Before School: When You've Had A Hard Morning

Maybe the morning started with lost car keys, a sick child, an argument, spilled coffee, or simply one thing after another, so you feel frustrated, rushed, or overwhelmed before you even make it to school.

This short guided meditation gives you a moment to pause, breathe, and steady yourself before you walk through the doors. You can't change what happened this morning, but you can choose how you carry yourself into the school day.

Part of the Radical Rest for Teachers collection, this practice was created specifically for educators.

Perfect for: classroom teachers, educators, hard mornings, difficult mornings, teacher stress, emotional regulation, nervous system support, breathing meditation, grounding, mindfulness for teachers, before school, challenging days, present moment.

Transcript

Good morning, My wonderful teacher friend. You've already had a difficult morning, And the day has just begun. Sometimes, By the time we get to school and pull into the parking lot, It can feel like we've already lived through a whole day of events before even touching our classroom. Teaching is a challenging job on a good day. So it might feel like today could be a constant uphill battle. Your initial thought might be to just rush around and get going. But you have the ability to support your nervous system with your breath and change the trajectory of your morning. And somewhere inside you, You know this might be possible. That's why you're here right now, Taking a chance on a quick pause rather than hustling into the school day feeling frazzled. So take a full breath in through your nose. And push all your air out your mouth. Again, Breathe in, Filling your lungs. And release fully. One more time in through your nose. And on the exhale, Empty your lungs completely. We're not trying to pretend that your tricky morning didn't happen. What we can do is make a choice right now. We could thrust ourselves into the day, Frustrated, Off-kilter, And possibly making careless mistakes. Or we can slow down for a moment. Acknowledge that the morning was a rough one. And then breathe deeply, Allowing your body to settle and your energy to steady. Who might you need to be for your students this morning? Perhaps they need you to be clear-headed. Or grounded. Patient. You don't have to toss your personal life to the side and slap a smile on your face. You're simply recognizing that you have some power over how you enter the next part of your morning. So gently repeat after me. I can begin again. I just need to take it one moment at a time. Take one more slow, Deep breath. And as you exhale, Recognize what you just did. You paused instead of pushing ahead. You breathed instead of reaching boiling point. Feel proud of yourself for that. The mourning happened. And now you get to decide how you walk into the rest of your day. You've got this, Teacher friend. And whenever you need a moment to breathe, I'll be right here.