Eight sessions. One skill: leading a short practice while still sounding like you.
Overview
You’ll learn to guide a short mindfulness practice for your community. Get comfortable doing it out loud, in front of other people – without turning into a cringe-y person. You’ll practice, teach, get feedback, and practice again, working alongside experienced teachers and a small group of folks learning the same thing.
This is not a certification program. It’s hands-on training in guiding short meditations to the people you care about.
Foundations works in two ways. Take it on its own if guiding short practices is the skill you want, which is a complete outcome for many people. Or enroll in our Mindfulness Teaching Pathway, where Foundations is the first training module.
Who This Is For
Foundations is for people who want to guide brief mindfulness practices for a team, community group, classroom, client, or family. No teaching experience is required. If you’ve never led anything more than a group text, you’re in the right place.
Some people arrive wanting this one skill. Others arrive curious about teaching mindfulness more fully. Foundations works for both.
It is not clinical training, and it does not prepare you to work as a mindfulness-based therapist or to teach MBSR.
What You’ll Leave With
By the end of Foundations, you’ll be able to:
- Guide a short mindfulness practice with genuine presence, not from a memorized script
- Speak about where mindfulness comes from and what current research says
- Read a room and adjust what you’re offering to the people in front of you
- Keep your footing when someone’s phone goes off mid-breath, or the room just isn’t feeling it
- Design and lead a brief mindfulness experience for a real setting that’s meaningful to you, be it a staff meeting, classroom, or community group
Where Foundations Ends
Foundations on its own is not a certification. If you want to go further, the Mindfulness Teaching Pathway picks up from here with deeper work on the history, the research, and teaching practice, and it includes certification. Participants who begin with stand-alone Foundations can later continue into the full Pathway at a reduced tuition rate (but all told it will cost approximately 20% more than enrolling in the full Pathway from the beginning). Finally, MBSR Teacher Training is a separate program with its own certification.
COST
$1000 – $1400 (or $250 – $350/month)
- Sliding scale: Choose what’s right for you.
- Payment plan option: 4-months, no-interest.
- Scholarships available: No need to apply; just choose a scholarship tuition during registration.
Format and Schedule
One Saturday intensive followed by seven Thursday evening sessions. All sessions are live online.
Recordings available.
Beginning the Journey
Saturday, January 9, 2027 | 9:00 am–4:00 pm PT
Meet your teachers and fellow participants, explore the foundations of mindfulness, and begin practicing and teaching right away.
Coming Home to the Body
Thursday, January 14 | 6:00–8:30 pm PT
Explore embodied practice and learn to guide from your own experience.
Origins and Evolution of Mindfulness
Thursday, January 21 | 6:00–8:30 pm PT
Learn where mindfulness comes from, how it has evolved, and how it has been adapted for contemporary settings.
Understanding the Research
Thursday, January 28 | 6:00–8:30 pm PT
Learn what mindfulness research tells us, what it doesn’t, and how to talk about the science responsibly.
Meeting People Where They Are
Thursday, February 4 | 6:00–8:30 pm PT
Learn to teach the people in front of you, not just the practice you planned.
Teaching in the Real World
Thursday, February 11 | 6:00–8:30 pm PT
Practice responding skillfully when questions, resistance, discomfort, or the unexpected arise.
Designing a Mindfulness Experience
Thursday, February 18 | 6:00–8:30 pm PT
Design and practice leading a brief mindfulness experience for a real-world setting that’s meaningful to you.
Continuing the Journey
Thursday, February 25 | 6:00–8:30 pm PT
Bring your learning together, reflect on your growth, and consider where you want to take your mindfulness practice and teaching next.
FAQ
1. Do I need meditation experience to take this? No. Foundations is built for people at any level of practice.
2. Is this the same as MBSR teacher training? No. This won’t make you an MBSR teacher. It’ll make you someone who can lead five decent minutes of mindfulness practice.
3. Can I take Foundations without committing to the rest of the Mindfulness Teaching Pathway? Yes. Foundations stands on its own. Continuing into later modules is a separate decision to consider once Foundations has begun.
4. What if I can’t make every session? No problem, we understand that you have a life. Sessions are recorded.
Your faculty
Carolyn McCarthy
Carolyn McCarthy is a certified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC). With a background in Latin American Studies and Women's Studies, she brings mindfulness into the work of social justice, helping trainees turn toward what's difficult with steadiness and compassion. Carolyn's teaching is marked by zest, warmth, and wit. She helps trainees develop a teaching voice that's direct, alive, and unmistakably their own.
Karen Schwisow
Karen Schwisow, E-RYT 500, is Mindfulness Northwest's Executive Director. She has taught MBSR since 2011 and has guided countless classes, workshops, and retreats, including over 60 MBSR courses. Certified by the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, she also serves as an MBSR Teacher Training mentor with the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. Drawing on more than two decades of experience teaching
Tim Burnett
Tim Burnett founded Mindfulness Northwest and has taught MBSR since 2010. Certified in MBSR, Mindful Self-Compassion, and Compassion Cultivation Training, Tim also brings nearly four decades of meditation practice and three decades of training as an ordained Soto Zen priest. Grounded in decades of practice, his mentorship helps trainees embody mindfulness with warmth, integrity, and compassion.
Tushar Bhagat, PhD
Tushar Bhagat, PhD, teaches MBSR and other mindfulness-based programs at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncology. He also conducts research exploring the effects of mindfulness-based well-being programs for healthcare professionals. Having practiced meditation since childhood, Tushar brings a unique integration of contemplative practice, clinical experience, and scientific inquiry to the training of future mindfulness teachers.
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