Foundations in Teaching Mindfulness Meditation
“Our lives happen in the present moment. Often we are preoccupied and distracted, and we don’t have the skills for inhabiting the body in a way that’s safe, still, and calm.” Michael Stone
Course Description
The 9 week course developed and delivered by the late Michael Stone, will provide insights into the art and science of mindfulness. It is designed both for people interested in maturing and developing a personal practice and as a foundation to offering mindfulness-based interventions to others in a class-based setting.
The course is linear and structured in its approach, allowing students to explore their own personal journey on a week by week basis, with guided videos from Michael, readings and audio practices to help build a base of both knowledge and experience. Students will have one week to complete the requirements for each module before being able to move on to the next module as a way to ensure that the whole group begins and ends the training at the same time.
The course includes tuition on:
- the essential skill sets for mindfulness practice. The course includes sample scripts for a wide range of mindfulness practices and an extensive resource section in text, video and audio formats
- how to open to and transform your difficult emotions, feelings and thoughts on a moment to moment basis
- how to help people bring mindfulness and stability to sensations in the body instead of turning to habitual reactivity
- how to bring the peace of meditation into your workplace and relationships
- guidance and tools for adjusting teaching style and content for special populations and what techniques to use when and why
- how to use a relational understanding of mindfulness practices to support moment by moment work with groups or individuals
Each week students will be asked to upload reflective pieces of work and to participate in an online forum that will be moderated by one of Michael’s trusted assistants who continues with his legacy. Please note that, while structured, this is a fluid course designed to foster and promote a reflective self exploration, and therefore will not include graded assignments or direct feedback. Participants will work closely with fellow students to explore and develop their teaching style and experiences allowing for the growth of an organic online sangha.
This course is for teachers, educators, psychotherapists and anyone with a background in the healing arts who wishes to explore mindfulness meditation in more depth.
Michael Stone designed this course to meet best global standards of practice.
Course Structure
The course is made of up 9 modules, each to be completed in one week, making the total course 9 weeks long.
Each weekly module consists of the following:
- a weekly video teaching with Michael Stone that can be watched at your convenience;
- a guided audio meditation each week that covers a different meditation technique (available for streaming or download).
Each week has a short reading and/or practice quiz or assignment.
We provide you with well organised materials and a forum for class/community participation. The 9 modules are broken into small video clips that can be watched at any pace during the week. You will have access to the content for one year.
In addition to the above, students are asked to commit to a daily 30 minute sitting meditation practice. For students with more time, there is also a guided 20 minute meditation that can be practiced in the evenings. Multiple choice questions or assignments are built into each module and require about 10 minutes per week.
What Will I Learn?
- What meditation is and is not
- Deepen your capacity for presence and stability
- Establishing a personal practice
- Mindfulness and breathing as body-based meditation
- Using your body as a gateway to sensations
- The power of sensations as an opening to awareness
- How to stay with craving
- Overcoming intrusive thoughts
- Building capacity for a wider spectrum of feeling.
Who is the Course for?
Open to teachers, teachers in training and those with a meditation practice either willing to go deeper into their own self-discovery and exploration, or to feel confident in delivering elements of mindfulness meditation within the context of a yoga class.
Certification
You will receive a Yogacampus certificate of completion stating the course duration of 9 weeks, only after having submitted all weekly assignments.
Meet the Teacher
The late Michael Stone, 42, was an activist, family man, and teacher of yoga and Buddhism.
Michael taught silent meditation retreats in North America and Europe, as well as yoga and meditation workshops that combined practice and study. He gave talks, trained other professionals, and mentored future dharma teachers. He wrote and published several books and hosted the Awake in the World podcast. He worked at the intersection of personal, political, and ecological awakening. His style was smart, instructive, calm, direct, and funny. He had the gift of being able to share complex and interdisciplinary ideas in a way that was contemporary, relatable, and heartfelt.
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Remembering Michael Stone
We take time to remember Michael Stone and his profound legacy, Yogacampus offers the 'Foundations in Teaching Mindfulness Meditation' course as a tribute to his commitment to sharing the transformative power of mindfulness. Through this comprehensive nine-week journey, participants delve into mindfulness practice, guided by Michael's wisdom and insights. As we honour Michael's memory, we embrace his teachings with gratitude and carry forward his legacy of compassion, presence, and mindfulness into our lives and communities....
