be able to offer therapy, counseling, and wellness activites to our students and staff members has been just a dream come true.” School Psychologist and Coordinator for the Align Wellness Center, Dr. Jane Esposito from Sparta High School in Sparta, New Jersey, tells us all about the creation of The Align Wellness Center at the high school.  The center is committed to providing students......

Students were disregulated and in need of coping strategies and I think a lot of times we’re so focused on the academics and the rote instruction…we really don’t have the same framework for social emotional learning. – Dr. Melissa VanBlarcom, School Psychologist School Psychologist, Dr. Melissa VanBlarcom from Long Pond School in Andover, New Jersey shares her story about how she works with the sc...

In Part II of the Mindful Human series we practiced getting in touch with our Anchor Breath.  If you didn’t get the chance to practice or listen to part two, you can check out episode #38 “Part II Mindful Human series: Why Practicing Mindfulness is Necessary”. Visit shiftforwellness.com/#38. There you can read the blog post or listen to the podcast and you can also download... The post #40 Mi...

  Mindfulness and social emotional learning to me are not necesarily a program, but it’s more of just a practice, and we embed it as much as we can into every day activities and routines…” – Jess Garris, 5th & 6th Grade Language Arts/Social Studies Special Education Teacher   Listen in as two teachers, Jess Garris and Courtney Savino, from Franklin Elementary School in Franklin,... T...

In Part 1 of the Mindful Human series, we imagined what the world would be like if it were filled with people who were mindful.  People who paused and responded rather than reacted. People who looked up with a kind smile for you. People who paused to understand rather than made assumptions or judged? I challenged you to decide whether to choose to be a... The post #38 Mindful Human Series: Pa...

Imagine moving through your day free from worry, being nonjudgmental, and with a kindness in your heart for yourself and others.  People that pay attention and are aware of the world around them and the space they occupy is what our world needs now more than ever.  This is the practice of Mindfulness.   The practice of mindfulness is about the sensory experience.  It’s an...

I’m often asked by friends and family where I teach yoga and when I tell them I don’t work in a studio, I choose to simply teach the faculty and staff I work with after school once a week. I also remind them I teach the kids in class as well, and it’s then that they ask me if I would teach them private yoga... The post #36 5 Steps To Overcoming Yoga Intimidation While Creating Your Own Yoga Practi...

Isn’t it funny where life takes us? If you’re like me, every day you create an agenda, a “to do” list, for what you’d like to accomplish.  Some days you actually make it through that list and other days you wonder why am I even bothering to make one.   I set a goal for myself back in the fall 2017 which was to have all... The post #35 I’m Glad You’re Here appeared first on Shift for...

The best thing about the last day of summer is that you get to look forward to the first day of summer coming again! Between now and then, we get to enjoy the blessings of many holidays that bring so much love and joy.

   I bought this lovely book a few years ago when I began teaching fifth grade.  It was my intention to kick the year off with it, but it never happened.  Being new to the elementary school environment, I was barely able to keep my head above water.  As a matter of fact, my head was never above water.  My lips were really, really close to... The post #33 A Handfu...

After I meditated for a bit, I burned the hell out of that paper, and while doing so I witnessed an interesting metaphor unfold right in front of me.

I've gotten a whole lot better at not allowing other people's experiences and energies to affect my world, but they certainly do come fast and furious if we're not paying attention. So do yourself a favor, and set yourself up for wellness by protecting your space before you leave the house. Depending on your situation, you may even want to protect your space while you're in your own house. Teenage...

Our self-talk is the creator of our universe. It is the voice of our heart, mind, and soul, and reflects our perceptions of the world, of others, and of ourselves. It guides us, criticizes us, supports us, and impacts our decisions. Our "inner voice" often influences our moods and determines if we are happy, sad, relaxed, worried, optimistic, or helpless. Because self-talk is the "voice" we hear m...

I was going nowhere professionally. I've run workshops on the national, state, and local levels, and I've attended every conference that was offered, yet I was no longer feeling challenged in my role and cried inside with every printer cartridge I changed and every piece of paper I unjammed from the copier. This is what a Master's + gets me? I ached for growth and for more of a challenge to work i...

I’m learning to give myself permission to feel the feelings that arise and not to judge. I've also learned to offer these moments up and allow my Inner Wisdom or higher power to take over. This is the best treat of all. Remembering that I am not in this alone makes everything so much more light and airy. It's time to sit, breathe, and be thankful I have a job to be anxious over.

When feeding our minds positive affirmations the programming in our minds changes. Professional athletes and business people have used the technique of affirmations for years to increase their performance and success.

The 21-Day Gratitude Challenge was a joy to participate in. I don’t want to wait until 2018 to do it again. We should start a movement to roll right into another 21 days, and just keep it going over and over and over. Wouldn’t it be lovely for everyone who posts on social media, to first post what they are grateful for before posting anything else? There’s an idea.

Admittedly, posting daily will be the biggest challenge of my 21 Days of Gratitude. Making daily notes and transferring them to a weekly post seems to work best for me. Have you decided to make a list? If so, how is your list coming along?

How do you practice gratitude? Do you keep a journal or a daily ritual of thanks? Have you begun to keep one for this year? Even thinking of one thing you are grateful for as you move throughout the day is enough to shift your mood into a happier space.

Practice trusting and being led to only that which needs to be done today and allow yourself to go through each day with little surprises around each corner.