The holidays are over and hopefully during those few days off we all managed to find ways to relax and recharge the batteries to help us to sail through the remainder of the season. Being a studio owner is an extremely challenging job and one that really requires a tremendous balancing act to make it all work. One of the reasons that Steve and I started Dance Teacher Web was because we understood from the day-to-day running of our studio that each day presents an array of different challenges that studio owners are not totally prepared for.

Between being a dance teacher, choreographer, mentor, psychologist, confidante, business manager, advertising wiz and social butterfly, there is very little time left for us to devote time to ourselves and our own needs. This is why I have found the need to make an actual plan for when Steve and I can relax, refresh our minds and get away from the mental and physical stress that we subject ourselves to! Of course, studio owners usually have the dancer’s mentality of 'The show must go on,' and most of us have a true passion for what we do. However, the reality is that if we stretch ourselves too thin without thought for our well being, we are not going to be able to give our best effort to our students, staff and the studio in general.

Here are some ideas to help you plan your relaxation calendar for the New Year.

1.      Plan escape time. Look through your entire calendar for the year. Check out when the studio is closed. Do you have winter and spring breaks? How many school holidays does your area have? Start making plans for your breaks. If you are able to get away, decide on places where you will have the most fun and the most time to chill, away from the pulls of everyday life. Then take action—book your flights, hotels and anything else you need for that getaway. This way you will be locked into it, and no matter what comes up, you will know that you have that escape to look forward to.

2.    Nurture yourself. As dance teachers we get a lot of exercise, but one of the things that I love to do is have one-on-one Pilates sessions. Not only do they keep me in shape, but I also find that time blissfully relaxing, even though I am working hard on my body. What I like the most is that someone else is telling me what to do and when to do it. We spend our lives planning our classes and keeping ourselves mentally alert so that we can make our classes as interesting and challenging for our students as possible. I love just being able to focus on what I need for that one hour. So find something that you love to do that is focused on you. You will find it not only relaxing, but also inspiring.

3.    Remember that laughter is the best medicine. How often in a day do you spend time laughing? Seems a silly question, doesn’t it? But from time to time when the pressure is on (which is quite often in our business), just sit back and think about whether there is enough laughter in your life. Make sure that the people you spend 75% of your time with are people who have a sense of fun and humor. When you own a studio you do not have loads of time to socialize with outside people, so it is really helpful if the people you work closest with are also fun to be with. It has helped us tremendously to be able to see humor in our everyday lives and it is a great stress reliever. If you cannot find anything that humorous around you, then rent a movie or plan a get together with the most lighthearted group of friends you have. Are your students driving you crazy? Are they out of control or just plain disinterested? Then give them a fun project or make them laugh and all of a sudden you will find that particular pressure is gone.

4.    Invest in a massage chair. This is for you, your staff and faculty. Buying a massage chair was one of our best choices for the studio. Faculty can sit and relax between classes—in fact, it has been a huge incentive for faculty to turn up early for their classes because they want that massage before they get started. It is very rare for any faculty member to be late since we bought that chair—who knew it would work so well? If you have fifteen minutes to be able to sit back with your feet up and eyes closed and relax, it can really do wonders for you for the rest of the day.

5.     Find a sanctuary. Make it a place you can go to when you feel stressed and tense, where you can be alone with your thoughts and undisturbed. Sanctuaries can take unusual forms—it may seem strange, but I find that driving in my car helps me tremendously. If I am feeling particularly stressed out, I know I can go to my car, put on my very relaxing spa music, turn my cell phone off for fifteen minutes and just clear my head. If I have choreography on my mind, I can drive in my car with the music blasting and play it over and over without anyone bothering me. I cannot begin to tell you how many pieces of my choreography have come together for me in my car! It really doesn’t matter where your chamber of sanctuary is as long as you have one somewhere. Keeping the cell phone off is big because it is no longer a place of peace and quiet if that cell phone keeps ringing. Everyone will understand that they can leave a message and, even if there is an emergency, generally fifteen minutes will not make a huge difference. At least you will be relaxed enough to deal with it in a calm manner.

Making a plan is one of the ways to ensure that you, as a studio owner, are able to be the person that everyone needs you to be. Leaving relaxation time up to chance or just winging it is not a great solution because there will always be someone or something pulling at you at every moment to be there for them. You will be able to manage all the tasks a studio owner is called upon to manage if you take the time for YOU.