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Top 10 Principles for Teaching Mindfulness
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Young people have incredible potential

You can help them unleash it!

All teenagers and young adults have amazing strengths within.


Qualities like kindness, resilience and wisdom.


Mindfuness is the practice that empowers this potential.


In an uncertain world, now is the time to support young people's flourishing.

For young people...
mindfulness needs to be fun, inspiring & relevant!

You can bring mindfulness alive with the SOMA Programme

  • High-Quality Teacher Training

    Engaging, self-paced online learning with lifetime access to high-quality resources and over 40 hours of in-depth training!

  • Interactive & Inspiring Programme
    (12-21+ year olds)

    Flexible and responsive, strengths-based approach with over 40 activities.

  • Learn With Passionate People

    Access the training and curriculum at your own speed, deepening your understanding with video lessons, guided meditations, and expert insights.

A programme designed to connect and inspire

For young people to be willing to explore mindfulness, they need to feel safe and free from judgment. Without this, no learning is going to take place.

The most powerful way to build this sense of safety is through positive social connection. For this reason, the SOMA Programme takes an approach we call “relationship before content”.

The curriculum isn’t death by powerpoint. Instead, it's packed with activities that are designed to foster interaction, connection and trust. This is the basis for learning!

A programme you can adapt to meet different needs

For over a decade we’ve taught mindfulness to young people in a vast array of contexts: to 13 year olds at risk of dropping out of school; to older students preparing for exams or university; to young men in prisons and to teenagers in private schools.

What we’ve found is that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. You have to be responsive to the needs, dispositions and aspirations of the young people you’re working with.

For this reason, flexibility is a cornerstone of the SOMA Programme.

The SOMA Programme is not a rigid curriculum. Instead, it consists of 45 activities underpinned by a rigorous structure. You can develop lessons and courses to flexibly meet the needs and learning styles of the young people you’re working with.

A programme that activates strengths

Every young person has character strengths. Qualities like kindness, joy and courage. Mindfulness is the practice that can help us recognise and grow these qualities.

With the SOMA Programme, you can help young people recognise and appreciate the best in themselves.

You can help them grow the foundations of wellbeing:
Social connection, Openness to enjoyment, Meaning & purpose, and Action & agency.

Teaching mindfulness to young people needs a great curriculum, but it also needs a great teacher

With our teacher training you'll develop the skills and understanding to teach with confidence, embodiment, and authenticity.
Start your training today!

Online Teacher Training

You’ll engage in 4+hours learning a week for 12 weeks including...

  • In-depth instruction on SOMA curriculum

    More than 40 videos giving in-depth instruction on how to share each of the learning activities from the SOMA Programme. Gain insights on how to adapt for different groups, and structure courses to meet the needs of your young people.

  • On demand video lectures & meditations

    You'll have access to more than 30 video meditations to support your personal engagement with the course themes as well as lectures exploring the science and theory of the SOMA Programme. These are on-demand so you can access them when it suits.

  • Practical Teaching Resources

    Download a full set of digital materials, including a comprehensive teacher’s manual, activity guides, and presentation slides. These expertly designed resources equip you to deliver engaging, interactive, and effective mindfulness sessions with confidence and ease.

You'll receive amazing resources

You'll learn how to...

  • Structure Progressive Learning

    You'll learn the structures and principles that underpin the development of mindfulness in young people.

  • Create an Atmosphere of Nonjudgment

    You'll learn how to nurture a social environment of trust and positivity amongst teenagers and young adults.

  • Support Different Learning Styles

    You'll learn how to use videos, discussion, and kinaesthetic activities to make mindfulness accessible and relevant!

  • Guide Mindfulness Practices

    You'll learn the key dos and don'ts as well as develop a way of guiding that feels authentically your own.

  • Lead the Inquiry Process

    You'll learn to lead compassionate, exploratory dialogue that deepens learning and understanding.

  • Be flexible and responsive

    You'll learn how to choose the right SOMA Programme activities to engage the young people you're working with.

Join thousands of educators from more than 40 countries already teaching Youth Mindfulness Programmes

Your course instructor

and founder of Youth Mindfulness

Michael Bready

Michael's been a passionate practitioner of mindfulness for over 18 years and has spent long stretches on retreat in various meditation traditions in Nepal, India, France and the UK. He holds a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and founded Youth Mindfulness in 2011. Since then, he's taught mindfulness to thousands of children, teenagers and adults as well as trained thousands of educators. He led the development of the first mindfulness programme for young men in prison in Scotland and has taught mindfulness to Members of the Scottish Parliament. His current passion is exploring what science is telling us about human nature and how this can lead us to a brighter, wiser and more humane future.

Lorna Walker

Lorna is a mindfulness teacher and trainer with decades of experience in the education and social care sectors. She was previously a principal teacher and wellbeing advisor at Quarriers and is one of Youth Mindfulness’ lead trainers and co-author of the Youth Mindfulness SOMA Programme. Lorna has a passionate interest in building compassionate communities, and takes a systems-based approach to nurturing the wellbeing of staff teams. She has a particular specialisation in harm reduction and works closely with CALM Training to bring mindfulness and compassion training to staff teams both in the UK and internationally.

Our Partners and Collaborations


Youth Mindfulness is internationally recognised as a leader in mindfulness-based education.

We advise several organisations and work jointly in national and international collaborations to support the development of the field.

FAQ

  • Do you need previous experience or qualifications to join the training?

    In a word, no. The only prerequisites to join the training are that you have an established regular personal mindfulness practice and have completed some form of introductory mindfulness of training like an introductory course. If you're not sure whether you meet these prerequisites our intelligent booking form will let you know as you book.

  • I’m not a school teacher, can I still do the training?

    Yes! Anybody can train with us. The only thing that is necessary is that you already practice mindfulness and have a passion to bring this practice to young people.

  • I’ve only just started practising mindfulness, can I join?

    It depends. How long have you been practising? If just a week, then we recommend that you take some time to develop your own practice first. If you'd like to do an introductory course with us email us here: [email protected]. If you've been practising for at least 3 months and have regular ongoing practice you'll be eligible to join.

  • What are the pre-requisites?

    To join the training you need to have an established regular personal mindfulness practice and have completed some form of introductory mindfulness training like an introductory course. If you're not sure whether you meet the prerequisites our intelligent booking form will let you know as you book.

  • I don't meet the pre-requisites, where should I do my initial training?

    You can do it with us. Just ping as an email: [email protected] and let us know you're interested. We regularly run online introductory trainings and we'll let you know when the next one is.

Pricing

The full cost - including all training materials, digital resources and delivery of the SOMA Programme manual - is £475

Get started!

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