I can remember my first day at senior school feeling nervous, happy and excited, I can also remember my babies first day at school feeling the exact same and I know from teaching my YogaBears that as a teacher we feel nervous butterfly’s when we are starting new classes.
Nervous because everything is new, new class, new teacher, new children, new challenge. Nerves are often a good thing because it is just a sign that we care how ever sometimes excessive worry and nerves can lead to anxiety which is a feeling of being overwhelmed that children, parents and teachers can do without.
An excellent way to combat nerves so it does not become excessive is to practice stillness like we do at YogaBears.
Imagine you are the roots of the tree strong and grounded spreading your feet evenly on the floor, as you inhale grounding your feet more firmly and as you exhale feeling stronger as you grow to the sky.
As parents this is an amazing technique you can use with your children and as teachers what an amazing way to start your morning class with all children holding hands in a circle like a forest of trees.
You can also prevent anxiety by overcoming feelings of overwhelming by breaking down your nervous feelings. I used this technique with my Jas yesterday to combat her back to school nerves.I asked why she felt nervous, she said because she had so many subjects to learn, so together we named all her subjects and came up with an action for each one to help her, for example for Spanish we decided 10 mins a day on Duo Lingo (a language app) would help her feel more confident when the teacher asked her questions and for spelling tests she would look over the words each day and not just try to learn them the night before.
This type of mindful action planning helps overcome nerves because it helps us feel more in control, prepared and confident and I had one happy little girl this morning going to school 😀
To help children feel more confident and less nervous mantras are also amazing to repeat, because what we say becomes our reality 😀
Here are five mantras you can use for nerves.
“I am fully prepared,
I am in control because I care,
I am going to have the most amazing day,
Whatever is needed from me I have,
I love my new adventure “
Trying to say them into the mirror the more you say them the more you & your child will believe them.
At YogaBears we believe yoga is for all children, parents, teachers so please give it a try what better way to remind you how super 💥we all are.
Happy back to school week, you got this 😀