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26Jul

What I learned from my first full year as a school-based SLP

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Podcast Stress Management
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first full year as a school slp

Well, as of this writing, I am officially done with my first full year as a school SLP. I’ve been at this, off and on, for over a decade, but somehow, this is the first year that I consider a real, true year in the schools. Yes, I have worked in the schools, but for two half years (one end and one start). Yes, I worked a full school year or two in teletherapy, but it wasn’t quite the same as going into the building and knowing my groups and doing the traditional set up of school-based theory (in some ways it was easier and in some ways it was so much harder). And yes, I worked part-time this year, but it was 3 days, sometimes 4 or 5, and I never felt like a “contractor” or “part-timer”, I just felt like part of the school.

And with this being my first full year, the one where I really felt I was connected and “in” it – sometimes a pile of paperwork, a shit-storm of evals, or just loving every moment – there are so any thoughts and tidbits and things I want to share with you. Things that worked, things I learned, things that I will try differently, things I want to do more of, things I want to keep doing, what I loved, what I could do without, and why I enjoyed it so, so much this time around. 

So in the next few posts and episodes, this is exactly what I’ll be doing, sharing all about my first full year as a school SLP, specifically my experience as someone who really and truly loathed being a school based SLP a decade ago and absolutely love it now (I cried on the last day of school… a lot). No secret tricks or magic “just do this”, because that is all bullshit, but instead my experiences, my thoughts, and what I would like to share with you if we sat down together for coffee (or tea, because caffeine has been kicking my butt lately!). Nothing for you to do or change, but maybe just something to help you feel not alone, to give you some hope, or to inspire you for the next school year.

There were so many things that I did that I wouldn’t necessarily call mistakes, but I would try to do them differently the next time around. As I sit here writing this, I have COVID, for the second time this half of the school year, and my plans to go in and finish filing and paperwork on the teacher workday are awash and I will be going in next week, if the buildings open. It will make it a true full YEAR, since I started working last summer doing comp services, and will be finishing up the year in the same week, a year later. 

Paperwork, not knowing where the records room was until the last three days of school (eek!), scheduling and not checking the cancels, waiting until progress report week to start progress reports – there are a lot of things that I would do differently. They aren’t mistakes – just part of seeing how it worked and making some notes to shift it the next year. 

I found myself sitting one day, ready for a meeting, waiting on the LEA to sign in. I waited, chatted with the teacher, chatted with the parents (thankfully we were virtual), and then realized the LEA had marked they weren’t able to attend and I had overlooked the email that was sent out. Ouch. It was a little embarrassing and not a great first (second?) impression to be making with the parents. So what could I do? I had to just fess up, apologize for them stepping away from their day to sign in, and make a plan with them for when we would meet the following week. I sucked it up (my embarrassment), made a plan, and confirmed with all the team members that we would be able to meet on the next date scheduled. It was not perfect, was utterly un-smooth of me, and, for a moment, made me feel like an idiot. 

But then I realized, we all make small mistakes, we are human, and we don’t have to be perfect. Nothing happened. No big bad fairy came down and deemed me unworthy of being an SLP. No one scolded me for messing it all up. Honestly, it  wasn’t just no big deal, it was not even a blip. Rescheduled, got it done, thanked everyone, and moved on. 

There were a TON of little things like this that probably happened throughout the year – not knowing to file something, forgetting to send something home, not knowing that I needed to hold an ENTIRE PART OF A MEETING and then needing to go back and do it all again. It happens. 

It helped that the district SLP’s motto for us all was “Don’t look back and try to fix it. Once you learn something, use it going forward”. No need to dwell on the past, just do it from now on. 

What I learned as in my first full year as a School-Based SLP

Here are a few times I majorly goofed, but really it was just a learning lesson:

Forgot to hold an entire part of a meeting and had to go back and hold it again

In my first Speech-only IEP meeting, I unknowingly skipped an entire part. I had to do a three year re-eval. I gathered all the previous info and present levels. I held the re-eval part of the meeting where we determined we would continue with therapy. I held the annual IEP meeting and updated it. And then it wouldn’t clear from my system or show it was completed. So I looked through a few things and realized I forgot the important part – where we do the actual checkboxes and submit that, yes, they are still eligible. Facepalm for sure. So I called my supervisor, a bit embarrassed, and she reassured me, letting me know that even people who have been working for years make mistakes and goof up. She said to just own it, hold that part, and move forward. So I did and I didn’t miss that part again for the rest of the year. 

