Meditation is the watchword for relaxation, stress-free life and happiness. You might think that all yoga teachers are capable of guided meditation. But yoga asana and meditation are two different practices that require different skills.
Although the spiritual practices of yoga and meditation overlap, today’s world of certification, training, and insurance places more demands on those who wish to teach both.
For those who want to be a meditation teacher, it’s not just a whim. Like any teacher, it must begin with a passion to serve others.
How to Become a Meditation Teacher
How to Become a Meditation Teacher
To become a meditation teacher, you must first meditate regularly yourself.
Many people choose to teach meditation because they have experienced its benefits first-hand and want to share it with others.
Traditionally, meditation has involved spiritual practice, or a disciplined spiritual practice that is done anyway. Sadhana becomes a part of you, and if you don’t practice it every day, you will feel like a part of yourself is missing.
Related to the practice is the concept of service or service. By adopting selfless service as a spiritual practice, your mind sheds egoism and begins to embrace divinity in all things.
The first step in becoming a meditation teacher is to do your own research. Ask yourself honestly what is your reason for wanting to become a meditation teacher.
Yoga and meditation teachers will be the first to say this is not a get-rich-quick route. While yoga is the most popular emerging fitness activity and meditation is gaining popularity even in secular settings, it’s not a lucrative career path.
Many places also require certification or training qualifications to lead group meditations. There are many places to find meditation teacher training, but not all of them are of high quality and can be very expensive.
Before committing your time, money, and energy to meditation certification, you should also familiarize yourself with the rules and regulations of the country, state, or even city where you plan to offer space for group or individual meditation sessions.
Some places may require you to have a business license. Some may require professional registration, and regular online certification courses are unlikely to be up to par. In some places, you may be required to have personal and professional liability insurance where you teach and work.
When you consider all of these technical and practical details, it becomes clear why teaching meditation is a calling for those who are truly passionate about serving from the heart.
important questions to ask
When you’re ready to become a fully certified meditation teacher, here are some dos and don’ts and questions you should ask yourself to make sure you’re taking a course that gives you the tools to be the best teacher you can be. .
1. What is the lineage of meditation practice?
Some meditation practices are part of traditional spiritual paths, dating back to ancient commands and scriptures. But even modern, secular meditation arose from teachers who studied traditional meditation and adapted it to the modern world.
2. What is the experience of the meditation teacher?
What is the experience of a meditation teacher
The answer should tie into why you want to become a meditation teacher. While there’s nothing wrong with financially benefiting from meditation classes, it shouldn’t be the only reason you want to teach.
Ideally, the person you’re learning to meditate from is someone who’s been practicing uncompromising meditation in whatever meditation style suits them. You should also keep an open mind to any meditation style you want to explore, traditional or modern.
If you choose a teacher from a traditional lineage, make sure they were actually accepted and trained in that lineage.
3. How does the team deal with the possible negative effects of meditation?
Many meditation teacher training sessions are conducted as part of a multi-day retreat. Most reputable meditation training programs will acknowledge that negative meditation experiences do happen. These usually appear after about three to four days of intense meditation practice.
When these negative experiences arise, ask how the teacher or his team perceives and supports the meditator.
Reasons not to become a meditation teacher
Reasons not to become a meditation teacher
If you are after fame and fortune, meditation is not your path. Take a close look at your personal reasons for becoming a meditation teacher. If you fall into one of these traps, you may want to keep practicing on your own before you start teaching others.
Show off – Even if you read a hundred books on meditation, yoga, or the Dzogchen lineage of Buddhism, that won’t make you an enlightened guru. Many traditional yoga teachers would even say that they are not fans of academics, because too much study only nourishes the intellect, which in turn nourishes the ego. And the ego is what you are trying to tame with your meditation practice.
Mental Bypass – Meditation is not a way to make you feel relaxed and happy all the time. In fact, it’s a good, serious, and authentic way to look at your inner self. Many reports of negative experiences that arise during meditation are usually due to physical conditioning being unleashed or old traumas resurfacing and causing emotional distress.
Practicing yoga can help you relax and carry on many traditions