Learning to lead simple guided meditation

letitgo

I would like to learn to lead simple, guided meditation as a volunteer in care giving facilities to individuals or small groups. I do not want to teach or reference Buddhism because I am not a qualified Buddhist teacher. I simply want to lead meditation as a stress reduction technique and refer any spiritual inquiries to a qualified teacher.

This does not seem like a novel idea, but I can find nothing online as a starting point. The only trainings I can find are for healthcare workers seeking additional credentials, or those who want to teach Dharma - high level classwork, expensive in time and money, and at great distance.

I have participated in group meditation, guided and not, for several years. I also practice by myself daily. I have scripted out a couple guided meditations, but never led anyone other than a couple friends through them. I am confident I can do this, but want to do so with competence, confidence and credibility.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Talisman

I don't think you need a license to lead a guided meditation, but as a responsible Buddhist practitioner, you should probably get qualification from a guru or other learned teacher before instructing others.

Just my 2cents

Jeffrey

You shouldn't paint it as leading to enlightenment or transcendence. You can even bill it as sharing your meditation knowledge rather than teaching meditation. You also should not bill it as associated with western medicine. Unless you are educated in that tradition and studied the eastern western studies.

You escape the regulation loop I believe as herbal supplements claims are less strictly regulated. In any case I wouldn't make promises of results. Take a look how a lot of the unscientific products are marketed.

letitgo

Good advice T and J. All I want to teach is simple mindfulness meditation, much as you might get at a good yoga session. No dharma. No claims of anything. The sole intention is sitting, breathing, tending to the mind as it wanders.

I am asking my wonderful yoga teacher, who leads great guided meditations, what she might know about training from the yoga realm. Looking through a bit of yoga teacher trainings did not yield much, or too much. That is a huge field and I only saw a tiny bit of it, nothing of what I am looking for.

I really think I could just do it, but I would like some training in order to learn a few techniques and get comfortable and confident by practicing with peers who could share feedback. Also, in offering my services, it would be useful to cite someone's training as a reference.

federica

I used to lead meditation classes in France. given that any religion other than Christianity is frowned upon and seen as a cult (and religion is a taboo subject, when mixed with other subjects.....) I simply led a relaxation class. I merely encouraged people to find a comfortable position which would not lead them to sleep, and to simply either close their eyes, or focus, in a "relaxed eyes" kind of way, on a bit of the floor, about a metre-and-a-half in front of them. then to merely let their thoughts drift across, without latching onto them....

That worked fine.
I really think you're making something eminently simple, into something unnecessarily complicated.
Meditation is just stilling the mind by watching it.
nothing simpler than that.
And if you can find any overt direct reference to Buddhism in that - you're grasping at straws.

DairyLama

I would like to learn to lead simple, guided meditation as a volunteer in care giving facilities to individuals or small groups. I simply want to lead meditation as a stress reduction technique and refer any spiritual inquiries to a qualified teacher.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

You might find it useful to check out MBSR, which uses Buddhist-style mindfulness techniques for stress reduction:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness-based_stress_reduction

P

Cinorjer

I would like to learn to lead simple, guided meditation as a volunteer in care giving facilities to individuals or small groups. I do not want to teach or reference Buddhism because I am not a qualified Buddhist teacher. I simply want to lead meditation as a stress reduction technique and refer any spiritual inquiries to a qualified teacher.

This does not seem like a novel idea, but I can find nothing online as a starting point. The only trainings I can find are for healthcare workers seeking additional credentials, or those who want to teach Dharma - high level classwork, expensive in time and money, and at great distance.

I have participated in group meditation, guided and not, for several years. I also practice by myself daily. I have scripted out a couple guided meditations, but never led anyone other than a couple friends through them. I am confident I can do this, but want to do so with competence, confidence and credibility.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

I've taught classes like that before. You can instruct people on simple quiet mind, breath counting meditation. Stress in your training that they use comfortable sitting up straight posture and don't let anyone end up with leg pain or numbness trying to twist themselves into a lotus. Use chairs if necessary. Stomach in and out, diaphram breathing.

For simple stress reduction training, I keep the sessions short, even five minutes at first followed by discussion and another session and for variety, will alternate silent counting with a group mantra of just "One" or "Om" repeated during exhale. Be prepared to talk about their individual experiences of intruding thoughts and entertain them with a few stories of your own meditation journey. That keeps it fun.

hermitwin

Google jon kabat-zinn . He teaches meditation & conducts research
on it.