#88 A Love Letter to Teachers

Dear Teacher,

You are tired.
You are brilliant.
And somehow, you are still standing.

This summer, maybe you’ve tried to catch your breath.
Or maybe… you haven’t even had the chance.
Because instead of resting, you’re working a second job, taking classes, or prepping for the year ahead…again.

Because that’s what teachers do, right? Keep going. Keep giving. Keep holding it all together.

And after everything you carried this past school year, you deserve more than a break.
You deserve a reset, and maybe, in small ways this July, you gave yourself that.
Maybe you exhaled. Maybe you slept. Maybe you didn’t, but wished you could have.

As we edge toward August, the invitation isn’t to ramp up and brace, it’s to carry forward what your body knows now: That regulation, rest, and release aren’t luxuries. They’re lifelines.

And you don’t have to do it alone.

And you don’t have to wait until burnout forces you to pause.
You can choose to slow down now.
You can choose you over EVEYTHING else!

Even when the pressure builds, even when your nervous system is fried and your body begs for rest… you keep showing up.

Not because it’s easy.
Not because you’re okay.
But because you care so deeply, it hurts.

Maybe no one’s ever said this to you, so let me be the one:
What you’re feeling isn’t weakness. It’s wisdom. Your body is trying to get your attention.

I remember that feeling in my own bones.
Standing in my kitchen, staring at my calendar packed with to-dos. My shoulders were tight, my heart was racing, and I told myself, Just get through today.

But the truth was… I’d been “just getting through today” for far too long. And my body had had enough.

I wasn’t getting enough sleep. My digestion was off. I was snapping at people I loved. And still, my brain kept saying, “Keep going. Push through. Hold it together.” Because maybe, like me, you were taught the same thing, that stress is just part of life. That rest is earned. That needing help is a flaw.

But my body had other ideas.

At first, those ideas came in whispers…little signals here and there: a tight chest, a short fuse, a racing heart. Then the whispers turned to begging, which looked like fatigue I couldn’t shake, brain fog, and being taken out of school in an ambulance. And still…

I 

didn’t 

listen.

Until one day, my body didn’t whisper and it no longer begged. Instead…
it slapped me across the face with a cancer diagnosis…

and THAT made everything stop. Because I had no other choice.

And in that moment, I realized: 

This stress is not all in your head. It’s in your system.

That slap changed EVERYTHING.

Because the truth is, stress isn’t the problem; how our body stores it is.

That’s what my message is for you today. Not by powering through it. But by tuning in. By listening. And by using tools like breathwork and EFT that help us regulate, release, and remember who we are underneath the chaos.

Your system needs care.
Not someday.
Not when the to-do list is done.
Now.

That’s what this love letter is really about.

It’s not about burnout. It’s about the comeback.
The one that begins when you finally allow yourself to receive the kind of care you so freely give to others.

What started as whispers in my body became a scream I could no longer ignore.
And that breaking point became the blueprint for something new.

A space where teachers don’t have to crash to be cared for.

That’s why I created the Sustainable Teacher Collective.

It’s not a product.
It’s not a pitch.
It’s a response.

 A lived-in, heart-led solution to a problem too many of us were never taught to name, and once we finally did, we weren’t supported through it.

Because burnout isn’t just about being tired.
It’s about being alone in your tiredness.
Invisible in your effort.
Unseen in your care.

That’s what this space is here to shift.

I saw what burnout did to me.
I saw what wasn’t helping.
So I created what I wish I had.

This is not a training.
This is not another task on your list.

This is a restorative coaching space for teachers who are ready to be held, and that’s why it’s called The Sustainable Teacher Collective.

It was born out of my own reckoning with burnout, and it’s also the heart of a book I’m writing:
The Sustainable Teacher.

That book is where I’m putting the whole story, the crash, the healing, the practices, the truths we’re never told in staff meetings, and the solutions to it all.

But the Collective…
That’s where we live it…together, in real time.

We meet twice each month - online - for practices that help restore your nervous system:

✨ EFT tapping
✨ Breathwork

It’s simple.
Grounding.
Safe.

And slowly, life-changing.

When you join, you’ll receive:

• 🌀 Two live group calls each month — a nourishing mix of coaching, EFT, and breathwork
  
  
• 🎧 A monthly pre-recorded meditation to reset your nervous system between sessions
  
  
• 🖨️ Printable tools and guides for regulating your system and supporting your nervous system at school or home
  
  
• 💨 An on-demand library of breathwork and tapping practices
  
  
• 📆 Google Calendar prompts for rhythm, reflection, and small moments of care
  
  
• 🌿 Bonus retreats and guest expert sessions throughout the year
  
  
• 👩‍🏫 And I'm currently exploring CEU options to support your professional growth as well
  
  

All of this is held inside a real-time community of teachers who truly get it, because they’re living it too.

You don’t need to do more.
You don’t need to be better.
You just need space to breathe. To soften. To remember who you are beneath all the doing.

The Sustainable Teacher Collective is about helping you feel safe in your body again: supported, seen, and sustained in your work and your life.

It’s about supporting the version of you who’s been carrying it all for far too long.

We begin with a Welcome Party on August 17th @1 pm/ET and you are so warmly invited.
We’ll open with a short EFT session, spend time in conversation, and close with breathwork meditation, so you leave grounded, not stirred up.

If you feel called, you can join the Collective waitlist now @ shiftforwellnesscom/sustainable or after you get a taste for what it’s all about at the Welcome Party. You just need the moment to be held so come as you are.

📌 Click here to join the waitlist

You are tired. You are brilliant.
And you are not alone.

Let this be the year you choose you.

With so much love and care and gratitude for all you do,

Jennifer xo

Readers, if you’re not a teacher, but today’s message still spoke to you, you might want to join our Tapping Community Membership, opening again this September on Tuesdays - twice a day: 9-10 am and 4:30 - 5:30 pm /ET. That space is open to everyone ready to reset, regulate, and come back to themselves with the help of EFT and gentle daily support. https://www.shiftforwellness.com/TappingCommunityWaitlist The first two weeks are free for you to give it a test run. 

If you’ve been longing for space to breathe, more ease, more connection, more clarity, you’re not alone. What’s coming was created with care for anyone ready to feel supported, grounded, and gently restored.

Behind the scenes, something spacious and soul-nourishing is taking shape. A place to land, reset, and remember who we are beneath the noise and expectations.

I can’t wait to share it with you.

✨ Be sure you’re on the list! This is something we’re building together!!

If you've got some stories to share or questions to ask, I'd love to hear them. Leave a comment or DM me on Instagram at @jenncaputo because when we lift each other up, we all grow wiser.

Remember, it's not about being perfect. It's about being easy with the practice.