One of my favorite quotes that I have my students reflect on is, “If you don’t take time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness.”  

This quote, attributed to Joyce Sunada, is at the core of every decision I make in both my professional and personal life. Wellness includes both our physical health and mental health. Paying attention to the messages that our body sends us will help us to know what we need to focus on the most. However, that doesn’t mean that we will do everything exactly right every day. Wellness is less about perfection and more about balance.  

At Steward, this balance of wellness is incorporated into the strategic plan, core values, and mission. Steward’s strategic plan, Compass 2028, outlines “care and balance: health and wellbeing” as a stated priority. Care and respect are also core values at Steward, starting with oneself. It is important to take care of and respect ourselves so that we are able to do the same for others. This is true for us as adults and parents, and for our students, as it helps them to learn early to infuse healthy habits into their daily lives. These healthy habits are one way we can live Steward’s mission each day to prepare our children for life on their own, in college, and beyond. From my perspective, the three key components to prioritizing wellness are sleep, emotional regulation through breathwork, and hydration. 

Sleep is essential to our wellness. Without enough sleep, our bodies are not able to function properly, we may get sick more easily, and our cognitive health is impacted. Although our days seem busy with activities that we often prioritize over sleep, I would argue that sleep is the one thing we must move to the top of our priority list. While the amount of sleep you should get depends on each individual, there are guidelines you can follow. Lower School students should get 9-12 hours of sleep per night, while Middle and Upper School students should strive for 8-10 hours. Adults should get a minimum of 7 hours per night. Having enough sleep can also make a world of difference in our ability to sustain attention, recall information, and regulate our mood. 

Another significant element of our wellness is emotional regulation. Our breath is the one coping strategy that is always available to us. One key component of wellness that I try to instill in even the youngest of our Spartans is belly breathing. Known to the JK-Grade 5 students as “the breathing teacher,” I begin my first lesson in character education by teaching them how to belly breathe. In JK and kindergarten, we use stuffed animals to help us practice breathing in for four counts, pausing for two, and breathing out for four counts. By fourth grade, the students can do a 4-2-8 breath. Ideally, your exhale should be twice as long as the inhale for maximum benefits. And what are these benefits? The ability to slow down, calm our bodies and nervous systems, re-set our focus, be present in the moment, and learn how to self-regulate. I continue these belly breaths in my work with sixth-grade, seventh-grade, and tenth-grade students. I also incorporate guided meditations and activities, such as making breath beads in the older grades, to give students a tangible reminder of the importance of deep breathing.

A third area of wellness that we can prioritize is our hydration. I remember when I was younger, the 10 seconds of drinking water at the water fountain when coming in from recess or P.E., and maybe having a small thermos that matched my lunchbox. These days, everyone carries a fancy water bottle everywhere they go. While it may seem unnecessary to carry around such a large vessel, drinking at least half of your body weight in ounces of water is a necessary baseline for your health. So the next time you hear the jolting sound of an Owala water bottle clanging against something, just remember that it is important to prioritize hydration. 

When I am not teaching in the classroom, I am creating wellness content for the Steward community. When I “came home” to Steward last school year as the health and wellness coordinator, one of my top priorities was to create a wellness week initiative. Last February, I took on an entire month of wellness weeks to share my wisdom and ideas. This year, I looked at my own wellness and decided that spreading it throughout the year was both more manageable and advantageous to everyone. With that goal in mind, I have created a wellness week for each quarter with a focus that has aligned with the schoolwide theme of nature. My hope is that these wellness weeks will make it easy to prioritize wellness in our lives and the Steward community. 

While the concept of wellness can seem overwhelming, there are simple changes that we can make in our lives each day. Going to bed five minutes earlier, setting a timer to remind us to reset with deep breaths throughout the day, and increasing our water intake are just a few of the ways that we can prioritize wellness at any age. Just remember: It isn’t about perfection and comparison; it’s about personal progress and balance.