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11Dec

Steady Yoga and Meditation Practice to Reduce Stress: Mindful Movement for SLPs

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Mindful Movement Stress Management
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yoga and meditation for SLP stress

Stress has a funny way of making everything seem as if it is moving at a faster pace, with a lot of components, and no time for any of them. As an SLP, this stress looks like too many extra tasks, too big of a caseload, too much productivity rates and way too much paperwork. And in 2020, it’s also too many changes thrown at you in a split second.

When stress hits, it can be tempting to try to speed up with it, in order to get more done and have more – more time, more freedom, more ease. But this usually ends up doing the opposite.

Speeding up feeds the stress mode you are stuck in and pulls you deeper into the “Cycle of Stress” (something we discuss within the SLP Stress Management Course).

You end up moving faster, which can lead to mistakes in your work and missing key pieces, mental exhaustion from constant multi-tasking, and feeling more stressed from the rush of trying to do it all. And once you are feeling stressed, it’s harder to turn down the response and switch into a more natural, less-stressed way of life.

One thing that can help you to slow down, when you are feeling more and more rushed, is a steadily-paced yoga practice. And one other thing that can help you even more is pairing it with a meditation practice. This combination of mindfulness practices allows you to tun into your breath, body and mind, so you can unwind, check in, and take care of yourself. The yoga and meditation for SLP stress combo help to reduce and manage it, while dropping you back into the present moment, your body, and out of ruminating or stressful thinking.

One great way to do this is through a “body scan” meditation, followed by a slow and steady flowing yoga class. This combination helps you to start slow, where you can tune into the body and breath, and then use movement to help stay connected to the breath and the present moment. This way, your brain is focused on “now”, you are reducing tension in your body, and you are turning down the stress response as you slow down.

Here is a quick yoga and meditation for SLP stress, available now in the SLP Toolbox, along with other meditation and movement audios, journal page templates, self-care checklists and more.

You can subscribe to this FREE resource library and access this Yoga+Meditation practice below:

If you are looking to dive even further into understanding and managing your stress as an SLP, make sure to check out the SLP Stress Management Online Course, now available in a Self-Study version. It includes the 8-module course, as well as bonus meditation and movement audios. You can find out more details here: SLP Stress Management Course.

Much Love,

Jessi

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23Nov

How to Use Gratitude to Reduce Stress as an SLP: Mindfulness Meditation for SLPs

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Gratitude Stress Management
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gratitude to reduce stress as an SLP

As an SLP, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed on a regular day. When things like schedule changes, a rush to finish work, and the indecision of whether or not to bring work home with you, all come into play before (and during) a break or change in your routine, it can increase the stress. (And being in a global pandemic in 2020 just adds to it that much more). It can make you want to climb under the covers and stay there, ignoring your work completely and the stress around it.

And stress can absolutely suck the joy right out of your work and your chosen career.

One thing that has been shown to help reduce stress and bring you back to a place of passion, joy and calm, time and time again, in study after study, is gratitude. Brene Brown talks about the power of gratitude in her research on vulnerability and wholehearted living.

Gratitude is the act of remembering and reflecting on the things that are going well, the tings that you are grateful for, and/or the things that you are thankful for. It is a way to shift your brain to notice these things, rather than take the easy route (which your brain is wired to do) and look at all that is not working or going well. It retrains your brain to focus on the things you are grateful for, even when things are hard.

Your brain is automatically going to be on the lookout for things that are threatening and not going well, and then will get stuck in a cycle of looking for more and more of these things, in order to protect you. This cycle, called the “Cycle of Stress”, and how to get out of it, is what we talk about in the SLP Stress Management Course. Gratitude is one of the ways that you shift out of the negative loop the cycle gets stuck in, because it helps you to see the positive things that your brain is trying to ignore.

According to Harvard Health, gratitude is “a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness.“

There are many ways to practice gratitude, ranging from simple to more complex and time-consuming. Since time is already one of the things that can add to your stress as an SLP, here are a few basic ways to bring more gratitude into your daily routine.

How to use gratitude to reduce stress as an SLP (and human):

  • Gratitude journal: list 3-5 things you are grateful for each day
  • Gratitude Meditation: mediate and reflect on the things you are grateful for (you can download an FREE gratitude meditation audio in the SLP Toolbox)
  • Grateful thoughts: mentally reflect when you wake up or when you are going to bed on things you are grateful for (this can be great for helping you fall asleep)
  • Gratitude together: share 1-3 things you are grateful for each night with your family/friends/loved ones (maybe send a nightly text to your BFF, share around the dinner table, or reflect while you are doing nighttime routines with your kids).

