Centre of Excellence for Accredited Mindfulness Teacher Training
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
You book via this website. Click the book now tab which will take you the Eventbrite page . Payment is made by Credit or Debit card. Tickets will be issued by Eventbrite and a confirmation letter sent to you from the College . Alternatively, you can email us, providing your full address and mobile number and we will invoice you for payment. (See our FAQ about paying in instalments)
In order to provide open access to our training we make no assumption of any prior learning. We simply ask that trainees already practice mindfulness meditation personally and are committed to ongoing practice. This inevitably means that some students on our teacher training will have more experience than others. They may, for example, have already attended an eight-week programme but this is not necessary since we cover this in the course.
Yes, you can attend regardless of your country of residence. We have had many international students. If you are attending in person, then you need to travel to the UK to attend. If you are attending online, you can join in your home country.
The fee is £900 which includes the 5 days intensive training, assessment and free ongoing help and support. A comprehensive hard copy training manual is included as well as PowerPoint slides for mindfulness teaching, working with children and for corporate presentations. All resources are also supplied electronically in order that they can be adapted for individual use.
The online course is the same fee £900
Please see the syllabus below.
Yes, you can. There are up to 3 options available, depending on how close the start date is to when you book the course
Yes, you can. There are up to 3 options available, depending on how close the start date
Option 1 – pay the course in full at time of booking via Eventbrite
Option 2 – pay 50% at time of booking and we will invoice you for the balance 1 month before the course starts (this option is available 1 month or more before the course start date).
Option 3 – pay 25% at the time of booking and we will set up a payment play for you to pay the balance in equal monthly instalments. (this option is available 3 months or more before the course start date and the course must be paid in full before the start date).
In the stunning location of St Johns College Oxford
St Giles’, Oxford OX1 3JP.
Centrally located.
Within a 15 minute walk from the Train Station and served a very regular bus service from the Park and Ride Car Parks.
It is vital when undertaking training of this nature to ensure that the approval and accreditation meets your needs. Our training has been rigorously assessed and is approved by the British Psychological Society (BPS) to ensure that it meets the continuing professional development requirements for psychologists. However, you don’t need to be a psychologist to undertake this training. With the BPS seal of approval many of our former students teach mindfulness within the NHS, mental health services, all levels of the educational system, within the charity sector, complementary therapies, as well as many other environments. The training is also fully accredited by The National Register of Psychotherapists and Counsellors (NRPC).
The course content, assignment work and accreditation are exactly the same whether the course is attended online or in-person .
The online course runs over three weekends during the Autumn – with a month between each weekend. Saturday /Sunday in Sept and Oct and a Saturday in November
The online course is interactive in real-time (using the zoom platform) running from 10am – 5 pm London time. The cost is same as the in-person £850.
The training is not residential, but as St Johns College is in central Oxford there are many accommodation options to suit all budgets. The main train station is within a 15 minute walk . The College is served by The Park Ride Car park buses.
Students travel from many European and Worldwide countries to attend our courses at Oxford University. Upon booking we will happily guide you regarding local accommodation at many price points, some within walking distance of the St Johns college.
The hours are 10.00 AM to 5.00 PM apart from on the 5th (final day) when the finishing time is 4.30 PM. Same times apply to the On-line course
- Participant assessment protocols
- Cautions, safeguards and contra-indications
- Session recording and evaluation
- History / background of mindfulness and mindfulness meditation
- How to conduct mindfulness meditation sessions – seated, lying and movement based
- Attitudinal Basis (Attitudes of mindfulness– Kabat-Zinn)
- Mind Wide Open – peripheral awareness meditation
- 3 stage breathing space
- A wide range of appropriate breath / body / movement and guided imagery meditations
- Mindfulness Yoga
- Breath and body awareness
- Mindfulness in wellbeing
- Mindfulness teaching techniques and methodologies
- Therapeutic interventions with mindfulness
- Developing the teacher’s own mindfulness practice
- Conducting individual / group sessions
- The Mindfulness Now 8 weeks wellbeing programme
- Stress Reduction – the MBSR approaches
- Cognitive behavioural approaches – the MBCT approaches
- Integration of mindfulness with other therapeutic modalities
- Corporate applications of mindfulness
- Teaching mindfulness to children and young people
- Building a mindfulness teaching practice (marketing for teachers)
Due to our policy of continuous improvement, our syllabus, training curriculum and daily structure is constantly evolving and developing.
- To make mindfulness professionally available to a very wide audience, to meet ever increasing needs, through our network of qualified teachers, who are all committed to ongoing professional development and supervision
- To offer accessible and affordable, externally accredited, vocational teacher training
- Monitor all student’s evaluation of training content and delivery and apply a policy of continuous improvement, in order to maintain the highest possible standards
- Uphold high ethical standards of its tutors, students and graduates
The Mindfulness Now accredited teaching qualification can lead to a rewarding career teaching mindfulness, one-to one, or in groups following the structured eight weeks programme taught course or the optional non-formal courses. Former Mindfulness Now students work in many diverse environments including the NHS (including mental health), schools and further education, learning disabilities, hospice movement, charities, as well as in complementary health.
Many mindfulness teachers are self-employed. Some are offered employment in schools though our partnership with NeuroHeadway. Many of our teachers also provide mindfulness programmes within organisations. As part of the training all students receive instruction on practice building and developing corporate work opportunities. Graduates are eligible to obtain professional indemnity and public liability insurance.
Qualified teachers through this programme are offered to opportunity to sign up as licensed and accredited teacher with the UK College on an annually renewable basis. There is no charge for this. Licensees will be able to apply to be members of the Mindfulness Teachers Register. Once again, no charge applies to this.
Licensees are required to observe a code of ethics which includes the necessity for professional insurance, continuing professional development (CPD) and supervision.
UK College / Central England College provides an ongoing programme of training events. We would normally expect licensees to attend a minimum of 2 days CPD per annum. CPD courses from other training providers may also be acceptable.
Group mindfulness supervision is available to all students. Alternatively, graduates may arrange supervision as required by Zoom or phone. Informal help and support is freely available from college tutors and support staff, on an ongoing basis.
The Mindfulness Now Team is a small team of professional mindfulness teachers , who between them have many years of experience in practising and teaching Mindfulness and personal experience of its benefits .
The Oxford director is Aston Colley . Aston Colley is a professional psychotherapist, yoga teacher (BWY) and mindfulness practitioner. Working from his own therapy centre he helps people with all kinds of issues. Runs six weekly Hatha Yoga classes in Worcestershire and monthly Mindfulness/Meditation and Yoga Nidra group sessions. He holds workshops and retreats for groups around the world. Works regularly with companies to help reduce employee stress through the Mindfulness Now Corporate Programme.
Jennie Thornton
is completely passionate about education of all kinds. She has over 30 years of teaching experience; twenty of those years working in schools with young people She cares passionately about the mental-health and well-being of both pupils and staff. As an accredited mindfulness teacher, Jennie is a member of the UK College teacher training team, where she demonstrates how mindfulness can be applied to pupils of all ages.
Jennie is a qualified practitioner in a variety of Complementary Health therapies including NLP. She is an active member of the College of Medicine.
Irena Sekulska ( who teaches on online course) started her career in the corporate world after an MSc in Quantitative finance. In her early 30s, amidst a burnout and severe depression, she discovered mindfulness at the London Buddhist Centre. The practice changed her life profoundly and led her on a spiritual journey that continues to unfold today. She is a certified advanced hypnotherapist, yoga teacher, sound healing practitioner and trauma-informed mindfulness teacher. She finds her inspiration from the non-duality teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, Gangaji and Ganga Mira.
