The Flourishing Teacher Paige Tan

In this episode, I have invited a dear friend of mine, Kristina Garla, to share with us about the power of language and the impact that the words we use with ourselves has on the way that we show up daily.

Kristina Garla is a meditation teacher, writer and speaker, breathwork facilitator and certified Wayapa® practitioner. Through these practices, Kristina shares the wisdom of breath, heart and earth connection.

Born on Yorta Yorta land, to Lithuanian refugees, Kristina has a special connection to where land meets water, and the healing qualities of nature. She grew up spending a lot of time swimming in muddy creeks and rivers, beautifully clear bush streams and the salty ocean.

She lives on Wurundjeri Country and her voice holds space for people to heal through meditation, somatic and grounding practices, and her published writing. Kristina is blessed with two beautiful children, who keep her humble. She collects feathers; and magpies tend to hang out with her when she meditates in her backyard. Their song brings a beautiful sense of harmony and joy to her heart.

Kristina holds weekly meditation classes, breathwork sessions, Wayapa classes, writing therapy sessions, somatic journalling workshops and regular community circles, as well as special meditation events, immersions, one-to-one coaching and intuitive healing sessions. She also publishes her writing on a blog and shares her insights through speaking and writing engagements.

Working with individuals, families, communities, early learning centres, schools, charities and workplaces, Kristina’s goal is to foster wellness in the world. She advocates for kindness and gratitude. She believes we have everything we need to nurture peace within and around us, to create harmony in our body, and foster compassion and service to ourselves and others.

Kristina peacefully insists for truth and believes in the guidance of love to change the world.

In this episode, Kristina shares the following:
her journey to where she is today, and the work that she does in the worldher love for words and writing and using it as a form of meditationthe role that language plays in our lives - the way that we show up and the way that we communicate with othersDr. Masaru Emoto's work that he has shared in his book "The Hidden Messages in Water" - how the influence of our thoughts, words and feelings on molecules of water can positively impact us and the world around uswhat we can do to shift the language we use with ourselves, and the language that we use with others in our communitiesAs mentioned in the episode, Kristina and I are co-creating an in-person workshop - "Flourish and Thrive" - for teachers on Saturday, 6th May in Melbourne. If you are interested in joining us for an afternoon to reclaim your energy and time to prevent teacher burnout, we would love to have you come join us!

Book your spot via this link here!

LINKS:
Kristina's website
Kristina's Instagram

Flourish & Thrive Workshop - Saturday 6th May

1-1 Teacher Wellbeing Coaching with Paige
Paige's Instagram
Paige's LinkedIn

In this episode, I have invited the incredible Janelle McDaniel, from halfway across the world, to come on the podcast and have a chat about her teaching journey, which I find so inspiring and so fascinating, with the pivots that she has made along the way.

Janelle McDaniel is an educator who serves a high school community outside of Palm Springs, California. She has been in education for over 15 years serving in various roles. For 14 years she served as the lead teacher in classrooms for students with moderate to severe disabilities. While serving students with exceptional needs she also became a coach and mentor to new teachers entering the field.

Over a year ago, Janelle made the switch from special education to a new position in her district as a Wellness Center Intervention Teacher. She created a wellness program on her high school campus that is now a model program for other schools in her district. Through this position, Janelle has been able to bring mindfulness and social-emotional learning programs to all students on her campus. She has a passion for helping students navigate the difficult times that come up during their teenage years and providing them with tools to help manage their stress.

She is an advocate for student mental health as well as educator wellness and believes that in order for students to understand the importance of social-emotional learning and personal wellness, teachers must embody what that looks like. She has a masters degree in Education, is a certified Social-Emotional Learning Facilitator, and a 200-hour certified yoga instructor. She encourages all educators to put their well-being first and helps teachers create boundaries and set up wellness programs to help them reach their goals.

In this episode, Janelle shares the following:
her story about stepping out of her comfort zone into a new role outside of the classroomthe importance and the value of stepping out of your comfort zone, and not being afraid of trying new things and developing new skills within the education industryhow she has carved out a role that is unique to her in her new role as a Wellness Centre Intervention Teacherthe juggle of being mum, wife, teacher and coach and how she makes it work 
You can find Janelle on Instagram here.
Further Links:
1-1 Teacher Wellbeing Coaching with Paige
Instagram
LinkedIn

Teachers are stressed and burning out. That is the unfortunate reality of the world that we live in today. And unfortunately, this has a negative ripple effect out into the wider teaching community, whether it's fellow teachers, students, colleagues or parents.

Through my personal experience with burnout, and through the coaching work that I do with teachers who have taken action to lead their flourishing lives, I have created my signature "Free from Teacher Burnout Framework", which is centred around the three pillars of mindset, mindfulness and self-focus.

