Teaching mediation can be a rewarding career, and becoming a certified meditation instructor can help you legitimize your business and attract more customers. But can you receive your meditation instructor certification online?
To become a certified meditation instructor, certification from an authentic meditation instructor certification course must be received. Many of these courses can be taken online, though only some of them are legitimate and properly prepare their students to teach meditation.
Read on to learn how to find the right online courses that will actually help you become certified as a meditation instructor, improve your teaching skills, and boost your career.
Article Contents
Can You Become a Certified Meditation Instructor Online?
You can become a certified meditation Instructor online. But before you can, you will need to find a certification course that is legitimate and accredited, and fits within your budget and schedule.
Read on to learn the steps you will need to take to get started.
3 Steps to Becoming a Certified Meditation Instructor Online
Although getting certified as a meditation instructor online is a fairly simple process, there are still steps you will need to take to become successfully certified. To become a certified meditation instructor, there are three steps you will need to take:
- Choose the type of certification course you want
- Find a High-quality Meditation Instructor Certification Course Online
- Earn and Keep Your Certification
If you can follow each of these steps, then you are guaranteed to become a certified meditation instructor online. Keep reading to learn more about what each step entails and how you can get started on the certification process.
1. Choose the Type of Certification Course You Want
The first step to becoming a certified meditation instructor online is determining what type of certification course you are looking for. You’ll need to pick a course depending on what type of meditation you are planning to teach. There are many different types of mediation, such as
- Mindfulness
- Guided Meditation
- Buddist Meditation
- Transcendental Meditation
Each of these meditation types has their own upsides and downsides, and certification courses tend to favor certain types.
Best Certification Courses for Different Types of Meditation
If you are planning on teaching mindfulness, you will probably want to look for a course that mentions mindfulness in the name. Mindfulness is by far the most common type of meditation taught by these online certification courses, so you will have plenty of options to choose from.
Guided meditation is another popular style, though there are less courses directly focused on it. A good guided meditation course should focus more on the practical side of leading meditation sessions, rather than learning about the culture or history of meditation.
On the other hand, good meditation instructor courses with a focus on Buddist meditation should extensively teach you about the history and philosophy of that style. For Buddist meditation you will need to learn about specific mantras and subtypes such as Zen meditation.
Transcendental meditation is more exclusive and standardized than the other types, and it is also trademarked. That means if you are looking for a transcendental meditation certification course it is important to find one that is officially recognized by the TM Organization.
What if You Have Past Education?
The AIHCP’s meditation instructor certification program offers certification to instructors who can submit proof of substianal past education. If you have already taken several courses on teaching mediation, but still have yet to become certified, this might be the best option for you.
When selecting a meditation certification course, it is important to keep in mind what type of meditation you plan on teaching, and check to see how much of the course curriculum focuses on teaching that type.
Once you’ve determined what type of certification course will best fit your chosen type of meditation and give you the skills you need to teach, you can start looking for it.
2. Find a High-quality Meditation Instructor Certification Course Online
The second step to become a certified meditation instructor online is to find the right course for your needs. This means sifting through the sea of fraudulent meditation teacher classes to find a course that is authentic, informative and qualified to certify you.
Many online meditation instructor training courses are run by unqualified people who will simply copy and paste information from books and then give you a certificate that does not really hold much value.
Fortunately there are larger institutes dedicated to giving authentication to legitamate meditation teacher courses. These include
- The International Association of Meditation Instructors,
- International Mindfulness and Meditation Alliance
- Certified Professional Development Service.
- International Coach Federation
If a meditation instructor course mentions being certified by one or more of these institutes or a similar type of institutes, it is usually a good sign. You can also go to the websites of these institutes and search for meditation instructor classes. The first two are more focused on meditation and mindfulness in general, while the latter offer a broad variety of classes.
The Best Meditation Instructor Training Courses Online
If you do not want to search through all the courses and just want to know which ones are considered “the best”, here are some online meditation teacher training courses that are well-regarded across multiple different websites
- Chopra Meditation Instructor Certification
- Unplug Meditation Teacher Training
- Sounds True Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program
Because these courses are so popular they can be a bit more expensive and exclusive than other meditation instructor certification courses, so keep your budget and timeframe in mind.