Didn’t realize not all team members had confirmed until we were in the meeting with the parents and had to reschedule. 

Oof. Later in the year, I thought everyone had confirmed, or at least not declined, an IEP meeting. 5 minutes into, still waiting for the last member, I realized they had declined and I missed the email. So once I found myself mucking up an IEP meeting. I apologized, we rescheduled, and I made sure everyone confirmed and was onboard the next time we held the meeting and all was well. 

Had no idea about folders until the end of the year.

You can’t know what you don’t even know you should know – or something like that 😉 I didn’t realize until well into the 4th quarter that we were supposed to file everything in two separate places. So, I had two choices – being super embarrassed and awkward about it, and feel bad for myself, OR, own it, laugh about it (while being awkward for sure), and get it done. Next year, I know I won’t have to wait until the end to file AND I’ll know exactly where to go each time. 

Probably another thousand things that I will continue to learn about as the years go on, no matter what job or where I am. For one, things are constantly updating and changing, so everyone is learning. But also, it’s a lot to learn. If you expect yourself to be perfect, or your leaders expect it, then you will never live up to it and always feel you are not enough. 

Why even bother sharing these muck-ups? Because I know I am not the only one, and I know that in the past I would have criticized, internalized, and felt like a complete ass about them. And you might be feeling that way, too. Graduate school and clinicals like to push this you – be perfect, no mistakes, be the best and by best we mean idealistic. You don’t have to be that way, and you will still be a damn good SLP.

Instead of looking at these as mistakes and places I failed, I look at them as things I learned and grew through. They are all the things I learned in my first full year as a school based SLP. They are new skills, new tools, and new insights that I can use and don’t have to struggle with going forward. 

What is a place you faltered in and learned from this year? I’d love to hear! Share in the comments or send me a message on IG @jessiandricks

Want more resources to help you as you move into a new year (or if you are still in it)? Subscribe below for FREE resources in the SLP Toolbox, including meditations audio, movement videos, and self-care tips and templates. 

And, if you want to gain a skill in bringing mindfulness to your class or speechroom for the upcoming year, make sure to sign up for the waitlist and be the first to know when my new course on Mindfulness in your SLP Room opens, plus snag an exclusive discount on enrollment. Click here, enter your email, and confirm your sign up for all the details!

With Love and Light, 

Jessi

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27Feb

The Best Type of Self-Care for Stress

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Podcast Self Care Stress Management Uncategorized
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type of self-care

I was at my doctors office last year for a wellness check and they were going through a list of questions to update my profile. “Do you smoke?” “How often do you consume alcohol?” “Do you have any mental health concerns?”. I let them know that I didn’t have a concern per se, but I had reached out to schedule a therapy appointment because I was feeling some anxiety creep in due to a lot of life circumstances, and stress and grief building. She mentioned some resources and centers in the area that worked with mindfulness and we started talking about the importance of self-care, especially with overwhelm and stress. She mentioned that she had once been given some meditations to try for herself and for her child, and then we started talking about things like pedicures. And she said something like “That’s why pedicures and manicures are so great for self-care. They give you that little moment of time to pause and reset, with no other obligations or worries, even if it is a brief amount of time. It just feels nice and sometimes that is what you need – to feel nice and taken care of. So go get one, and don’t bring your kid – go alone.”.

It got me thinking of the different levels of self-care and things that people like to do when they are feeling stressed and overwhelmed. And wondering what the best type of self-care really is. I tend to poo-poo the ones that are more pampering – like bubble baths, manicures, and pedicures (honestly, I just don’t get the hype), and I go for the really involved ones, like meditation, movement, or deep internal check-ins. The heavy, tough stuff.

But recently, I have also started to see things like, reading a book, grabbing a cup of coffee, sitting in the sunshine, and socializing with my friends as forms of self-care. I’m not doing an internal check-in necessarily, but I am bringing balance into my day – quiet to balance chaos, outside to balance inside, coffee to pause when I’m on the go, a treat vs a sacrifice, or connecting after being home all day for a few years with two kids. And even other things like setting boundaries or saying “I’m not able to do that right now”, which is hard.

So, what is the best type of self-care then?

Self-care can seem really simple – do things you like and feel better after – but it is really more complicated than that.

Self-care can be things that you enjoy doing and that feel fun, freeing, and blissful. It can also be doing things that feel a little challenging, tough, or push your boundaries (such as creating those boundaries themselves). Neither one is right or wrong, and, in fact, it is helpful to have both styles of self-care in your life for a more well-rounded approach.