In this episode, I provide an overview of this framework that I use to support my clients and fellow teachers, and I break down the 3 pillars into steps that we as teachers can take to free ourselves from burnout, and to cultivate a mindful, purposeful and flourishing life.

Wherever you may find yourself on the burnout spectrum, I hope that this framework overview gives you an insight into the things that you can focus on to get yourself out of that vicious burnout cycle.

LINKS:
Book a discovery call: https://calendly.com/paigetan/30min
1-1 Teacher Wellbeing Coaching
Instagram
LinkedIn

This is a really exciting episode! The very first guest interview on The Flourishing Teacher podcast is finally here! This is only the first of many amazing guest interviews planned for the podcast, where these amazing human beings share their stories and the amazing work that they are doing both in the teaching space, and in their own personal lives too.

It is my absolute pleasure to introduce our first guest, Amy Green, to you.

Amy is founder of The Wellness Strategy, a published author, speaker, facilitator, and coach, and a leader in improving workplace culture and wellbeing in schools and organisations. As a past teacher and school leader, Amy is determined to change the way we view wellbeing to support our everyday and workplace needs. With a background in teaching and leadership and having studied human behaviour and positive psychology, Amy brings to the wellbeing space a fresh approach to what can be a sensitive topic. 
Amy guides workplaces to understand the difference between individual and collective wellbeing to ensure all employees feel safe, valued, and fulfilled, and to bring about a workplace culture in which all staff thrive and flourish.

Amy's book, "Teacher Wellbeing: A Real Conversation for Teachers and Leaders" is a must-read for all school teachers and school leaders! There are so many different facets of teacher wellbeing, and Amy provides an easy-to-understand framework for us as teachers to support and prioritise our wellbeing.

In this episode, Amy shares about her teaching journey, the work that she does today with schools and workplaces to prioritise staff wellbeing, and also her insights into the importance of viewing wellbeing as a holistic concept.

You can find Amy via the following links:

Website: The Wellness Strategy
LinkedIn: Amy Green
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_thewellnessstrategy/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theteacherwellbeinghub

Amy's book: https://ambapress.com.au/products/teacher-wellbeing

Further Links:
1-1 Teacher Wellbeing Coaching with Paige
Instagram
LinkedIn

Happy new year, teachers! It’s been a while since the last episode dropped, as I took a break from work for a few weeks over the Christmas and New Year season. 

This week is also the final week of holidays for most teachers around Australia. If you are a teacher who is about to kickstart the school year, firstly, I hope that you had a wonderful break, where you were able to recharge your batteries and fill your cups up with all the things that you love to do! This time of the year can bring about a whole heap of emotions – from excitement, to hope, to nervousness and anxiety. I remember feeling the beginning-of-year nerves every single year, right before the first week of school.

In this episode, I share my top 5 tips on how to nail the first week of your school year. This week sets the tone not just for the term, but for the rest of your year!

Don't forget to enjoy the ride, teachers!

LINKS:
1-1 Teacher Wellbeing Coaching 
Instagram
LinkedIn

Happy end of year, teachers! It's been a massive year, transitioning back to face-to-face learning after two years of lockdowns and being in and out of remote teaching. You made it to the end of the year, and there is so much to celebrate. This is a very special episode where I share with you my reflections on the year that has been . I know that it’s so common for us as teachers to always be looking forward to the next week, the next term, the next year, but we tend to forget to celebrate our achievements along the way. So, I'd like to take this opportunity here to reflect and celebrate on 2022!

2022 has been a huge year for me, with it being the first year away from the classroom. It has been a year of personal growth and development, and I would not trade it for anything else. 
In this episode, I speak about:
- How I felt 12 months ago making the decision to step away from the classroom
- The 5 biggest lessons that I have learned this year
- The importance of acceptance
- Prioritising my wellbeing above all else
- Getting to truly know myself outside of my identity as a teacher
I hope that this episode inspires you to reflect on your year and to also start thinking about how you want your 2023 to look like.

When you think about the year that has been and the year that you want next year, do you want a replica of this year?

If you want 2023 to be the year that you don’t experience burnout, that you don’t go into a spiral of work taking over your life, that you don’t get to the end of the year and ask yourself what you did outside of work, that you don’t prioritise your peace and feel really good in your work., my 1-1 coaching containers are the place for you to go all in on yourself!

Click the link below to find out more, and feel free to get in touch if you have any questions at all!

LINKS:
1-1 Teacher Wellbeing Coaching - Book before the end of Jan 2023 to lock in current prices!
Instagram
LinkedIn