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Working with teachers to navigate the school day with balance and responsiveness, rather than stress and reactivity
Partner with me to create a path to wellbeing that helps you
to cultivate the resilience and steadiness needed to keep doing this job.
Ready to see how?
Do you feel overwhelmed most days by the challenges of teaching?
Do you need strategies
for wellbeing, time management, and productive communication so that you leave school with energy and ease?
Do you wish for fewer emotional ups and downs and more calm when teaching?
Why choose
Seeds to Forest SEL?
As an educator wellbeing coach, I empower teachers and school leaders like you to prioritize your own wellbeing amidst the daily pressures of school life. Through mindfulness and social-emotional strategies, I help you to build practices and routines that foster greater calm, increased presence, and enhanced productivity, so you can leave the school day energized, optimistic, and ready to thrive with resilience.
When I turned forty, I realized I was not living the way I truly wished to live. I consistently arrived home from my teaching job mentally and physically depleted, and from that place of exhaustion, I tried to parent my son and interact with my partner in meaningful ways. It did not go well. I was anxious, rigid, and could not handle when things did not go as planned. I knew I needed to find a way through to how I genuinely wanted to relate to others and myself.
And so, I began meditating, immersing myself in the wisdom of contemplative practices. Eventually, I pursued Yoga Teacher Training in order to share what has so profoundly made my life better. Slowly, I began to notice a difference: a lightness, a serenity in the face of change and challenge. And so much more delight in life!
At this moment, I am a daily practitioner of yoga and meditation, and lead a mindful lifestyle grounded in ease, compassion and solidity. I have integrated my mindfulness practice into my family responsibilities as a wife and mother, and seek to maintain equanimity in the daily ups and downs of tending a family. I now dedicate myself to helping adults and teens find solutions for well-being, serenity and peace amid the myriad pressures that we face.
I knew that I needed to bring mindfulness into my professional life as a full time Spanish teacher in Ramsey, NJ with over 20 years of classroom experience working with high school students. I saw Social Emotional Learning as a bridge between how I had begun to live at home and how I wanted to live in the classroom.
After achieving certification in teaching SEL to youth, and receiving qualification to train adults in SEL strategies and meditation, as well as becoming a certified 500 hour yoga instructor, I have sown the seeds of SEL in my own classes and in my larger school community. I have seen first-hand the benefits of authentically integrating these strategies into every lesson. My passion lies in working closely with school communities to develop a plan that prioritizes educator wellness so they can begin to integrate an SEL plan into their teaching.
About Me
Maria Downey
SEEDS TO FOREST SEL
Resume Available Upon Request
Maria Downey
551-804-8564
