Shift for Wellness

Laura's YouTube channel Buy Laura's book: The Sun is Shining Laura's website The post #54 Creating a Space For Joy & Facing Fears Around Creativity with Laura Wootton appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

Click here to work with about Ivette. The post #52 Relaunch Your Life Force With Ivette Desai appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

Food fuels the body, it comforts the soul, it triggers emotions. Food is woven into the fabric of our ancestry, and has very deep roots into who we are and how we live our lives. Food is the center of our celebrations and our comfort in times of grief. Food can cause allergies, brain fog, digestion issues, inflammation, sluggishness, and it is also the greatest... The post #51 Your Food & Your Lifestyle Are Your Answer appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

Let me begin by telling you that the inspiration for this post began with a request from my friend, Mike Kuczala. In short, Mike is a bestselling author, acclaimed keynote speaker and innovative professional developer in both educational and corporate settings. He's currently wrapping up the publication of another book titled: The Peak Performing Teacher: 5 Habits of Success, which will be out in February.... The post #50 Create a Morning Routine & Face Each Day with Courage, Confidence, & Calm appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

Wow!! I am SUPER excited to be back in this space with you all on this platform that I missed tremendously!! Wow, where have we been?! Talk about an opportunity to use our tools! And hopefully you had the chance to listen, way back in July of 2020 when I produced that last, episode 48: “Healing Strategies to Help during Troubling Times”. I taught two... The post #49 Emergence appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

As we continue to experience COVID-19 and racial injustice in our world, these tools will help you during this critical time in our history and they will help you during a critical time in your personal life.  I’m going to teach you how you can contribute to your own personal welfare and to the welfare of our nation at large by helping you to create space in your body and movement in the world to unblock limiting beliefs like fear, guilt, worry, and shame.

Today, I'm going to be sharing with you two efficient healing strategies to help you manage where you are right now during these troubling times and how you can move forward in a positive direction contributing wellness, understanding, and respect to these issues and to any other issues you need to gain control over.    As we continue to experience COVID-19 and racial injustice in... The post #48 Two Healing Strategies To Help During Troubling Times appeared first on 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 Sussex County Teacher Edition: Lafayette / Barbara McIntyre appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

Listen in to hear how school psychologist, Barbara McIntyre, shares how she works with teachers on implementing yoga and mindfulness into the instructional part of the school day.

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 Sussex County Teacher Edition: Lafayette / Pat Faris appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

Listen in to hear how school nurse, Pat Faris and her colleagues, developed a successful and comprehensive wellness committee that has evolved and shifted to meet the needs of staff, students, and the community at large over the years.

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... The post #45 Sussex County Teacher Edition: Stanhope / Miss Reilly appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

I feel overwhelmed as an educator...so this was nice to be able to go to this training and learn about social and emotional learning and just be able to implement it in small ways, daily. - Maggie Reilly

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 Teacher Edition: Stanhope / Miss DiIonno appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

As the Sussex County Teacher of the Year with a platform for embedding yoga and mindfulness into the daily classroom instruction, it's become my mission to seek out other teachers in the county who are making tremendous shifts in the learning process for kids.  While I accept this honor very graciously, I also acknowledge the fact that there are many other teachers in the county who deserve to be highlighted for implementing the same practices. Listen in to hear how 3rd-grade teacher, Stephanie DiIonno, shares the practice of mindfulness with her students.

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 Mindful Human Series: Part IV – The Role of the Mindful Human appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

Are you a good listener? Part IV speaks to mindful communication and what our body language says about how we feel while speaking and listening to others. Shift your perspective to choose calm. Choose ease. Work toward living mindfully during this challenging time... and always. xo

“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... The post #42 Sussex County Teacher Edition: The Align Wellness Center / Sparta appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

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 with counseling and therapeutic care.

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 school... The post #41 Sussex County Teacher Edition: Andover appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

School Psychologist, Dr. Melissa VanBlarcom from Long Pond School in Andover, New Jersey shares her story about how she works with the school staff to make mindfulness a part of the school's culture.  Each class period kicks off with a one-minute mindfulness practice! Listen in to see how they make it all happen.

Folks, this is the moment, the prime occasion for putting what you’re learning into play to prevent you from going off the rails and keeping a level head while chaos is all around you.   I’m excited for you to listen in on how you can make this practice of paying attention, having compassion, tuning into yourself by becoming aware of your senses and being without judgment, an easy, simple little slice of your life. 

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 Mindful Human Series: Part III – Your Brain & Mindfulness appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

Listen in as two teachers, Jess Garris and Courtney Savino, from Franklin Elementary School in Franklin, New Jersey share their stories about how they make social and emotional learning happen in their classrooms with the practices of mindfulness and yoga!

