No matter what time of the year it is, being a teacher can be exhausting. There are, however, ways that teachers can revive themselves to stay positive and recharge throughout the school year. 

Emma Waters, a primary school teacher in Australia, is reaching out to teachers all over the world with tips on how to recharge in her article on EducationHQ.com. 

"I’m urging you to try the practice of scheduling in self-nourishing acts throughout your week [or even every day!] that nurture your physical, spiritual and emotional wellbeing," Waters said.

Waters mentioned the term "self-nourishing acts" or SNAs in her article, which are "activities that help you to recalibrate, relax and renew your energy and purely experience pleasure in your life."

"Because of the pleasure derived from SNAs they calm the nervous system and quieten stress response hormones," she said. 

They can lift your mood and give you a more positive outlook – particularly if you are stuck in the daily grind of travel to work, work all day, travel home from work, make dinner for the family, put kids to bed and sit in front of the TV [or stay up doing school work]. Then repeat," she said. "It’s important that when you participate in a SNA that you savour the pleasure of it – with all of your senses. This will truly keep you in the present moment experience of it. Don’t rush through it, worrying about what you need to get done – let it sink in.

Waters referred to her own list of SNAs, which include reading in her hammock, or just lying down, "meditating", "a hot bath", "time with a friend without our kids", and more.

"Once you devise your list and begin to schedule them in, really take note of how your body and spirit respond," Waters said. "Maybe something that starts off on your list [something that you think you love to do] might need removing after you notice your reaction to it – maybe it actually drains you."

Waters encouraged teachers to start their SNA list this week and to "stick it on the fridge and tick next to each one when you participate in it to keep track of how often you are nourishing yourself with things you love to do." She also invites teachers to share their SNAs and experiences on her Facebook page. 

Read the full story and comment below. 

Article by Kassondra Granata, Education World Contributor