What are the two types of Self-Care?

The type of self-care that often feels good and is sometimes deemed as “frivolous” is referred to as superficial self-care. The name can be a bit misleading and lead to more of that “frivolous” labeling of it, when really it is a much needed reprieve from the stress you are facing. When you do something that is fun for you or feels nice – like finding quiet in a bubble bath or getting pampered with a pedicure – it gives you a moment to pause and not be in the stress. You get a break, which doesn’t necessarily so a major overhaul on your stress response, but it does give you a small break from the stress and give you something to feel good about and be grateful about. It helps you find some joy and some positive emotions and things in your life – and this can be really important for starting to turn down the stress response and shift you out of a negative stress cycle.

It isn’t superficial as in not good enough, but more superficial as in not going very deep. It is not going to create big fixes, but it can give you a small change and start to create bigger shifts, and bring in some joy.

The other types of self-care is the deep self-care. These are the things that do overhaul your stress response and are not necessarily comfortable or easy to do. Deep self-care cuts into the bigger, checking-in type of practices to help you see what is really going on, what is working or not, and what shifts you can make. It is definitely finding quiet after a really busy day, but also things like meditating or deep breathing to reset your nervous system and rewire the brains’ response to stress, moving your body to remove and reduce tension that builds up and holds onto stress, and writing it out to help you sort through and get it out of your head. It could also be setting up some boundaries and routines to help support you – even though those can come with growing pains of their own.

One is not better than the other, and both are useful, and needed, for managing stress through self-care.

Here are a few ways to look at superficial vs deep self-care:

Superficial: Ask yourself, “does it feel good?”
Things like: pedicures, manicures, reading a book (can be both), socializing, massage, podcast, bubble bath, quiet


Deep: Ask yourself, “what do I need right now?”
Things like: quiet (can be both), meditation, reflection, stretching, movement, boundaries, journal, check-in

If you have all superficial self-care, you might find that things are enjoyable, but not necessarily getting deep down to create shifts in your body, mind, and mindset. They might be more like shaking off the stress of the day and moving on.

If you have all deep self-care, you might feel so incredibly weighed down and burdened by all you are facing. This type can bring up a lot of emotions and put you in the middle of the stress (in order to move through it) and not feel light or fun.

Having a balance of sorts with both of these can be key. If you tend to stay superficial with the self-care, add in some deeper ones to help rewire your brain and body when stress shows up. If you are feeling really weighed down by self-care, add in something light and fun, so you feel that joy in your life and feel supported.

Which do you tend to lean towards? Share in the comments below or send me a DM on IG @jessiandricks

Want some resources to help you, no matter which self-care you decide to choose? Enter your email below to gain immediate access to “The Resilient SLP Toolbox”, a free resource library full of tools to help you manage stress, reduce the risk of burnout, and find more balance in your life in and out of being an SLP.

With love and light,
Jessi

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16Sep

5 Ways to Feel Less Stressed this School Year

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Stress Management
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less stressed this school year

One of the things that happens at the start of the school year, is that you dive into it with the thought of “this year will be different” or, maybe, “I hope this year will be different”. Chances are the year before ended on a highly stressful note, even amongst the joy and bittersweetness of the end of the year, and you have spent the summer trying to decompress, often by ignoring the work, pushing it away, or continuing it work to “get ahead” for the new year. 

And, yet, despite all of this work and positive thinking, the year usually ends up pretty much the same, or even worse if your stress never really turned down at all from the previous year.

As an SLP who is back working in the schools after a (long) hiatus, I am seeing a lot of this happening in the way we go about our work and daily routines. Mostly, because it’s the only way we know how, and it’s how we teach each other.  

It’s no wonder so many SLPs face burnout and chronic stress (even before the pandemic). 

Chronic stress is what happens when those small, daily stressors begin to grow or last longer, and you have less time between them to process and regroup. When they start to become more frequent, or the importance of them grows, your brain doesn’t have the time to work through it and recover before another stressor hits. And with each one, the stress grows and your brain looks out for more things that could be stressful, kind of like being on “high alert”. 

This is where so many of us SLPs leave each day and feel stuck in. 

And, when this is left unchecked, the only place it can go is into burnout – a place where stress grows so much that you no longer feel driven or motivated to work through it and you kind of give up and disconnect from your work. And this can be really, really challenging to work through and come back from – but it is not impossible. 

