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Sounds True: Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program

Sounds True with Jack Kornfield

An 18-month online mindfulness teacher certification led by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. Covers core practices, the foundations of mindfulness, teaching skills, transformational applications, ethics, and cultural sensitivity. Includes a second-year teaching practicum in your local community. Jointly certified by the Awareness Training Institute and the Greater Good Science Center.

Certification: certificate of completion
Format: hybrid (self-paced and live online)
Skill level: intermediate, advanced
Career pathway: training

$7,400 $8,700

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Course program

The Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program by Sounds True is an 18-month online training led by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, two of the most respected teachers of Western mindfulness. Co-presented with the Awareness Training Institute and the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, it prepares graduates to bring mindfulness meditation into their workplaces, communities, and clinical practices.

The program is designed for adults committed to teaching mindfulness in real-world settings. The school names seven primary audiences: healthcare and mental-health professionals, yoga teachers and wellness practitioners, social workers and academic advisors, social activists and nonprofit leaders, holistic business and life coaches, executives and HR directors, and lifelong learners seeking spiritual depth. No formal prerequisite credential is required to apply.

The curriculum spans nine domains: core practices including body scans, concentration, and compassion meditation; the foundations of mindfulness covering body, feelings, emotions, and mind states; skill-building lessons for delivering talks, leading guided meditations, and facilitating groups; transformational applications for pain, trauma, addiction, and conflict; the ethics of teaching mindfulness; mindful movement; cultural sensitivity and DEIA practice; engaged spirituality addressing social justice and systemic racism; and cultivating inclusive community.

Students receive monthly video and audio teachings from Jack and Tara, alongside an exclusive podcast series and live Q&A sessions with guest faculty including Gabor Maté, Rhonda Magee, and Lama Rod Owens. Business-building resources help graduates design their own mindfulness courses and develop a teaching practice, while a dedicated cultural sensitivity training series threads racial awareness through the entire program.

The program is led by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. Jack Kornfield, PhD, trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma, and India, is co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Center, and holds a doctorate in clinical psychology. Tara Brach, PhD, has been teaching meditation since 1975 and is the founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington and author of Radical Acceptance.

The format is hybrid: monthly on-demand video and audio teachings combined with two special live virtual events, monthly mentor group calls, three individual mentor calls per student, and additional live Q&A sessions with guest faculty. Live sessions include breakout rooms and are recorded for later playback. The second year centers on a practicum in which students initiate mindfulness classes in their local area, with feedback from mentor groups.

Meet your teacher

Jack Kornfield

Jack Kornfield, PhD, trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma, and India, and has taught meditation worldwide since 1974. He co-founded the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Center, and holds a doctorate in clinical psychology.