Gratitude can be a simple but powerful way to bring more joy into your day, and to diffuse the stress you feel even when the stressors and uncertainty are still there. It teaches you not to ignore the stress, but to also see the positive, joyful aspects of your day.

If you are looking for a guided way to start your gratitude practice, and reap the benefits or meditation, you can find a guided gratitude practice in the SLP Toolbox, a FREE resource library to help SLPs reduce and manage stress. You can subscribe to this resource below:

And if you are ready to learn more about gratitude, breaking free of the “Cycle of Stress”, and even more ways to realistically manage and reduce your SLP stress, make sure to check out the SLP Stress Management Course, now available as a Self-Study program.

Much Love,

Jessi

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1Nov

How to Use Movement for SLP Stress Management When You are Short on Time: Quick Interval Mindful Movement for SLPs

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Mindful Movement Reduce Stress
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Movement for SLP Stress Management

When you are stressed, as an SLP or otherwise, one of the best things you can do is to get up and move your body. It could be a stretch at your desk, going for a quick walk down the hall, taking a stroll through your neighborhood, following a short fitness video or audio, or taking an hour for a yoga class. Whatever it is, movement is key to helping you reduce and manage your stress and tension, in both your body and mind.

Movement for SLP Stress Management, especially when done mindfully, can help you in a few different ways, including mental and physical tension relief, health benefits, and stepping away from a place of stress.

(Mindful movement for stress management is something that I dive into in much more depth in the SLP Stress Management Course, along with a few audios and videos to help you get moving).

It can also be really difficult to incorporate into your daily routine, or to start doing at all. Movement can be one of the first things you sacrifice when you are stressed, drained and feeling short on time.

Even when you know that movement is one of the key strategies to reducing and managing stress, it is not always easy to fit into your schedule. In fact, sometimes you are likely to not do these stress management techniques, because finding time for them seems like an additional stress that you are not willing to take on.

When this happens, there are a few ways to add in (or tweak) mindful movement without additional stress:

  • Look for spots in your day that you already have available, but might not be aware of at the moment.
  • Have a few short videos bookmarked on your computer for when you have a no-show or cancellation or a quick 10-15 minute opening
  • Plan for 15-30 minutes at the start of your day or at the end of your work day (and build this into your schedule)
  • Do something you enjoy, so you are likely to look forward to it and make it happen
  • Match your movement o your energy levels, so it feels good and you feel better after, not depleted, exhausted or bored.
  • Keep it short and simple – go for something efficient, like an interval practice that targets your entire body and mind.

Using these tips as guidelines to help you decide what to do, and when, can help you to add in a powerful stress management technique, without adding in more stress. If you are still feeling overwhelmed with this idea, you can get even more guidance and learn how to figure out what works best for you, when to practice it, and how to make it a habit, in the SLP Stress Management Course (available for enrollment now).

If time is the biggest issue for you, and you are looking for something that is efficient and guided, you can download the “Quick Interval” Mindful Movement Audio in the SLP Toolbox. It is a 20 minute, full-body movement practice, that just requires you and no other equipment. Each move is done for a minute or so, before you switch to the other side or a new move, so your body and brain are engaged the entire time, which will help reduce some mental and physical tension and stress.

The SLP Toolbox is a FREE subscribers-only resource library for SLPs, full of practical and effective tools to help reduce and manage stress. It is updated bi-monthly with exclusive content, such a meditation and movement audios.

Not a subscriber to the SLP Toolbox? You can sign up below to access this download as well as many more movement, meditation and journaling tools.

Much Love,

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24Oct

Leaving the SLP field to pursue your dreams with Jess Massey: SLP Stress Management Podcast

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Podcast Stress Management
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leaving the slp field

Be honest, have you ever considered leaving the SLP field entirely? There are a lot of SLPs and future SLPs wondering if they have made the correct decision about going into the field of Speech Language Pathology. I was one of those for over 5 years, and sometimes that thought still creeps in to my mind. It can be a really difficult thing to face and ask yourself, and it can also be the thing that leads you to exactly where you need to be – whether it is staying the course, shifting to something new within the field, or creating something new entirely.