If you are in burnout or chronic stress, you can begin to shift out of it by setting up your day to support yourself and looking at your stress management and resilience building strategies a little differently. This will help you come out of burnout, and stop chronic stress from growing further, while you start to turn it down as well. 

As you move into a new school year, and are looking for some ways to create some real changes in your stress this year, here are a few things you can try. 

5 Ways to Feel Less Stressed this School Year

Take time for yourself 

Ugh, this has been the most overused phrase of the last two years. Mostly because it is thrown out there with the hopes of being helpful, but in reality is just a phrase that is pretty useless without some action behind it. It’s not the message itself that doesn’t really help, but giving it without any way to actually do it. 

Because, truly, this is one of the most important things you can do to help keep stress low, to build resilience to it, and to work your way out of chronic stress and/or burnout when you find you’ve somehow landed there. 

Take 5 minutes at the start of your day, and end of the day, to check-in with yourself. See how you are doing, maybe grab a drink or snack, go for a quick walk or stretch, or turn out the lights and have some quiet while you breathe. And, if you need a moment or two during the day, pause to breathe for 5-10 deep breaths. These actions seem small, but they can make a big difference and help counteract the “rush” and “push” mentalities that can add to stress and build it. 

Pause before you react

Similar to pausing for a breath to take care of yourself, you can use this to help with reaction. There are many, many times when, yes, the stressor itself is stressful, but it is our reaction that adds to the stress and takes it to another level. This is when we see ourselves and other SLPs or professionals getting really worked up when a session doesn’t go exactly as planned, when a student doesn’t show up or someone forgets to send them, or when you have to change the plan completely for the day at a moment’s notice. It is so frustrating and the reactions we have can add to our stress – fuming, sending an angry email, etc. These are natural and human responses, so it’s not that you should ignore them. But you could take a mindful approach to observe rather than react to them. They are not you (which is also part of the next segment). They are the reaction that you are having at a really challenging and frustrating moment. 

So, before you react to the situation, pause and take a few deep breaths, or even step away for a few moments. Taking this pause gives you a moment to think, to find clarity, to ask yourself “what has this brought up for me”, and shifts you into a place where you can observe, explore, and let the stress of it go – another place of action. 

Remember – Stress is not you

It sure does feel like the stress is you, and that is part of your makeup, but it is not you. Stress is real and it is a survival mechanism. And the things we consider “stress” are really the triggers of the reaction in your brain and your body. It is an automatic thing that happens, for some more than others, depending on your circumstances, past experiences, and how much you are already trying to process and filter through in that moment. AND the tools you have been given to cope and work through (with) it in your life so far. 

So, while it does get really big and scary and seems like it is going to take over everything…it is not who you are. YOU are not Stress. Stress is happening TO you and within you. You can look at it as the enemy, or look at it as a survival instinct that is a natural part of being a human, and then try some strategies to work through it and manage it from here on out. 

Make friends with breaks and downtime

One of the biggest challenges I have heard about from SLPs is the guilt and uncertainty when there does happen to be a break or amount of time in the schedule that is not direct therapy sessions scheduled. I haven’t really had a problem with this before (lol), but there has been a little inkling or two when I look at my schedule and see space – even after I have scheduled over 30 students for 3 partial days.  

Having a break or a moment to breathe seems wrong, especially if you are used to a jam packed schedule, tons of testing, only being paid for direct time, or high productivity rates. 

But these small breaks are incredibly beneficial for you. For one, they give you space to shift your schedule, to test or write reports or hold a meeting, to plan and prep for the next sessions or day, and to collaborate. And they also give you time to get up and move, to take a walk, to stretch. Time to breathe, pause, check-in. To eat, hydrate, or go to the bathroom. And to sit back and process and recharge before you jump back in. 

Breaks don’t make you weak or lazy or inefficient, they make you better able to do your work. 

Remember we are all humans (even you!)

This school year, remember that you are human, You are not a computer or a robot or anything that runs perfectly (and, honestly, these aren’t perfect either). You might make mistakes, need to try things and make changes, or just have a rough day. It is ok and does not mean you have failed, things will stay that way, or that you are a terrible SLP. It means you’re a human, going through a human experience. And if others seem to have a rough day or are not perfect, remember that they are also human. We all make mistakes and can greet them with curiosity and compassion. 

