How to be a confident mindfulness teacher even if you're just starting out

If you are thinking about teaching mindfulness to others (or have just started), one of the first things to think about is what you are qualified to teach. Perhaps you're trained in MBCT or MBSR  in order to teach people to meditate.  There are many different types of trainings that are available for fledgling mindfulness teachers. So it can be a good idea to do your research in order to find the right type of training for you. When doing your research, we would recommend checking out the BAMBA website, as then you can be sure that your training is safe. Typically, in order to be a mindfulness teacher, it is necessary to have proper certification in order to be able to teach mindfulness. Live trainings are the most in-depth trainings available. However, there are many cheaper options - and although it may be tempting, you might want to avoid them, we've trained lots of people who have come to us after doing 3 or 4 cheaper courses but still need support before they can start putting on courses.

Out of the 100s of teachers we've taught, we see people come up against this the most often: they're passionate about their practice and keen to share it with others, but somehow don't feel 'ready'.

Many of us come from other professions and are keen to do something more meaningful, or want to offer it as a stress soothing side hustle. But without experience that's really mindful (I came from the world of market research).  

So when we get to the actual teaching itself, passions and frequent meditating is great but isn't enough to make you a brilliant teacher. The only way you can become a good teacher is by actually teaching. 

Mindfulness teaching isn't something you can just fake it 'till you make it too - there is a danger of actually making problems worse, or even doing serious harm if you approach it in the wrong way. 

And yet the confidence and the feeling 'ready' will only come from running classes - which is a bit of a predicament.

If you REALLY want to start teaching without getting training first and want to avoid this, then, it's essential that you only guide people through very simple meditations (mindfulness of breathing perhaps or a bodyscan), and don't go near difficult thoughts + emotions. However, honestly, we would always recommend you train with a qualified teacher before you start offering your own classes.

If you've been properly trained (perhaps with us - hello!), and you're still struggling, then, here are some things to help.

Remember that we all have NATS - negative automatic thoughts. It's natural that you're going to have a little voice in your head that predicts a bunch of stuff that's going to go wrong with your course - but thoughts are not facts!

Another thing that helps is to start experimenting with longer meditations, and, as best you can, sitting with the difficult feelings, with curiosity - and seeing what comes up. 

Also, it's useful to remember that sometimes the best guides are only one step ahead, working with a monk who feels like they've got decades of stillness behind them can be really offputting for people who have never tried meditating. Mindfulness training needs to be accessible to work. 

Finally, when you have a class, you might be tempted to plan it out. The first time I did this, I planned out the meditations (which you should do obviously!) but also how the group was going to react - which was a disaster. The best way to approach a mindfulness class is (guess what?!) with a sense of beginners mind and non-judgement. The human mind is complex and wonderful and sometimes totally random - so you don't know how people are going to react to your meditations, so the best way to approach the conversation (we call it inquiry in MBCT) around them is to be in the moment with whatever is being said. 

Which is easier said than done, which is why (I'm going to hint that you should get proper training, prepare yourself) you should ideally practice the inquiry a lot before you started.

That's it, folks! Watch this space for more tips on how to get started teaching mindfulness 🙏 Monty