The field of Speech Language Pathology is incredible and the work is meaningful. It can be stressful, and this stress can still be worth it (and made more manageable). But it doesn’t mean it is for everyone, even when it is such a beautiful field to be in.

There are a lot of things you can do and ask yourself when you are considering leaving the SLP field. One thing is to really sit down and see what you want your life to be and where your dreams and focus are taking you – beyond the stress and doubt. This is what I “sit down” and chat about for an episode of the SLP Stress Management Podcast, with former-future-SLP and present day Paper Planner creator, Digital Product creator, host of the “Hustle Sanely” podcast, Jess Massey of Jessicamassey.com and HustleSanely.com.

jess massey podcast interview

In 2019, Jess left grad school , while pursuing a degree in Speech Language Pathology, to go all in on her business Hustle Sanely. She creates digital and paper products, as well as courses and membership communities, to help women (a lot of teachers and SLPs) to create systems and routines that help them to better manage time, and, “hustle sanely”.

Here is a little more about Jess:

Jess Massey is a planner designer, podcast host, and the founder of Hustle Sanely, which is a community-centered productivity brand that equips women to pursue their dreams without sacrificing their mental health and relationships. We use the 5 Keys to Hustling Sanely to help women get clear on their dreams, define their priorities, and create a schedule to peacefully pursue them.

In the episode we talk about:

  • Leaving your current job/school to pursue your dream
  • The journey in and out of pursuing SLP
  • 5 Keys to Hustling Sanely
  • Hustle Sanely 5
  • To-do lists vs Focus “3” for your day
  • Where to find Jess’s products and programs (including the upcoming Hustle Sanely Program enrollment and membership program), as well as where to follow her on IG

You can tune in below or with the SLP Stress Management Podcast episodes here:

For more ways to manage your SLP Stress, make sure to check out the SLP Toolbox, with FREE resources to help you manage and reduce your stress as an SLP, including meditation and movement audios, mindfulness/journaling checklists and more.

You can sign up to subscribe below:

Much Love,

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17Oct

SLPs Need to Rest: Mindfulness Meditation

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Meditation Stress Management
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slps need to rest

Do you ever feel like you are constantly doing something? Like, even when you are not working or working on work, you are trying to be productive by doing more on your endless to-do list? It’s incredibly common, especially for a field and profession that focuses so much on productivity. But, without a doubt, SLPs need rest. Maybe now more than ever.

As a yoga teacher, for nearly a decade now, there is one thing that has remained constant. It is easy for students to come in, stretch, move, and breathe, but when it comes to the end, where it’s time to really relax and get still – not doing – most people have a really hard time. When given the chance to relax, it is difficult to do, because it seems unusual and unproductive.

I think that as an SLP, you might relate to this as well. Even though the thing you might want the most it time to just BE and not DO, it is really difficult when productivity is such a huge part of your work and daily focus.

But it is so important to take rest. And, SLPs need rest too. Not sleeping, or even really doing (like yoga or meditation), but simply resting to recharge and deeply relax. Doing this for a few moments, almost like a timeout, can help you to let go for a moment, reset, and feel less attached to your daily stress.

A great way to do this is with a yoga “savasana”. If you’ve ever taken a yoga class, this is the part at the end where you just rest, flat on your mat. And it is the part that can be so difficult. But, when you let go and just rest on your mat, it can give you the balance you need from the hectic, productive pace of your daily routine and work.

You can do this by resting on a yoga mat for a few minutes, maybe listening to some music or just being still. If you want a little guidance, you can follow along with the “Savasana Meditation” in the SLP Toolbox. This meditation of sorts will focus on helping you get some rest and relaxation, to help balance out the rest of your day.

You can access the SLP Toolbox, and all the other meditations and tools with it, by subscribing below (if you are already an email subscriber, you can click here).

If you are ready to dive even deeper into managing and reducing your stress, by adding in tools to your daily routine, make sure to check out the SLP Stress Management Course, now available! It also comes with several bonus meditations and movement audios and videos to help you get started right away. You can check it out here: SLP Stress Management Course+Meditation Bundle

Much Love,

Jessi

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2Oct

Top 5 Meditation Apps for SLPs

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Meditation
2 Comments

meditation apps for slps

Let’s face it, as an SLP you are most likely dealing with pretty high amounts of stress on a normal year. Add in all that has happened in 2020 and there is even more to figure out and work through.

