Hi Wash House students,

My name is Ms. Cummings - for those of you who don’t know me - and I’ve had the privilege of being a part of the Washington community for the past three years. I’ve filled a variety of roles here - Targeted Literacy Instructor, ACT Prep, Creative Writing, and English IV teacher. I’ve loved the time I’ve spent here - specifically under the leadership of Mr. Amaya and his awesome team of administrators and deans, and I will sincerely miss this community next school year, but I’ll be moving schools in the Fall in order to be closer to my daughter during the day. Before I depart, I wanted to provide our community with an updated version of the Student Wellness page that the Trauma Sensitive Team and I launched in the throws of the pandemic. If you have been looking to explore self-care or add more self-care into your daily routine, this website was designed for you!

The purpose of this letter is to help provide you with a little bit of background about me, why I’ve chosen the resources I did for staff and what I hope you’ll gain from them if you give them a try.

I’ve been a public school educator for the past thirteen years and have had the opportunity to teach at a range of middle and high schools in Texas, Australia, and Kansas during that time. I began teaching yoga in 2017 as a way to restore my mental and physical health when adjusting to ex-expat life, and it changed my life and the way I teach. My experience as a yoga instructor inspired a newfound commitment to socio-emotional learning and wellness in schools - such an important part of our curriculum here in KCKPS.

This website is founded upon that and includes access to sound therapy and breathwork videos.

Why these resources? Because I’ve used them. My boyfriend has used them. My students have used them. And we’ve experienced positive results that we want to share with you! This is by no means a one-size-fits all model. That’s why I’ve shared a variety of resources here. It’s important to try on a range of these techniques and to implement them daily for a minimum of three weeks to experiment with what works best for you. The National Institute of Health suggests this is how much time it takes for an average person to build a daily habit.

I’ve witnessed people from all walks of life build and benefit from these healthy habits. Take my boyfriend, for instance. He served in the Marines for nine and a half years, deployed to Afghanistan among a variety of other assignments, and spent half of his career in the military in Explosive Ordinance Disposal. After half a decade as a bomb tech and nearly a decade in a demanding career, he found the transition to civilian life challenging, and his devotion to breathwork - specifically the WimHof method - has helped with that transition.

Like Caleb who struggled with PTSD and depression, my students - who’ve struggled with their own trauma - have shared overwhelmingly positive feedback about the integration of breathwork in our daily lessons. For the past two years, at the beginning of each class, my students have been provided the opportunity to experiment with the breathwork techniques provided here. Students have shared that because of the techniques they learned in class, they’ve been able to better manage and navigate panic attacks, anger, and extreme sadness. They’ve shared that beginning class in this way helps them to anchor and ground in what WE are doing as well as time to process whatever they’ve experienced in the hallway/last class, etc.

I hope you find that this resource benefits you or someone you love in some way.

Wishing you all the very best, Washington.

Thank you for everything!

Ms. Cummings