What would you recommend as best practices for self care for the yoga instructor?

Answer from Justine

This is such an important topic, to be sure!

Some thoughts to consider as far as self care…..

• Oftentimes, teachers’ own personal practice goes out the window….and it is so important to continue. There doesn’t have to be a long physical practice – 20 minutes a day will do……even if you can only sneak in a restorative pose or two!
• Yoga Nidra helps me tremendously…..physically, but also mentally/emotionally. I prefer Richard Miller’s teachings….you can find guided Yoga Nidra with him here: www.irest.us  “Resting in Stillness” is my favorite.
• Garshana and Abhyanga are beautiful self care practices…….I attached a direction sheet for it. You can also learn more about it on LifeSpa.com or BanyanBotanicals.com
• When demonstrating poses, try to switch sides so that you don’t always demo on one side……that can cause body imbalances and sometimes injury.
• If you enjoy taking other teacher’s classes, try to schedule that in….just like you would a client, to make it a priority to keep your practice and community in the forefront 🙂