As you move into the school year, give these 5 strategies a try. When stress starts to build, take a break, pause before you react, and remind yourself that the stress is not you. Utilize some downtime that you have when it shows up and remember that you and all those you meet are humans, trying to figure it all out, too. 

Which one of these can you see yourself using this year? Share in the comments!

For more resources to help manage and lessen the stress you face this year, make sure to sign up for The Resilient SLP Toolbox. It’s a free resource library full of tools such as yoga classes, meditations, journal templates and more.

Subscribe below for instant access!

With Love and Light, 

Jessi

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12May

5 Things I learned in yoga teacher training that (surprisingly) helped me as an SLP

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Career Advice New SLP Stress Management Yoga
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things I learned in yoga training

When I was in my second year as an SLP, three big things happened in my career and life: I finished my CF (finally), I started yoga teacher training (yay!), and I was laid-off due to budget cuts (wtf?). It was such a mix of joy and hardship and not knowing what I was going to do, and it absolutely sent me into some burnout and chronic stress in the year(s) to follow.

On the SLP side, I ended up going from a hospital setting, with inpatient and outpatient adults, to working in the schools with all ages. I was the solo SLP, aside from my supervisor.manager, and now I was one of three SLPs in my school. And I felt like I was the one who was faking it, floundering, and not as “into” it as they were. 

I had a tough caseload I was taking over. The schedule was set-up by someone else and was NOT compatible for my needs or life. I hadn’t really shifted to school-mode yet. And, a part of me really wanted to teach yoga more, which, at the time and where I lived, was not exactly something that was talked about or put into practice as an SLP.

I ended up leaving a year later, for 5 years. During this time, I taught yoga and mind-body fitness, and helped run yoga studios where I lived. I absolutely used my yoga teacher training to teach yoga – obviously.

But, it was when I came back to being an SLP, that I realized I could use it there as well. There were a few things I learned while training to teach yoga that helped me be, IMO, a better SLP. Or at least feel better about HOW I was working as an SLP. 

And they had nothing to do with incorporating yoga poses, meditation time, or even, really, mindfulness into my sessions. 

Here are 5 things I learned in yoga training that (surprisingly) helped me as an SLP:

1 You can’t look at someone’s face and tell if they are enjoying or getting anything out of the experience.

When I was going through yoga teacher training (YTT), one of the things that the current teachers would share, over and over again, was that you can’t look at someone and know what they are thinking or feeling during the class by the look on their face. They might be smiling, seeming to enjoy it, but internally cursing at you or thinking “why did I bother coming today?”. Or they might  be scowling, maybe even at you, or frowning, but only because they are working through something or concentrating, and fully soaking up and enjoying the experience. 

I learned this firsthand, in my very first class I taught. A woman in the front row had a look of disgust on her face most of the class. And I thought, “oh, sh*&, maybe I’m not very good at this teaching thing yet”. After class, she came up to me, as I internally panicked, and let me know she enjoyed the class very much and was surprised I was a new teacher – it was one of the best classes she had taken. It helped me know what was working as a yoga teacher, and where my strengths landed. 

The same goes for being an SLP Your student or patient  might look bored or annoyed during the session, or even a little checked out. This by no means is a reflection of what they are really thinking or feeling. They might be concentrating, thinking about how to use this in class or outside of the clinic, or trying to figure out what the next step in the task is. Instead of judging yourself and your work, talk to them about the experience after, if they are open to it, so you both can give feedback and shape things from there. 

2. Know what (class) you are teaching, and look at who walks in the door.

As a yoga teacher, you have to know what type of class you are teaching – hot or not, fast or slow, level 1 or level 2 – and have some sort of idea of what to do. But you also have to see who shows up for that class on that day, and what their needs and abilities might be, especially if you teach in a community center or gym, rather than a specific style studio. It might be a more advanced class that day, but, if it’s the only class at that time and the students are not advanced, or they walk in and are exhausted and tired, more than usual, then you have to tailor it to them, and their needs that day. 

This is what happens when you work with humans, having a human experience. 

The same is true for Speech Therapy. You can plan a little and know the goals for who you are seeing, but also see how they are when they show up. YOu might have to make some adjustments or try to grab a new resource to use if they are tired that day, if they are energized beyond measure, or if they are hungry or grumpy or being human in some way. Having this flexibility (no ygpa pin intended) will take you far, and help them more in the long-run.  

3. Having a “rolodex” of poses/resources is a better strategy than planning it all out exactly

(PSSST, this is probably the most important and used thing I learned in yoga training).

