WELCOME TO
THE 2026 MINDFULNESS TEACHER TRAINING HOMEBASE
Below you will find the full curriculum for our time together alongside associated readings and recordings
February 9th: Explore the Landscape of Meditation
A deep dive into the major traditions and techniques, helping you understand what’s possible as a teacher.
We will take an around the world look at the various traditions and styles of meditation, what we mean when we say “mindfulness,” where it comes from and how we will practice it. There will be time to get to know one another and setting group commitments to one another in terms of how we would like to work together.
Reading (readings are to be completed after the live session): Points of Posture: Sonima / Samye + one pager on the three yanas
March 9th: Build a Powerful, Supportive Posture
Learn how to help students find ease and stability in their bodies—no matter their experience level.
Shamatha can be broken out into body, breath and mind. This session we focus on the somatic experience, in particular the science behind the body scan, the traditional points of posture one can touch on when guiding people into practice and then each participant will have a chance to guide the group in executing that body scan (yes we’re diving deep quick, but you will be great).
Reading: Ways of Working with the Breath: Lions Roar / Sonima / Sutra
April 13th: Transform the Breath into a Teaching Tool
Understand how to guide breath practices safely, skillfully, and with confidence.
Mindfulness of the breath is not just one thing! Here we move into talking about the second aspect of shamatha, the breath, and review a number of ways we can guide students to consider the breath, as well as how to talk about it and work with common misconceptions (like you have to manipulate the breath - not true!). Half the group will have the chance to practice leading the full mindfulness practice.
Reading: How to Hold the Mind in Meditation: Psychology Today / Sonima / Headspace
May 11th: Skillful Methods for Working with the Mind
Teach techniques for focus, presence, and settling that support students at every stage.
After body and breath we will discuss how to hold the mind with gentleness and discipline. So many new meditators beat themselves up, thinking they are failing if they can’t stay with the breath. How can we best support them as they gradually relax into the practice, working with them to reduce judgment and shame? The second half of the group will have the chance to practice leading the full mindfulness practice.
Reading: This chart on the types of thoughts that arise alongside this post On Being a Teacher by Susan Piver and a piece I wrote a million years ago on Do’s and Don’t’s of Becoming a Meditation Teacher
June 8th: Craft Impactful Dharma Talks
Find your voice, structure your message, and speak from experience with authenticity and clarity.
Well you can’t really just sit down and start telling people what to do with their body, right? You have to introduce the practice, explain why we do it, and share about its benefits. In this session we learn about how to structure talks from a traditional Buddhist framework. We will have lots of time to experiment and ask questions during this session.
Reading: Compendium of mindfulness and race, trans-awareness readings here and here
July 13th: Positionality & Unconscious Bias
A grounded, compassionate exploration of equity and awareness.
When we begin teaching we may not always be aware of the way we come across and our own lens through which we view the world. Here we will engage in an open exploration and exercises around how to hold space for people who do not look like us or share our background. The breakout time will allow for half the group to lead their very short dharma talk.
Reading: TBD
August 10th — How to Lead a Supportive Q&A
Facilitate meaningful discussions, answer questions skillfully, and hold space with confidence.
There is an old Zen saying, “After the ecstasy, the laundry.” Similarly, after leading meditation, there often should be time for the practicality of Q&A. How do we hold space for and normalize people’s experience? How can we be thoughtful in drawing out the meaning behind long-winded, not clear questions? What to do if we don’t actually know the answer? All will be revealed. The breakout time will allow for the second half of the group to lead their very short dharma talk.
Reading: TBD
September 14th: Design Classes & Build Cohesive Curriculum
Learn how to sequence teachings, create sustainable class arcs, and design programs with intention.
One area new meditation teachers often struggle with is building out their first class. In this interactive workshop we will pitch ideas on what we might want to focus on in our early teaching career and use those examples as a jumping off point for how one could structure a formal curriculum with a Ground, Path and Fruition. There will also be small group time to workshop our individual ideas for a five-week class.
Reading: Should Dharma Teachers Make Money? and Meditation on Money and Examining Our Relationship to Money
October 12th: Transforming Your Relationship with Money
A mindful look at earning, charging, and sustaining your livelihood as a spiritual professional.
Everyone has their own relationship to money. Some of us have a healthy relationship, others…not so much. If we are going to walk the line of being meditation teachers and even (gasp) charging for our time and training, we need to be very clear around our motivation, our poverty mentality, our habitual ways of thinking about money and finances. We will map the three yanas of Buddhism onto how we can consider our relationship with money. The breakout time will allow half the group to lead shamatha once more.
Reading: This very short blog post by Seth Godin, this round up of the “10 Commandments of Marketing” via his books and this excerpt from Tribes
November 9th: Authentic Networking & Heart-Centered Branding
Build your offering in a way that feels genuine, ethical, and aligned with your values.
What does it mean to launch a business as a meditation teacher from a place of authenticity? In this session we will work together to consider everything from building a website to a newsletter to how we want to show up with integrity on social media and who we may want to be in partnership with. The breakout time will allow the second half of the group to lead shamatha once more.
Reading: TBD
December 14th: Building a Sustainable Teaching Life
A panel of guests sharing how to create a meaningful, long-term livelihood as a meditation teacher.
We are joined by a group of seasoned meditation teachers for our final session, during which we let the rubber hit the road and map out where we want to go from here. We receive valuable advice on how to exit the program from them and discuss how we can support one another and hold one another accountable for our growth moving forward. Please bring all unanswered questions to this session so we can discuss!