Advanced: Train to Teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Live Online

“East Coast Mindfulness is offering an online course to train MBSR teachers to teach the MBSR curriculum online. I have every confidence that Rebecca Eldridge and Margaret Fletcher provide a valuable professional training which can amplify and deepen your skillset and personal practice as an MBSR teacher, as well as the technical support necessary to extend your reach through the internet.”

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Founder of MBSR and author of Full Catastrophe Living

Train to Teach MBSR Live Online is a course designed for fully trained, experienced MBSR teachers who want to bring the MBSR course online in order to skillfully meet diverse audiences who could benefit from the online format. Conducted entirely online, this intensive training takes place over 4 sessions, with required participation in an online “Retreat Class” between sessions 2 and 3. A strong commitment to exploring edges and joys around teaching, technology, and working with a global audience is necessary, as well as a willingness to take risks and play, all while being supported respectfully by colleagues and MBSR Teacher Trainers, Rebecca Eldridge and Margaret Fletcher, who pioneered MBSR Live Online at UMASS Center for Mindfulness. Teachers who complete this program will be designated as Certified MBSR Live Online Teachers.

This course will be taught by Rebecca Eldridge and/or Margaret Fletcher.

During this training you will—

  • Identify considerations and adaptations specific to virtual teaching
  • Explore your authentic, unique way to bring the MBSR curriculum alive online
  • Teach aspects of the MBSR curriculum online to your fellow trainees
  • Give and receive feedback to yourself and other trainees around teaching online
  • Participate in a live online Retreat Class, alongside current MBSR students

At the end of this training you will be able to—

  • Adapt the MBSR curriculum for teaching MBSR Live Online
  • Demonstrate, at minimum, basic competency in teaching MBSR Live Online
  • Authentically express interactive and didactic teaching through the online platform
  • Build an online learning environment that feels both potent and intimate
  • State learning goals for continued development in teaching MBSR Live Online

Certified MBSR Teacher status is desired, although teachers with an equivalent level of MBSR teacher training and experience, with evidence of ongoing professional and personal development, will be considered in the same light. Priority for acceptance into the training will be given to those MBSR teachers who, by bringing their MBSR teaching online, might provide substantial benefit to others—for instance, Rebecca became interested in offering MBSR online while teaching MBSR in person through a medical system to people in chronic pain; these students often could not make it to class because of their physical challenges (driving, finding parking, and so on, was quite difficult for many of them).

  • "The Train to Teach MBSR Live Online program with ECM is one of the most worthwhile trainings I have ever done. Margaret and Rebecca are both exceptional teachers and the depth of knowledge and experience they bring to this training has provided me with a deep sense of understanding what it means to be a rigorous and ethical teacher of MSBR in the online world that we all now inhabit.

    I was stretched and supported and moved and called ever more deeply into the heart of MBSR by the experience of taking part in this training - and for this I am truely, truely grateful."

  • "Rebecca and Margaret were very available to answer our questions meticulously, patiently, and kindly in and outside the class, in addition to keeping the focus of class discussion on the "online" aspects of teaching MBSR. The small class size made it possible for the participants to easily bond and form a support network to meet and practice in between classes as needed, and to share resources. The short class manuals were detailed and helpful.

    While I wanted the class to continue further after the last day, I feel that the training curriculum is well thought out and balanced in terms of choosing and including what an experienced MBSR teacher needs to be able to adapt the familiar MBSR curriculum to the unfamiliar online environment in a way such that the essences of MBSR isn't lost in translation.

    It is clear that training is a product of years of experience in teaching MBSR Live Online and training MBSR teachers by Rebecca and Margaret and their earnest desire to make MBSR accessible to a wider global community."

  • "What I discovered that I never thought I would, is that there are components of the course that are even better online! I no longer feel forced into second-rate teaching, but understand only the limits of my own creativity restrain me from doing an equal or even better job as a an online teacher."

  • "I just finished teaching my first online MBSR class after the training, and it was a rich, alive experience for myself and my students. How great to know that embodiment and presence are possible not only in person, but online as well!"

  • "Rebecca and Margaret did not simply teach technology, but had us take a step back to rethink the curriculum, to explore what we are teaching and the varied and creative ways this teaching can develop and unfold unique and anew in an online environment. This new aliveness and reimagining of the MBSR curriculum was a surprising gift of the training."

  • "I am deeply grateful for Rebecca and Margaret’s dedication to high quality MBSR teaching and the opportunity they provided me to share in their passion and their expertise!"

  • "The structure and support of the class and the teachers was exemplary. We all got plenty of time to practice what we were learning. I came away with an understanding of how I needed to change my online courses from my in-person courses to be effective in teaching Mindfulness to my students and community classes."

  • "Most effective for me was how Rebecca and Margaret modeled mindfulness and strong online pedagogy."

  • "It was a gift, like a retreat. You will find a lot of insights about your own teaching and your role as an MBSR teacher. There is a lot of homework, mindfulness practices and reflections in between the sessions. You will be working with very experienced MBSR teachers, both Rebecca and Margaret, but also the other participants are experienced MBSR teachers. You are in good company. You can expect a lot of support, inspiration and love during and also after your training."

  • "I received clear, constructive direction combined with compassionate, heart-centered generosity."

  • "They helped me keep it simple, distill my teaching to its essence and keep the MBSR participants center stage. I recommend ECM without reservation to any MBSR teacher wanting to teach this transformative curriculum live online."

  • "It is such a gift being around Margaret and Rebecca and also other experienced MBSR teachers. You are in good company. Such a rare gift. So much true presence and healing."

