Lessons from yoga to remove distress from school life.

Did you know that not all stress is bad?

There are two types of stress that we can encounter, most people are only familiar with the negative version of stress, when asked, which we refer to as distress. It can be defined as follows:

great pain, anxiety or sorrow, acute physical or mental suffering, affliction or trouble.

However distress does have an opposite which is more beneficial to us. It is a form of stress which promotes our physical, mental or spiritual growth rather than inhibiting it (as too much distress might). The name of this form of stress is eustress, which is defined as:

beneficial stress, e.g. psychological or physical, consisting of the greek prefix 'eu' meaning good (i.e. eu-phoria) and stress, literally meaning "good stress".

It is this form of stress (on the physical level) one encounters in the practice of yoga (as well as many other physical endeavours), and it is in becoming more mindful of how we can manage that stress during our practice that we can better deal with the psychological stresses in our day to day/work life.

Teaching: A stressful job!

There is no doubt about it, the modern teacher is under a lot of stress. Planning, assessing, dealing with parents, dealing with behaviour, more planning, record keeping, the list goes on and on. The bad news is, lets face it, that stress is going nowhere. The good news is, we can take action to ensure that it is a form of eustress more than it is a form of distress.

Become a warrior!

My least favourite postures in all of yoga are the warrior poses. It forces the legs into a prolonged stretch that makes my calves, hamstrings and quads feel like they are on fire. But as time goes on and I relax and breathe into the posture, I feel more relaxed and at ease. Furthermore, as the weeks go by, I feel my legs strengthening and each week I can stretch a little further and hold a little longer. By being mindful of exactly how much stress I am under I can help my whole body, mind and spirit to grow. 

It is absolutely possible to push it too far and cause an injury, and to distress my muscles and joints. It is absolutely possible that I skip my yoga practice altogether and gain some extra pounds. But I don't. Not when I am treating myself with the respect and love I deserve. I am voluntarily receiving a little challenge and in doing so I feel strong, like a warrior! 

Am I saying you should all take up yoga? No. I am sure you would not regret it, but the lesson can be transferred to all areas of life and in reading this you can learn those lessons too.

So, how can we take heed of this lesson and make our working life less distressing? Well, we can first of all accept that we choose this profession with all its stresses and acknowledge the gift of stress to help us grow. Can we take on too much work? Take too much home? Choose to hide away from the work and do half a job or no job at all? Of course, and we often do, but it is in doing these things that we cause ourselves more distress and the blood pressure and the paperwork mounts. 

However, we can choose to take proactive action in order to feel that stress in a positive way, at times that suit us. Some ideas to do this you ask?

• Try planning your week in advance and make time for exercise, leisure and relaxation.
• Prioritise your time effectively, put first things first.
• Talk to others, be open about your stresses, they are a natural and beautiful thing worth sharing. 
• When the stress is becoming too much, be honest with yourself and seek help or change your game plan. Remember, "if you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got."
• Try setting some goals, keep those goals in mind when encountering stress, it will get you through the challenges. Even eustress can be tough, that's the idea, it makes the rewards more rewarding when you work for it.

If you have any other ideas for de-stressing your school, or you have any other questions or comments about this blog, post them in the comments below.

Until next time, make sure you do something eu-stressful each day.