Embrace a Summer of Self-Care: A Guide for Educators

Kimberly Brooks
Jul 17
6 min read

Updated: Aug 14

By: Kim Brooks

For educators, summer is rarely the carefree pause it appears to be from the outside.

It’s a season lived in the in-between. A swirl of relief and reflection, fatigue and freedom, grief and growth.

You're decompressing from the emotional marathon of the past school year while juggling vacation plans, family time, house projects, lingering paperwork, and long-overdue appointments. All with the looming awareness that another school year is just around the corner.

Even during your break, work sneaks its way in:

Emails from parents or leadership (sent with the hope, and from some the expectation, of a response, although you're off the clock).
Teachers and principals are often shuffled around like chess pieces, with little warning, no time for goodbyes, or time to make a smooth transition, causing undue stress.
Class lists you've thoughtfully curated get changed without consulting those who are impacted, leaving teachers feeling devalued and like their planning time was wasted.
Professional development, summer programs, and long-range planning meetings creep in because there's never enough time during the year.
Buying school supplies while they're on sale, which happens earlier each year! This, in turn, inspires creative planning for the year ahead.

Yes, there's more space and time. And you have the luxury of checking emails poolside and having meetings at your favorite restaurants...

But are you truly allowing yourself the freedom to rest and to receive the care your body has been craving all year?

Are you unplugging from the stress and the swirl of school drama? (I have teacher friends, so I know all about those poolside chats!)

Are you allowing your body to downshift out of survival mode... or are you just filling your days with a different kind of noise and obligation?

Our Bodies Forget How to Rest

When you’ve been operating in a state of urgency for months (or years), slowing down doesn’t come easily. Your mind looks for stimulation and excitement. You want to feel included in the plans that are happening over the summer. Your nervous system clings to the busy and predictable.

Rest might even feel unproductive or uncomfortable at first. That’s normal.

But the truth is: you need restoration, not just relaxation, to lead a healthy life. When your body doesn’t regularly enter a parasympathetic state, which we call the “rest and digest” state, your systems can’t function the way they’re meant to. Digestion, hormone balance, sleep, immune function, and even mental clarity all depend on the body knowing how to downshift out of stress.

Without that downshift, the stress becomes chronic. Over time, it can show up as fatigue, irritability, brain fog, gut issues, anxiety, and can lead to burnout.

You deserve space to process what you’ve experienced, grieve what’s changed, and prepare for what’s ahead. You deserve a summer where you say no to working for free and say yes to yourself. Your students will thank you!

"No is the sacred yes."

Author Unknown

What Does a Summer of Self-Care Actually Look Like?

Taking intentional time for yourself to process your emotions is essential. You don’t need to explain your choices for how you spend your time or energy this summer. If you’re stepping away from education, considering a new role, or reevaluating your path, this is key.

Surround Yourself with Support

Spend time with people who get you, who lift you up, and inspire you, while doing activities that light you up! Join a meetup group or take a fun summer class.

Set Boundaries

Possibly take a break from the people who deplete your energy or don’t understand your journey right now, and let that be okay.

Allow Yourself to Grieve

Give yourself time and permission to grieve. Changes in roles, routines, and identity (especially for those leaving education) carry a deep emotional weight. Let yourself move through it with compassion and grace.

Reconnect with Yourself

Rebuild a connection with yourself through rest, movement, stillness, or creative expression. Establishing nervous system-regulating routines now is crucial. Don’t wait until the busy season of August to start thinking about self-care again.

You Don’t Have to Do This Alone

I work with educators and individuals in service-based, nurturing roles, helping them regulate, reconnect with themselves, and restore through my Energy Reset Sessions.

These personalized sessions blend meditation, breathwork, energy work, and somatic tools to help you:

Create space to allow more peace into your body, mind, and heart
Rebuild a sense of safety within your body
Quiet the mind without needing to "fix" anything
Move from exhaustion and overwhelm into clarity and calm

Book Your Energy Reset Session Here

If you’re ready to go even deeper, my Path to Freedom 1:1 holistic journey offers longer-term support as you navigate what’s next. Whether you’re staying in your job, exploring a new path entirely, or navigating another life transition, this program helps you rewire your brain and body. You can reconnect to your purpose with tools, guidance, and encouragement every step of the way.

You don’t have to explain or justify your choices. You simply have to show up. You’ve done so much. Now it’s time to receive.

Learn More...

Ready to Slow Down and Reconnect, but Want to Ease Into It? Try Journaling.

If you’re looking for a simple way to slow down this summer, journaling is a beautiful place to start. It gives you space to pause, notice what you're feeling, and process whatever is coming up, without needing to fix it. Over time, journaling helps you build a deeper relationship with yourself.

It’s also a powerful tool for:

Noticing thought patterns and emotional triggers
Getting clear about what you truly want
Exploring how you want to feel in your daily life

I used to wonder what people even wrote in journals. At first, I used prompts (and I still often do). Then I started journaling when I traveled or had an experience I didn’t want to forget. Eventually, I turned to journaling to process my emotions, writing when I felt angry, anxious, or stuck. And then, I started writing when I wanted to celebrate my wins (big or small) or notice the ways I was becoming this new version of myself.

Now? It’s an (almost) daily ritual. A way to tune into my inner wisdom. A space where my best ideas and most honest truths come through.

Clients often tell me:

"I don’t know what to write." or "I’m afraid someone will read it."

And I get it. If you’re just starting out, try a technique from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: Scan your body and write about how you feel. Look around the room and describe what you see. Start anywhere, even if it sounds ridiculous, and your writing will unfold from there.

If you’re concerned about privacy, try journaling in a secure notes app, locking your notebook in a drawer, or simply writing and discarding what you’ve written once it’s served its purpose.

✨ Research backs this up: Expressive writing, as shown by Pennebaker & Beall (1986), has been proven to reduce stress, improve emotional well-being, and boost self-awareness, creativity, and problem-solving skills.

I know free writing can feel daunting, so if it's something you want to try, I've created some thought-provoking prompts to get you going.

Click here to grab your free mindfulness journal, which includes additional mindfulness techniques to try.

Free Mindfulness Journal

In Case You’re New Here:

Hi! I’m Kim, a well-being coach who helps teachers and service-driven professionals break free from the physiological symptoms of chronic stress and burnout. I do this not by adding more to their plate, but by helping them rewire their body and mind to release stress at a nervous system level and clear deep energy blocks.

You’ve done the work. You’ve explored mindfulness, movement, self-care, and personal growth. But something still feels off… like no matter how much you do, stress keeps creeping in, draining your energy.

That’s where I come in. You don't have to "do" more. You are remembering who you are at a soul level. You are becoming your most authentic version of yourself.

Not sure where to begin?

Let’s chat and explore what support would serve you best right now.

Book a Complimentary Clarity Call

Did you find this blog post helpful?

Let me know in the comments or send me an email sharing what resonated or what your self-care summer looks like!

📢 Share this blog post with someone you care about who you know deserves a summer of love and self-care.

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