Music Teachers Blog

Being a teacher requires you to give a lot of your energy to your students. If you don’t spend time taking care of yourself and replenishing your own energy levels, you may get burned out. Summer is a great time to focus on yourself. Here are a few ideas that I’ve come up with to help you replenish your own energy. If you add a couple of these to your weekly schedule, they will pay off big time.

Start or make over a work out

Any way you can take time for yourself is a good thing, but working out is good for a lot of reasons. It raises your endorphins, which are the feel good hormones. It helps reduce stress. Plus you will increase your lung capacity and stamina. Even getting out and going for a bike ride or a walk will improve your outlook.

Meditation

Meditation helps you to relax it has been shown to increase immunity. The best part is that if you have a regular practice, the effects last longer. I’ve noticed that when I regularly do yoga and meditation, I experience less performance anxiety, less stress in rush hour traffic, more patience in lessons or stressful situations and more.

Yoga

Yoga has many benefits. Some of them are the same as meditation. Since yoga requires diaphragmatic breathing, it is great for breath support. It also helps to improve range of motion and flexibility. It has helped me to get rid of tension in many places. Deep breathing for an 20 minutes to an hour helps to reduce stress as well. Yoga is a moving practice, so it is great if you aren’t good at sitting still for meditation.

Massage

Massage is great for reducing stress and getting rid of pain or stiffness. Some forms are even good for improving flexibility. I know that I feel like a million bucks after getting a massage (even if I was in complete melt down mode when I went to the massage.)

Mini Vacation

Take a day off. No cleaning, studio work or anything allowed. Sleep in, go somewhere fun or just stay home and watch all the movies that you have been dying to see. Sometimes a real vacation can cause more stress then it alleviates. A day or two off at home can make you feel like a million bucks. If staying home is too stressful (with all of its visual reminders of things that need to be done, phone calls and chores), stay for a day or two at a hotel nearby. While you are there book a couple of hours at a spa.

Inspiriational CD, book or seminar

Listening to inspirational books on CD, reading a book, or going to a seminar on motivation are all great ways to improve your outlook. Here are a few to get you started.

Zig Ziglar – Better Than Good, Creating the Life you Can’t Wait to Live.

Anthony Robbins – Awakening the Giant Within.

Julia Cameron – The Artist’s Way

Eloise Ristad – A Soprano on Her Head

Read for fun

Take a look at the list of recommended books from your library. Pick something fun that you might read if you were a kid. (no self help books, educational reading or anything else applies.) Spend as much time as you can getting lost in the book (no guilt allowed either.)

Try to pick one or two of these to add into your week. If you add them in weekly or daily, it will help you to avoid burn out and have more energy to give to the others in your life.

Posted in Teaching Tips |

About the Author

Singer and Voice Teacher, Amy Gould has performed for numerous audiences around the western Michigan area. She is a vocalist and flutist with the 126 Army Band from Wyoming, Michigan and has performed as a guest artist with the Grand Rapids Symphonic Band. She has also performed with the Grand Rapids Opera Chorus and as a substitute for The Musekgon Camarata Singers. Throughout her teaching career of more than ten years, Amy has helped hundreds of students to improve their voices and reach their singing goals. She holds a B.A. in Vocal Music Performance from Michigan State University and has studied at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. She has also attended master classes in vocal pedagogy by Richard Miller and acting by Mark Taslitt. Currently, she teaches private voice lessons and directs the VSA Adult Choir for adults with special needs. She also writes and produces her own podcast and blog to help singers (of all styles and ability levels) improve their singing.