1)  What are the eligibility requirements for the Training course?
The course does not teach how to practice mindfulness and/or meditation – to become a student of The Calm Monkey, you must already have a personal mindfulness and/or meditation practice with a reasonable foundational knowledge of this practice.

Although it is challenging to quantify a minimum standard of personal qualities and experience as a prerequisite to the Facilitator Training course, the following is defined as the minimum requirement. It is understood that individuals' experience can vary greatly.

Eligibility Requirements*
1.    Personal meditation and/or mindfulness experience (dedicated daily practice).
2.    Commitment to continuously learn about meditation and mindfulness.
3.    A low-ego, humble approach to avoid a superiority persona.
4.    Ability to speak publicly in a confident, compassionate and approachable manner to build trust with participants.
5.    Ability to speak publicly in a clear, articulate style.
6.    Ability and willingness to conduct sessions in a non-religious style, using universal language that is generally accepted by most people.
7.    Truly open to feedback for continuous improvement, keeping the ego in check.
8.    Ability to work cooperatively with other Facilitators to deliver a consistent, high quality program.

*Contact [email protected] to determine your eligibility if you are unsure.

2)  Can I try the course before I buy it?
Yes!  There is a Free Preview.  Once you have taken these free lessons, you will know if this path is right for you, and if so, can buy the full course.

3)   How does the Facilitator Training course compare to meditation teacher programs?
This course is a complement or an alternative to meditation teacher training programs and is not a competitor of such programs. As such, this makes the world of mindfulness meditation facilitation more accessible for experienced meditators without the large time and financial investment in meditation teacher training programs.

4)   Is certification really worthwhile?  
Certification provides you with specific evaluation and feedback in a very supportive way, so you know you are offering quality facilitation to your participants. It's about credibility - people want to know that their facilitator is properly trained and qualified.

Facilitators working within an organization and those who are offering facilitation as a service find certification desirable.  Those offering facilitation as a service in particular feel the necessity to obtain certification.  

There is an annual re-certification requirement.

5)  Does workplace mindfulness need to be implemented as a ‘top down’ program?
Interestingly, some of the most successful programs are not started as a formal ‘human resources’ or ‘health & wellness’ program, and are started by anyone who is passionate about helping others and up to being a catalyst to get a program started.  

Every organization is unique, and it is always a good idea, at a minimum, to obtain an ‘OK’ from whatever group may be necessary.  Sometimes all that is needed is asking the human resources department for permission to use a meeting room for the practice and keeping them informed along the way, and sometimes they wish to be more involved.  You can get started just in your own team if that feels right.  In other words, this does not need to be a ‘top-down’ program, and can be very successful if you start small and grow this from a grassroots level.  This approach builds trust amongst the employee community and lets you get comfortable as you grow the program.

6)  Can I train others to become Facilitators after I’m trained?
This course does not qualify or permit Facilitators to teach The Calm Monkey’s copyrighted courses.  This is not a Train-the-Trainer program.   This course and toolkit is solely to equip you personally as you lead others in mindfulness meditation.

7)  What is the track record of this program?
Wendy Quan, the founder of The Calm Monkey is the pioneer in the industry and started teaching mindfulness meditation in workplaces in 2011. This turned into training facilitators shortly thereafter. 

Wendy Quan is a sought-after speaker

Authored a winning white paper with the global Association of Change Management Professionals covering the Pacific Blue Cross case study, entitled:  "Meditation - a Powerful Change Management Tool"

Runs research studies, and published a 2018 research study 'Dealing with Change mindfulness meditation study'.  Get the research paper here.
Has taught over 1,000 people how to meditate, and over 200 facilitators worldwide. 

The Facilitator Training course has been taught in numerous companies, universities and The Greater Good Science Center of UC Berkeley. 

We are proud to say that Google trained their facilitators around the world with the online course, and 100% said they would recommend it to others, and it equipped them to be successful facilitators. 

The Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR) is a partner with The Calm Monkey, and proudly offers this program to HR professionals.

8)  Who takes this training?

Both organizations (generally Human Resources, Health & Wellness and leaders) and individuals initiate mindfulness at work. 

Notable clients of The Calm Monkey include Google, Cincinnati Health Department, University of British Columbia, City of Vancouver, Pacific Gas and Electric, the U.S. Senate and many more medium to large organizations.

Many individuals (not organizations) also take this program.  Counsellors, yoga instructors, educators, healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, life coaches, etc.