The Educator’s Nervous System: How Inner Regulation Shapes Outer Impact

In classrooms around the world, educators are expected to remain calm, responsive, and compassionate - even in the face of stress, conflict, or emotional overload. Yet, one aspect often left out of teacher training is the role of the nervous system in how we teach, lead, and connect.

As an educator and therapist, I’ve seen firsthand how an educator’s ability to regulate their internal state can profoundly shape their presence in the classroom. This is not just emotional intelligence - it’s nervous system awareness. When a teacher’s nervous system is dysregulated, everything is affected: tone of voice, ability to listen, classroom management, and even our capacity to feel empathy.

Emerging research, particularly from Polyvagal Theory (Porges, 2011), shows that our sense of safety, internally and externally, determines whether we can think clearly, connect meaningfully, and respond with care. For educators dealing with diversity, inclusion, trauma, and high expectations, this science is not just interesting, it’s essential.

So how can we begin to support our nervous systems in daily school life?

It starts with micro-practices of presence:

• A moment of conscious breathing between classes.

• Grounding your feet before a challenging meeting.

• Checking in with your body before reacting.

These are not luxuries. They are professional tools for sustainable, relational teaching.

This awareness is the foundation of what I call Educação Terapêutica - a therapeutic approach to education that honors the whole human being behind the role of “teacher.” It invites educators to care for their emotional landscape as seriously as they plan lessons or assess learning.

When we understand and support our own regulation, we become better equipped to hold space for others—especially our students. We teach with more clarity, more connection, and more compassion.

We must remember two important factors; first: we need to prioritise our holistic health and second: emotions will pass, we will stay with ourselves. Our nervous systems are always in the room. Let’s make them part of the conversation.

By Natalia Vidal

Educator | Therapist | Speaker and Mentor 

From Rio de Janeiro, Brazil