One of the best ways to manage and reduce stress, no matter how many stressful things are part of your day, is to have a meditation practice.

Regular meditation can help to reduce the stress response in your brain, rewire the way you perceive stress triggers, and even improve the function of your brain. It can also help to increase your focus, which can improve efficiency and decrease mental fatigue. And, it anything, it gives you a moment to yourself to pause, take a break and check in with yourself on even the most hectic of days.

The tricky part is getting started, and the trickier part is sticking with it.

The key is to choose a program that works best for what you need. Some apps and sites offer meditations that are for one specific thing, such as sleep or anxiety or stress, while others focus on helping you to learn ow to meditate.

Here is a list of my top 5 meditation apps for SLPs (and a few honorable mentions):

  • Calm
    • This app is best known for being free for teachers in 2020. While this may or may not still be happening, it is a very popular meditation app. Plus, the name really says it all, ya know?
    • Calm focuses on guided meditation to help you relax and ultimately sleep better, which can help to reduce stress. This is really great if you find you have a difficult time winding down in the evenings or your mind starts to race when you do close your eyes for sleep.
  • HeadSpace
    • New to meditation or want to make sure you are doing it “right”? This app is for you. Headspace offers a fantastic beginners trial and series that help you to learn how to mediate (and why), and to slowly get you into a doable routine of daily meditation.
    • As one SLP shared “{They} have a variety of meditation! Even children’s meditations”, so it could work for you, your family, and maybe even your therapy sessions. And again, it’s all in the name. who wouldn’t want some headspace these days?
  • Grokker
    • This is a meditation app/membership site, as well as fitness, healthy eating, lifestyle/living, and more. It is really an overall wellness site, that happens to have some really great meditations. It is offered for both individuals and companies, and I have been a user of this site for quite a few years now.
    • You’ll find a lot of meditations on here, as well as mindfulness and stress training videos, from meditation practitioners, mindfulness teachers, coaches and even some psychologists. Plus, there are all the other amazing things that can help with stress available to you.
    • I like that the meditations here vary in length, teacher, and style (some are a bit more “woo” and others are very straight forward).
  • Sanvello (formerly known as Pacifica)
    • The app for “stress and anxiety”. This app was originally recommended to me by my therapist. It offers meditations for free, as well as a subscription you can purchase. The meditations can have music/background noise or none, and vary in length.
    • It also let’s you track your feelings, mood, etc, so it offers a little bit of reflection as well as just meditations.
    • It also offers coaching and can be linked to your therapist/physician for tracking and info.
  • Insight Timer
    • Want a free app? This one might be what you are looking for. Insight Timer offers thousands of free meditations, as well as a meditation timer. There are also programs or courses you can upgrade to, if you want to have even more from them.
    • The meditations are offered from meditation and spiritual “celebrities”, as well as regular, non-famous meditation teachers.

Honorable mentions:

  • My Life app: An SLP recommended this app, as it offers a large variety and helps you target a meditation practice or exercise that would be best for how you are feeling.
  • YouTube: There are so many free meditations on YouTube. One SLP specifically mentioned these meditations, from Jason Stephenson, and there are so many others you could search for by type, length, name, etc.
  • SLP Toolbox and Meditation Audio: Of course, you can download free meditation audios, made for SLPs, from the SLP Toolbox and the meditation audio at JessiAndricks.com. And you can also get access to exclusive bonus meditations when you enroll in the SLP Stress Management Course (self-guided), which is now open for enrollment year-round. You can access these free meditations by subscribing below.

What are some of your favorite apps for meditating as an SLP? Leave them in the comments below or send me an email at jessi@jessiandricks.com. For more on the benefits of meditation, make sure to check out the following courses:

Much Love,

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21Aug

Managing Your SLP Stress in Grad School and Beyond with Kate Van Vuren, SLP+Life Coach: SLP Stress Management Podcast

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: New SLP Stress Management
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slp stress in grad school

slp stress in grad school

SLP stress in grad school (and beyond) can be some of the toughest, and longest lasting, that you face in your career.