Price of Online Meditation Teacher Certification
When determining what type of meditation teacher certification course is right for you, it’s important to keep an eye on your budget. Meditation teacher certification programs vary wildly in prince, though most of the high quality ones range between $1,000-$2,500.
At the highest end of the prince range, the above mentioned Sounds True Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program costs $6,700. You can find certification classes online for less than $500, but it is important to be skeptical of certification courses that cost too little, as they might be fraudulent. Make sure they are authenticated.
What is the Ideal Length for a Meditation Certification Course?
When choosing a course, think about how much work you are willing to do for certification. Courses range in length from 100 hours to 2 years. It is important to choose a course that is long enough to teach you everything you need to know for your type of meditation, but short enough that you will not quit or give up before you complete it.
The ideal length for you depends on your own limits and goals, though you might want to avoid classes that are less than 100 hours long since they are likely too short to even teach you the basics.
Format and Curriculum
Another thing to keep in mind when selecting a course is how it is taught. Some are self-guided, some use weekly modules, and some focus on webinars and zoom meetings. You will want to pick a course that suits your own learning style, but also lets you ask questions and get feedback from a qualified instructor.
Pay attention to the listed course curriculum. Keeping in mind what style of meditation you want to teach and what skills will best suit that style, scan the curriculum to make sure it is teaching the kinds of skills you most need to know. Make sure it doesn’t just cover how to meditate, but also how to teach meditation to other people.
Find an authentic meditation instructor certification course that fits with your budget, schedule, and learning needs. Once you have found one, you are on your way to becoming a certified meditation instructor. There is just one more thing you need to know:
3. Earn and Keep Your Certification
The third and final step to become a certified meditation instructor online is to complete your certification course and become officially certified. This sounds easy, but it can be more complicated than it appears on the surface.
First of all, once you complete your online meditation teacher course, you might still have to pass a final test in order to achieve certification. Other courses might require you to take on some clients and get good feedback from them. Still others require you to already have some type of medical license or college credit in addition to what you learned in the course.
For this reason it is important that you choose a course that fits your learning style, schedule and previous skillset. If you cannot put in the work to complete the course, you will not be able to become certified
Keeping Your Meditation Instructor Certification up to Date
Once you complete the course, you will receive your certification. But just because you have your certification now does not necessarily mean you will have it forever.
Some certifications must be renewed every 4 years or so. Others offer ongoing support and expect you to keep coming back to them for follow up lessons.
Keeping in touch with the intuition that gave you your meditation instructor certification is a good idea, both to ensure that your certification remains legitimate and also to boost your career by helping you network with other meditation teachers.
How Much Do Meditation Teachers Make?
Meditation teachers on average make around $65,000 a year in the US. However, there are a lot of outliers, with some making as little as $16,000 a year or as much as $186,500 a year.
The varitaion between these salaries suggests that factors like location, skill, and years in the business can make a big difference in how much you are able to earn.
Effect of Certification on Salary
Becoming officially certified as a meditation instructor is one of the factors that can help you earn a higher salary. Employers will be willing to pay more for an instructor who is certified than one who is not. Customers will have more confidence in your legitimacy and your practice will be more marketable.
Effect of Location on Salary
Another big factor in deciding what your salary will be is location. The average salary for a meditation instructor varies wildly by country, state, and even city.
For example, of the top 10 cities where mediation teachers earn the highest on average, 8 of them are in California. At the same time, California in general has slightly lower salaries for meditation instructors than the national average. This suggests that location, particularly what city you are in, has a huge influence on salary.
Since the salary of a meditation instructor can vary so much, it is important to do everything you can to give yourself an edge. Becoming certified, whether you live in an ideal location or not, can still help you earn more than people who are not certified.
Conclusion
You can become a Certified Meditation Instructor Online by figuring out what type of mediation certification you need, finding the right course for your needs, and working hard to earn your certification.
If you are able to put in the work and time, the actual process to become certified online is fairly simple, and certification will give your meditation classes a sense of legitimacy and allow you to earn a higher salary. Moreover, the skills you learn in the process of becoming certified will help you become a better meditation instructor.
