MINDFULNESS TEACHER TRAINING PATHWAY 2022./2023.
If you have experienced the positive benefits of practicing mindfulness, you may wish to train and become a qualified teacher of mindfulness.
Mindfulness Hrvatska in partnership with the UK Mindfulness Association and Mindfulness Association Polska, offers a comprehensive mindfulness teacher training pathway. This is a professional, high quality training which includes the assessment of your teaching of mindfulness against published teaching criteria. After successful completion of the training pathway, you are eligible to teach the 8-week Mindfulness Based Living Course (MBLC) using the curriculum created by the UK Mindfulness Association, and to gain ‘MBLC Approved Teacher’ status.
The MBLC is recognised as an eight week course in the UK Good Practice Guidelines (Bamba.org). The MBLC is comparable to other 8-week courses such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) or ‘BreathWorks’.
Qualified teachers can teach the MBLC as an independent trainer or a representative of an organisation and charge a fee. They can also go on to train to teach a Level 2, 8-week mindfulness course, Compassion Based Living Course (CBLC) (details on request).
The diagram below shows the 6 steps in the MBLC Teacher Training Pathway. Each step is mandatory.
STEP 1: ‘BEING PRESENT’ LEVEL 1 MINDFULNESS COURSE
Step 1 requires participants to complete our ‘Being Present’ Level 1 Mindfulness course or an equivalent course (the MBLC itself is not an equivalent course). The course has four modules, each of which includes an online study and practice weekend. In 2022-2023, Mindfulness Hrvatska offers ‘Being Present’ in both in-person and online formats.
If you have already completed the ‘Being Present’ Course, then you are ready to begin step 2.
Steps 2-4 aim to support participants to develop a safe and effective mindfulness teaching practice. The course emphasises that we embody mindfulness and compassion, and endeavour to stay fully present in our mindfulness teaching as we lead guided practices and inquiry. This skill depends entirely upon a sustained and regular personal mindfulness practice.
STEP 2: TEACHING SKILLS WEEKENDS
Step 2 involves participating in two online teaching skills training weekends. At each weekend, mindfulness practices and teaching skills are modelled, explained and discussed. Participants are given opportunities to develop their teaching skills through leading practices and receiving and giving peer feedback. Participants are required to also submit a short, written essay on teaching mindfulness.
Each day (Saturday and Sunday) is from 10:00-17:00. To complete the course, participants must attend both weekends.
STEP 3: INQUIRY SKILLS TRAINING DAY (online)
Reflecting upon and sharing experiences, is an important part of mindfulness training. We call this reflection and discussion ‘inquiry’. Step 3 in our training pathway, is an online day dedicated to developing our skills in leading inquiry in our mindfulness teaching. The Inquiry Skills Training Day (online) is from 10:00-17:00.
After successful completion of steps 2-3, you will be awarded a ‘MBLC Teaching Skills Level 1’ completion certificate.
STEP 4: PEER GROUP ONLINE TEACHING
Leading the mindfulness practices from the Mindfulness-Based Living Course (MBLC) in a safe and supportive environment, and receiving feedback from peers, is a very helpful part of our teaching skills development. In step 4, you will join online peer teaching groups for a total of 12 hours. In this step you will also subscribe as teacher training member of the UK Mindfulness Association (there is a small fee) and access 10 hours of continuous professional development videos (live online sessions or recorded). You will also keep a reflective journal.
STEP 5: LEVEL 2 MBLC TEACHING SKILLS RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Step 5 is to successfully participate in a 6-day residential mindfulness teaching skills retreat. During the retreat all the mindfulness practices from the MBLC are modelled by the retreat tutors and then taught by the participants to their peers. Participant teaching is assessed by tutors against published and internationally agreed mindfulness teacher competence criteria. Tutor support and peer feedback is also part of the teaching skills development process during the retreat. Teaching and feedback, by the tutors and participants, is in English.
The 6-day residential teaching skills retreat is in August/ September (location to be confirmed).
‘READINESS TO TEACH THE MBLC’
Successful participants in the teaching skills retreat are awarded a ‘certificate of readiness to teach the MBLC’ at the end of the retreat. They can now begin teaching the MBLC. They can teach in English or Croatian. Mindfulness Hrvatska will provide the MBLC materials in Croatian (written and audio recordings of all course mindfulness practices).
STEP 6:
- 6a: TEACH TWO MBLC 8-WEEK COURSES with the supervision of a qualified mindfulness supervisor, with at least three hours of supervision (group or individual) for each course and keeping a teaching journal.
- 6b: COMPLETION OF A TUTOR-LED, MINDFULNESS RETREAT to deepen practice, sometime during the following year.
- 6c: READ THE FOLLOWING BOOKS AND WRITE A 300-WORD REFLECTION:
- The Mindfulness Teaching Guide by Rob Brandsma
- Insight Dialogue by Gregory Kramer
- Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness by David Treleaven.
COMPLETION OF THE MBLC TEACHER TRAINING PATHWAY
After successful completion of steps 1-7 and an online tutor meeting, you are awarded the ‘Certificate of Completion of the MBLC Teacher Training Pathway’ by the Mindfulness Association and Mindfulness Hrvatska. You are now eligible to have your name added Mindfulness Hrvatska’s listing of approved and accredited teachers of mindfulness and use their logo.
THE TEACHING SKILLS PATHWAY TUTORS
Anna Zubrzycki (Lead Tutor)
Anna Zubrzycki, from Wroclaw in Poland, is the founder and director of Mindfulness Association Polska. Anna has practiced secular mindfulness since 1993 and has trained with Rob Nairn the founder of the Mindfulness Association UK and the developer of the unique approach to secular training in Mindfulness. Anna is also an actor and artistic director.
David McMurtry
Dr. David McMurtry, from Zagreb, is co-founder of the MSc in Studies in Mindfulness at the University of Aberdeen. He has taught mindfulness in Zagreb since 2016 and lectured on mindfulness in Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, Austria, Germany and Scotland. He is also co-founder and Past President of Mindfulness Hrvatska.
If teaching mindfulness is your aspiration and intention, we hope that you will join our mindfulness teacher training and share the benefits of mindfulness with others through teaching the MBLC.
To register as a participant in the Being Present Level 1 Mindfulness Course (Step 1 of Teacher Training), please complete this online registration form.
To register as a participant in the Teaching Skills Weekends (Step 2 of Teacher Training), please complete this online registration form.
To register as a participant in the Inquiry Skills Training Day (Step 3 of Teacher Training), please complete this online registration form.
Alternatively, please email [email protected], including if you have any questions or need further information.