When I was in undergrad, as a CSD major, I was absolutely in love with the field of Speech-Language Pathology. It was like a door has been thrown open and I had stepped into this amazing world where changes were being made in people’s lives, there was so much to learn and do, and opportunities seemed endless – to learn, grow and create a life as a future SLP. I was so in love with this field, that signed up for extra observation hours beyond the 25 hour minimum, and I raised my GPA from nearly losing my scholarship (because I just didn’t care enough about my classes to go to them before) to graduating with honors, a semester early. I was hungry to learn more and wanted to learn it as quickly as I could.

Grad school – not so much.

For me, this is where my chronic stress and burnout began. The program was amazing and I am so grateful for it and all I learned there, but, it had the typical hyper-competitive culture that so many programs lean into, and was the opposite of my undergrad. It was drilled into us, as it is/was in many programs, that this was now the main focus of my life, nothing else was as important, and only the best and perfect was acceptable. It sucked the passion out of me nearly immediately and was the beginning of leading me to quit for nearly 5 years, claiming I would never be an SLP again. (Which, of course, I came back to eventually when I started using tools that healed that stress and burnout).

It is why I was so thrilled to “meet” and find Kate Van Vuren, an SLP that also felt some of that stress and pressure in grad school, took steps to manage it right away, and now helps other future SLPs, CFs and CCC-SLPs to take the pressure off and love their lives in and out of work again.

And it’s why I am so excited to share parts of her journey and wisdom in this episode of the SLP Stress Management Podcast!

slp stress in grad school

Kate Van Vuren is a licensed speech-language pathologist working to help women reduce stress and increase their energy through sustainable lifestyle change to thrive professionally and personally.

In this episode, Kate shares some of her own journey with stress as an SLP, how she made the decision to shape her job around her lifestyle, and how and why we need to change the competition culture of grad school.

You can tune in below or check out all the episodes here: SLP Stress Management Podcast

More resources from Kate:

If you are ready to finally be DONE with the constant battle of stress as an SLP, check out the SLP Stress Management Online Course, an 8-week online course designed to help you manage stress, reduce burnout and find more balance in your life, no matter what gets thrown at you (teletherapy, pandemic, paperwork x 1000, you name it).

Much Love,

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24Jul

Love being a School SLP but feel like you want to quit? An Interview with SLP Toolkit: SLP Stress Management Podcast

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Podcast Stress Management Uncategorized
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SLP Toolkit

If you have ever heard me tell my “story” of how I ended up quitting being an SLP for nearly 5 years, dropped my license, and let go of my CCC’s, then you know that I often say it was the schools that “broke me”.

I worked in the school settings, after sending 2-3 years in the medical side of things, due to it being the only job available in my area. The school was lovely and my caseload was ok sized – big but not overly so. I took over from another SLP who was leaving to work in a hospital setting, and started with her schedule halfway through the school year. It was a primary school (pre-K thru 2nd grade) and had super supportive admin and staff. And I dreaded every moment of it.

The next school year, I was back on the same campus, but floated between the primary, elementary AND middle school. Again, it was a decent sized caseload and the students were all really great. I had another SLP working with me that I got along with, and the staff was ok to work with. But this is where I ended up leaving.

It wasn’t a big thing, it was a lot of small things that piled up over the year (half of 2 school years) and made me ultimately decide to quit and leave (in my mind forever and ever).

The sad realization is that I am not alone in this. There are a lot of SLPs who are feeling this way or have felt this way, and many do end up leaving or dreading every moment they are there. It sucks for them and for the students. It is especially disheartening when you LOVE the field of Speech Pathology, and enjoy working with students, but the overwhelming amount of “stuff” you need to do each day makes you want to quit.

In my recent interview with the founders of SLP Toolkit (and co-founders of SLP Summit), we talk about how this incredible stress and the desire to quit, despite LOVING the field and working with the students, led them to team up and create something to help other SLPs – SLP Toolkit. While it started as something for their school district, it ultimately became a fantastic tool to help SLPs streamline all of the “other” parts of the job, so they can enjoy the therapy, work with the students, and be the School-based SLP they always wanted to be.

You can check out the episode below or tune in here.

Resources:

SLP Toolkit

SLP Summit

If you are looking to dive deeper into managing your stress as an SLP, make sure to check out the SLP Stress Management Online Course, enrolling soon for Fall 2020.

You can also check out some FREE SLP Stress Management resources by subscribing to the SLP Toolbox below:

Much Love,

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