5 way to avoid burn out as a Children's Yoga teacher

What is Burn out?

We all have some degree of stress in our lives but burnout is quite different. It is when stress has hit its max, or you're feeling so overwhelmed, irritable and maybe just feel like quitting. It can creep up on you or build slowly. When you're doing a job that you are so passionate about and you love, it may be hard to admit you are feeling burned out. It doesn't make you any less of a teacher or any less passionate, it just means that you are human, and maybe you've been so busy filling everyone else's cup, that you forgot to fill yours first.

5 Ways to avoid burn out

1. Learn to Say No!
Are you taking on too much? Maybe saying yes because it sounds like a great opportunity even if it doesn't feel aligned for you. Maybe saying yes because you are flattered they asked you, even though it means cancelling that one evening you get to yourself. It is okay to say No. And guess what, You can even say no, without apologizing!

2. Self care, self care, self care!
Guaranteed you preach it, but are you listening to yourself? Just because you love what you do and maybe it doesn't always feel like 'work', but it is work and it does take its toll. You need to be looking after you. Getting enough sleep, eating, drinking, resting, the basics - right! I would argue this is not self-care but essential care. Looking at your daily routines and rituals may be handy.

3. Don't forget your own practice
Don't forget why you wanted to teach others, most likely you had your own practice before you went on to teacher trainings etc. Don't lose that. Get on the mat and practice. It really helps to attend classes, watch videos and switch off from planning mode. When you switch off from planning mode and just be present with the practice, you'll be more inspired than ever. Set a designated time after practice to write notes if you want to but try to avoid doing this during class and just let yourself have that time for you. 

4. Get outside help!
You know the benefits of using yoga blocks, they provide us with help to get into poses that may be very challenging otherwise, or just add an extra 'something'. It feels good to be able to use them.  Everything we practice on the mat can be taken off the mat, this includes this lesson. If the support is there, we  can absolutely use it. It can help to look at what areas of your business that you would love to delegate. What is it in your business that is causing you the most amount of stress right now? Who can you find to take this off your plate? What is your biggest excuse for not doing this? 
You can also outsource jobs at home. For me, I would love to get a cleaner! The way I look at it, cleaning takes me away from my business because ideally I like to tidy when the kids are not home, and this is also the time I like to work on my business and take time for me. So I am trying to fit all of those things into a small window of time so how could I solve that? Delegate! Delegating is such a practice of releasing control but I am really learning to love it!
If lesson planning is the thing that is time consuming for you or stressing you out, I have you covered! Check out these ready made lesson plans over on Etsy!

5. Get serious about your planning
Okay so adding more to your list to avoid burnout doesn't sounds like a good idea but hear me out. Get yourself a diary and plan out everything when it comes to your business. When you are running your own business it can be so easy to be 'on' all of the time. Trying to remember everything and do everything, can be so overwhelming. I like to get all that mind chatter out by writing it down. I have my work scheduled in, content planning time, blog post ideas etc all written down. Make sure your scheduling in time for you and for family and friends, just like you would an important meeting. Balance is not a 50 50 job like so many would have us believe. The truth is, balance shifts from week to week. Some weeks you are going to be more focused on your business, some weeks you're going to be more focused on seeing friends. Instead of striving for the perfect 50 50, just make sure you are doing what feels good that week. Setting intentions on the Sunday night in your diary can also be a nice way to go into a new week. 
I find having it all out on paper helps me feel a lot calmer and less stressed, if I look at it and it stresses me out, I've over committed and that can be looked at too and adjusted (It could be a case of point 4 - getting outside help or just seeing what I can shift the following week). 


That is my five top tips on avoiding burnout but I know there are so many more!
What advice would you give to a teacher to avoid burnout? 

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