  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,... The post #39 Sussex County Teacher Edition: Franklin appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

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: Part II – Why Practicing Mindfulness Is Necessary appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

Paying attention and being aware of what you're letting into your space helps to pump the breaks on life. It allows us to experience life happening for us rather than to us. And I don't know about you, but I love living in a life that is happening for me, rather than happening to me.

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 awareness... The post #37 Mindful Human Series: Part 1 – What Mindfulness Is and What It Isn't appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

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. 

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 Practice appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

I’ve come to find yoga intimidation to be really huge among people who don’t practice, so today I’m hoping to help dispel any mysteries around the practice of yoga in hopes that you’ll consider creating your own practice with courage and confidence.   

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 Wellness.

 ...a “How To” about how to manage your attitude on a day to day basis while being faced with a major life challenge.  This is what I was being led to share. It became clear that would be helpful to many and doing so on a bigger scale made sense to me.  It occurred to me that others may have similar questions and concerns and could use help navigating their way through their illness and could benefit by having a bag of tricks, a toolbox, a checklist, or a list of steps or measures to take when things got tough.

Many people have scripted our self-talk, and the good news is we can re-script it. An affirmation is a statement of fact or belief (positive or negative) that will lead toward the end result you expect.   When feeding our minds positive affirmations the programming in our minds changes

….is that you get to look forward to the first day coming again! In between now and then, we get to enjoy the blessings of many holidays that bring so much love and joy. No matter what your age or what you do for a...

   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 Handful of Quiet appeared first on Shift for Wellness.

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...

The transits we’ve been experiencing these past few weeks are great for burning rituals that help to let go of what isn’t serving you any longer. This eclipse, according to Tosha Silver, is the ending of a major life cycle and the beginning of something much greater.

A few years back I was having a wisdom tooth pulled. I had no qualms about it. I never had a tooth pulled before, but something inside made me know it would be easy. I saw myself in and out of ...

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”....

Two years ago I made the switch from being the Library Media Specialist in the middle school to teaching fifth grade in one of the elementary schools in our district. It was hard for many to understand the need I had for the change. Many...

I awoke this Sunday morning to a personal vow of not allowing work to be all-encompassing in the practice to continue to live a more balanced life. Breakfast is finished and I’m feeling encouraged....

Apprehensively, I signed up for yoga teacher training for the next six months. Everything in my logical mind screamed, “Are you crazy?!”, while my intuitive Self told me to trust and move forward.  Being only three days into the training,

Nothing gives me a rush straight back to the comforts of my childhood than cranking up a fresh, new L'Oreal lipstick. The creamy smell of…lipstick. I have no other words to describe it.  I’m hypnotized by the perfect stamp of its very name embossed at the base of the stick. I can feel mom's kisses so gentle on my cheek as I get ready to run out the door for school.  I LOVE it!  

At night while falling asleep, I do my 4-7-8 breath and lead myself into a moment of gratitude. 

Tosha’s message is very simple:  Offer it up. Let the Big Guy take over; or as Tosha writes, “She”.  This shift in my daily prayers has transformed everything for me.  Like many of you, I am a multi-tasker despite continually pretending that I am not. I'm an over-planner. An obnoxious “To Do List” maker. A payer of attention to too many details. A people pleaser.

The pangs of waking up to bright lights creeping underneath the crack of my door as they light the way to the bathroom for me churn deep in my gut. This morning I will not breathe the stale hotel room air and bend to pick up the newspaper that’s been slipped through the crack of the door at an ungodly hour by a no doubt too tired hotel worker.

It saddens me when I hear people say, “I’m not celebrating this year.” Or “I’ve stopped celebrating.” Really? You’ve chosen to not celebrate the last year you’ve been gifted? Nothing in the last 365 days held any significance for you? You can find nothing to be grateful for during that time? And you’re not looking forward to the new year that has presented itself to you? Oh, please change your mind. 

...it’s about sifting through all the nonsense and helping our students to feel safe, calm, capable, and connected throughout their days with us in school.

There's beauty in coming through one of life’s most trying challenges.  Everything is beautiful.  The rain. The snow. The heat. The cold. Crotchety people.  Screaming children. Bad drivers. Long lines at the store. Wifi that’s down. Flat tires. WHO CARES?!  I’m happy I’m alive to be able to experience it all.  

Backward? By backward, do you mean honoring my truth? Following my heart?  Do you mean challenging myself to run a semi-self-contained classroom which I’ve never experienced?  Do you mean going beyond what common sense will allow? Denying the truth that runs through my veins?