Reflections on the this year’s teacher training
by Haylee Warner
Inner Strength just completed its 7th annual teacher training! The training consists of 3 parts: The Foundations of Mindfulness, Systems Perspectives in the Classroom, and an 8-day Intensive. As a graduate of the 2019 training, this year I engaged as a facilitator-in-training.
It was very helpful for me to re-immerse myself in the curriculum. In the classroom, each lesson can go in a thousand different directions based on the questions and interests of the students. Throughout the teacher training, we get the opportunity to explore our own fascinations with the meditations and perspectives, and reignite our passion and curiosity. Amongst adults, we can also dive into questions of the nature of consciousness and the mind. It was especially enjoyable learning with the incredible cohort this year – with diverse strengths including beekeeping, data analysis, and social work! You can imagine the creative conversations that percolated!
From this cohort we will be welcoming 2 new instructors to the Inner Strength Instructors’ cohort! They are coming in as part of our PCCD funded Strength & Stability program that will support youth impacted by violence. They both will begin their Practicum this fall, under Amy’s guidance. I am excited for the students who will learn from them. Robin has been teaching Mindfulness-based Stress Management at the Penn Center for Mindfulness, where she also serves as their operations manager. She has a deep understanding of how to guide students into the practice and her experiencing running the POC Mindfulness group at Penn will serve the students well. She’s creating a little time in her full schedule to give to the youth of Philadelphia. Patrick also holds down a full time position but has made room for the teens. He’s a deep listener who holds space beautifully during discussions. He is able to ask questions to guide each person to a deeper self discovery.
Please help us in welcoming the new Inner Strength Teachers and send well wishes to our other graduates who will be expanding Inner Strength’s reach to New York City and beyond!