Here is a secret – I did not plan a single yoga class for YEARS, and rarely do now. There were no lesson plans or sequences after those first few classes I taught. And I never felt lost or stuck or like I wasn’t giving it my all or that my students would leave with “less” because of it. Once I knew the class style, and practiced or planned a class or two, I relied on the advice from one of the yoga teachers from my training – instead of planning out precisely, think about having a “rolodex” on file of how it all goes together. 

This “rolodex” was like a file to flip through, where you could pull out a pose, and then see who it was connected to  – what other poses could link to it and how to build them together naturally, and, often, in the middle of the class. 

It meant really and truly understanding how they worked together, rather than just what looked good on paper, and helped to make adjustments for who was in the class that day. 

In reality, it looked like knowing the style of the class, how that format flowed, and then choosing a pose to work to or to try or an area to focus on, and then building around it as it went.

As an SLP, this is the most helpful advice I was ever given.

It saved me from over-planning and prepping and feeling stressed to do more. And, because the over-planning does not come naturally to me, it helped me loosen the guilt around not spending hours before and after work plotting out each day and creating lesson plans for it. 

What it gave me was the insights to look more at what I was working on, what that goal was really for, and how to find a way to use it, know matter what materials I had on hand, what I pulled off a shelf or website, or what the student requested to use that day. It brought HUMANITY back to it. 

4. Something is better than nothing/Any bit counts for something.

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing each and every time. There were so many times that I wanted to share so many poses, to hit every part of the sequence, or every part of the body (hips, twists, folds, standing, seated, core, backbends, savasana), and it just didn;t happen. It might have been time-management, or that the students needed to linger in a pose longer than planned. And it was ok. The students still got a lot from it, and, maybe, got what they needed, which was better than hitting every piece exactly. 

While it is important to try and get as much as you can, and to work towards the goals you have in front of you for your students, there are times when it is not going to happen. Again, it is part of working with humans. You have plans, and they are living creatures. They might not always match up. 

Even if you end up spending the session talking together or laughing or not focusing on the specific activity you planned, it is ok. It is WORTH it. Because that day, you might be the only kind person they wrun tino. Or the only time they feel they can talk or share or try to communicate safely. Or the only moment they laugh. Or the only person who smiles at them. And THIS is huge. It is so important, and it does, absolutely, make a difference towards halogen them to improve their well-being – which is usually the ultimate goal. 

5. No one will know if you make a mistake or if it doesn’t go as “planned”.

I still have dreams (nightmares) sometimes that I get up in front of the class to teach, and I totally forget what to do and spend an hour trying to remember, until time runs out. Super fun. Very relaxing sleep. 

But, when it comes down to it, there are plenty of times when I have forgotten the next pose, not taught the pose I meant to in the moment, or accidentally changed the sequence or left out an entire chunk of it. And a funny thing happens. No. One. Notices. Or. Cares. And sometimes, it works out better than what I had in mind anyway. 

What I learned in yoga training was this – you can plan (not too much!) and if  you change it or make a mistake, no one knows!! Because YOU are the only one who knows the plan. If it changes to you, the students don;t know. There is NO mistake made to them. In their eyes, this is exactly what was planned.

I learned to just go with it. 

As an SLP, this is haaaaaaard to do. Because perfectionism is strong in our field. And judging and critiquing yourself is commonplace. 

But, if you have an activity or are trying to work on something, and you accidentally do it “wrong”. NO.ONE. KNOWS. It is ok that your plan shifted by mistake. Your students and patients will experience it as what you meant to do that day, and won’t notice. They will still get something out of it, simply because they are there with you.

Mistakes happen, it is ok to do. And you can usually learn something or maybe find a new therapy tool along the way. 

While I also learned some cool “yoga” tricks and tools to use in sessions, and some ways to be more mindful as a practitioner of Yoga and SLP, these are the big things that I learned in toga training that helped me to grow, be more comfortable, and to start to enjoy being an SLP. And, truthfully, they are what helped me feel most connected to my work, and, more importantly, to who I was working with. 

For more resources on yoga, meditation, and other ways to build resilience, enter your email below and get FREE resources to help you stay connected as an SLP.

Which one of these things I learned I yoga training surprised you the most? I’d love to hear how you are going to try to use them in your SLP sessions. Leave a comment below or reach out to jessi@jessiandricks.com.

With Love and Light, 

Jessi

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