  • "The training is very hands on, and with a few adjustments you will be ready to teach immediately online. I was very inspired and my teaching will be rejuvenated."

  • "Rebecca and Margaret have fueled and inspired my practice and being part of a sangha. Being around other experienced teachers has been such a gift and now they are my friends. I feel I have some close colleagues and friends in them."

  • "This immersive training is worth it! When you complete the training, you have developed a more clear understanding and a great sensitivity about the online environment in tune with your own way to relate and teach the MBSR Program."

  • "In this practice intensive training, our small group had to ask ourselves the what, why, and how of conveying the MBSR curriculum online. We had plenty of opportunity to try out in our own unique ways the various possibilities that we saw. Through practice-teaching exercises and receiving honest feedback from Rebecca and Margaret and the participating MBSR teachers, I learned about many different aspects of teaching MBSR Live Online: from the considerations for effective use of technology for the MBSR classroom, preparation before and time management during each MBSR class, support needed during teaching online, similarities and differences between teaching MBSR in person vs. online class by class; to the online considerations for guiding MBSR practices, facilitating small and large groups, conducting the all-day MBSR retreat, adapting various activities done in MBSR classes, and conveying the essences of each MBSR class."

  • "This course exemplifies the principle that many things done well look and feel easy….but when examined, reveal themselves to be the result of much dedicated study and practice. Margaret and Rebecca have created a training program that immerses participants in an online learning experience that feels safe, natural and intimate—exactly what participants are hoping to learn to do for their online MBSR students. They model professionalism and authenticity, and have developed a curriculum that is immensely practical, detail oriented, and truly prepares the students to step into teaching online with confidence. The small group size allows for individual attention and also allows the participants to get to know and learn from one another as teachers.

    Though it was a big commitment in terms of time and money, I can’t imagine a better training experience, and wouldn’t want to be approaching online teaching without this preparation!"

  • "I can’t begin to express how grateful I am to have experienced the ECM training to teach MBSR live online. I came to it overwhelmed and demoralized about switching from brick and mortar classes to the electronic medium. Two months later, having just taught my first online MBSR class, I can say I drew on everything I learned with understanding of areas I can still grow. I also had gained perspective on how to adapt the curriculum, including the options we have to choose how to express various aspects of teaching activities."

  • "After taking the MBSR Live Online teacher training, I felt prepared to teach my first class. Understandable bumps in the road not-withstanding, after the first class I was beaming. I finished teaching the class feeling satisfied and aglow from the connection and excitement evident in my students. If you have any doubts about going through this teacher training, I encourage you to note any trepidation and then step into what became for me like a new portal into what it means to be an MBSR teacher in this new era of teaching online!"

  • "Thank you so much for the training; it offers so much more than what even careful description could capture, and has given me more both as a teacher and a human being than I could have imagined."

Required Technology and Preparation:

  • High-speed internet connection

  • Please, no phones

  • Join on a computer that has a full-sized screen on which you can see at least 25 Zoom participants, without having to scroll

  • Ensure that your computer is situated on a stable surface (instead of resting on your lap, etc.)

  • Video and microphone capability (so that you can be seen and heard)

  • A place for practice that allows for being undisturbed

  • Current version of Zoom installed

NOTE: This training uses Zoom as the preferred video conferencing software for teaching MBSR Live Online

Click through each of the entries for a detailed overview of topics covered during each of the sessions:

Upon successful completion of the training, you will be listed on the East Coast Mindfulness website as a Certified MBSR Live Online Teacher.

Note: we also offer a 3-day Introduction to Teaching MBSR Live Online course, to help new MBSR teachers identify what is essential in each class of an MBSR course, and gain practical experience in expressing the essence of those classes through the online format.

Already teaching MBSR? We also offer a 9-session, 20+ hour Group Mentorship program for MBSR teachers of all experience levels: whether you’ve taught 1 or 100 MBSR courses. We explore assumptions about:

• what MBSR is and what it is not
• what “good teaching” of MBSR is and isn’t
• your personal and professional experience of teaching MBSR
• your personal meditation practice, and more

Each program is limited to 4 trainees

Upcoming dates to be announced, so check back!

Generosity policy applies—to cover costs for our small business, to ensure adequate compensation for the instructors, and so that people with fewer financial resources can be accommodated, please pay at the highest level available to you.

TIER 1 (Supporting Others): $2800

TIER 2 (Our Cost): $2500

TIER 3 (Subsidized Rate): $2200

If Tier 3 is still financially prohibitive for you, please email us so we can find a way for you to participate.

Applications for this program will be accepted once the program dates are announced.


If you have questions, please email info@eastcoastmindfulness.com.

  • Program Schedule

    Upcoming dates to be announced, so check back!

  • Program Cost

    Generosity policy applies—to cover costs for our small business, to ensure adequate compensation for the instructors, and so that people with fewer financial resources can be accommodated, please pay at the highest level available to you.

    TIER 1 (Supporting Others): $2800

    TIER 2 (Our Cost): $2500

    TIER 3 (Subsidized Rate): $2200

    If Tier 3 is still financially prohibitive for you, please email us so we can find a way for you to participate.

  • Apply

    Applications for this program will be accepted once the program dates are announced.


    If you have questions, please email info@eastcoastmindfulness.com.

  • Common Questions

REFUND POLICY:
You may receive a full refund if you notify us via email (info@eastcoastmindfulness.com) at least 7 days prior to the first session (this will give us time to notify someone on the waitlist). No refunds will be granted thereafter.

Questions? Please email us at info@eastcoastmindfulness.com


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