A Room To Breathe

A Room To Breathe is an intentional space within a school for teachers to care for their own mental health.

Teaching is tied with nursing as having the highest stress rates of any career. Teachers face an extreme level of stress and anxiety on a daily basis which directly impacts their own mental health and ability to do their jobs well – which largely involves looking after our children.  

Taking into account that children mirror the nervous systems of the adults around them, we wanted to offer teachers an opportunity in their day to pause, breathe, and regulate themselves.

The Room To Breathe project provides an immersive, multi-sensory, experience designed to decrease the physiological response to stress. 

After booking a slot in a room, teachers enjoy a few moments in a luxury massage chair, guided meditations or nature sounds, dim lighting, and a little peace and quiet, all while soaking in the aromas of essential oils which are known for their calming properties – giving them room to breathe.

The purpose of the room is to help teachers care and develop the rhythms in their own lives, and to care for their mental wellbeing. Hopefully this will have a direct, positive impact on the young lives they influence and push back against the tide of mental illnesses and suicide that we see in our region.

The feedback so far has been extremely positive with teachers actively noting a decrease in stress levels and numerous schools reaching out to us to help them set up this project in their own schools. Your school can apply for a Room To Breathe too. 

I think I will make this part of my weekly routine. I’ll be able to handle curveballs that are thrown my way, especially when kids act out with negative behavior.

It’s so great to take a moment to think about my own mental health during the day. Usually that can’t happen until the students are gone. At that point it’s sometimes too late to make an adjustment if necessary. Then it takes the rest of the evening to get back to a place of calm.

If you’d like to be part of funding a Room To Breathe in a local school, consider making a donation. If you know of a school that could benefit from having a Room To Breathe, click the link below to start an application.