S3 E1. Three Ways to Properly Rest and Quiet Your Mind (especially on Sundays!)
Balanced Black Educator
Season 3 Episode 1 Episode link: Summary If you’ve ever felt the pit of anxiety in your stomach on Sunday evening as you anticipate the work week ahead, this episode is for you. Listen in as we dig into the root of where work-related stress meets worry and overwhelm - and what to do about it. I dive into 3 strategies you can implement (from both a mind and body approach) to help you explore how to quiet that voice that won’t let you truly rest and how to free yourself from the constant battle within so that you can maintain your peace throughout the school year. The Balanced...
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S2 E10. 4 Reasons the Journey is More Challenging for Black Educators
Balanced Black Educator
Season 2 Episode 10 Episode link: Summary The first step in our liberation work as educators is being able to notice and name some of the specific issues that are unique to the Black educator experience. In this unapologetic episode, I talk about terms such as racial battle fatigue, microaggressions, anti-blackness, and afro-pessimism and how these concepts play out within our educational environments often with harmful results. I conclude with what you can shift your focus on instead to help minimize the damaging effects of these experiences. The Balanced Black Educator podcast is a...
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You DO Have Time to Prioritize Your Wellness
Balanced Black Educator
Season 2 Episode 9 Episode link: Summary Educators are under tremendous workloads in a sector that is under-funded and under-paid - which absolutely contributes to a valid feeling of time scarcity among educators. We have to acknowledge these constraints and we also have to acknowledge that as individual people within this damaged system, we can only do what is within our control. In this episode I talk about the importance of boundaries and the proper mindset to ensure you can continue to prioritize what matters most. The good news is these changes are absolutely within your control to...
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Considerations For an Effective Wellness Practice
Balanced Black Educator
Season 2 Episode 8 Episode link: Summary In this episode I talk about the importance of having a daily wellness practice already planned and designed for you to guard against decision fatigue and to ensure a variety of options are available to you that actually work to reset your nervous system. I also discuss aspects of Overload Theory, how it relates specifically to Black educators, and how having a well developed wellness practice that activates the Ventral vagal part of the Vagus Nerve in your body can counteract the components of this theory to improve your stress resilience. If you’d...
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The Effects of Being an Educator on Your Nervous System Part 2
Balanced Black Educator
Season 2 Episode 7 Episode link: Summary In part 2 of this 2-part episode, I take a further look at the effects of being an educator at the nervous system level. Discussion continues around the various degrees of stress and what puts Black educators in a unique and challenging position when it comes to the internal and external barriers of regulating your nervous system. If you’d like to learn more about what it takes to reset your nervous system and reduce your stress as a Black educator, feel free to add your name to the GroundED™ waitlist (at no obligation to you)! () You’ll be...
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The Effects of Being an Educator on Your Stress (at the Cellular Level) Part 1
Balanced Black Educator
Season 2 Episode 6 Episode link: Summary If you have ever felt or are currently feeling fatigue, chronic stress, or on the brink of burnout - or any other type of dysregulation - then this episode is for you. Let’s face it, as a Black educator, it doesn’t matter your setting - whether you are in K12 or Higher Ed, just by the nature of the work you do and what it requires of you, I imagine you’ve experienced some form of exhaustion or stress. In this episode, we’re gonna talk about some of the factors that are contributing to these feelings and how your body and nervous system...
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The Issue With Self Care and What You Should Focus on Instead
Balanced Black Educator
Season 2 Episode 5 Episode link: Summary I believe that Vagus nerve activation and autonomic nervous system management should be required training in every K12 and Higher Ed setting. If you have no idea what I am referring to, take a listen to this week’s episode to learn more about your nervous system and find out how to take your self-care practices to the next level of effectiveness through self-regulation. If your self-care is no longer giving what it’s supposed to give, discover what you should be focusing on instead. Especially if you’re feeling like you need more from your...
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What's Next? What I'm Working on Behind the Scenes!
Balanced Black Educator
Season 2 Episode 4 Episode link: Summary This is a super short update to briefly discuss what I'm currently working on and to give a preview of what's to come next month - when I introduce my Self-Regulation RESET™ framework as I release my GroundED™ group coaching program very soon! When I return to the podcast in mid-November, I plan to release a weekly episode until the beginning of next year to offer additional support as you finish out the semester! The Balanced Black Educator podcast is a conversation with Dr. Siobhan D. Flowers about all things at the intersection of education...
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3 Ways Being 'Selfish' Allows You To Be More Generous
Balanced Black Educator
Season 2 Episode 3 Episode link: Summary When there’s talk about educators practicing self care or unapologetically prioritizing their wellness, there’s a little bit of hesitation or reservation because (1) educators may feel guilty because they’ve been so indoctrinated to always ‘put students first’ and (2) educators feel that others may perceive them as selfish. We explore what the word ‘selfish’ means as it relates to overall educator well-being and how centering your own well-being as an educator actually allows you to be more generous with those around you. In this...
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3 Normalized Exploitative Educational Practices (and what to do about it)
Balanced Black Educator
Season 2 Episode 2 Episode link: Summary When it comes to some of the core factors that contribute to educator burnout, it’s only fair to ask the question - is it really 100% about burnout or could it have more to do with exploitation? I explore this topic of burnout vs. exploitation a bit further and the ways that you as a Black educator may be subjected to exploitation that you might not always be aware of… In this episode, I break down 3 exploitative educational practices that have become normalized and what Black educators can do about it. The Balanced Black Educator podcast is a...
info_outlineSeason 2 Episode 8
Episode link: https://BalancedBlackEducator.com/podcast/s2e8
Summary
In this episode I talk about the importance of having a daily wellness practice already planned and designed for you to guard against decision fatigue and to ensure a variety of options are available to you that actually work to reset your nervous system.
I also discuss aspects of Overload Theory, how it relates specifically to Black educators, and how having a well developed wellness practice that activates the Ventral vagal part of the Vagus Nerve in your body can counteract the components of this theory to improve your stress resilience.
If you’d like to learn more about what it takes to reset your nervous system and reduce your stress as a Black educator, feel free to add your name to the GroundED™ waitlist (at no obligation to you) - (BalancedBlackEducator.com/waitlist)
You’ll be the first to know when enrollment opens and gain access to early bird pricing and special bonuses. I’ll be sharing more about this incredible program over the next few weeks!
The Balanced Black Educator podcast is a conversation with Dr. Siobhan D. Flowers about all things at the intersection of education and mental wellness for Black educators from K12 to Higher Ed.
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This episode is brought to you by:
GroundED™ (group coaching program) - join the waitlist!
Guest/Recommended links mentioned in this episode
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Send questions to “Ask Dr. Flowers”
You can now send questions for the upcoming “Ask Dr. Flowers” segment that’s coming to Balanced Black Educator. Once I get a pool of questions to select from, I can begin rolling out this segment. Just fill out the form here and include hashtag #AskDrFlowers.
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