Secular Mindfulness · London, London, United Kingdom
Zenways is a London-based Zen Buddhist organization founded by Daizan Skinner Roshi, the British Zen teacher who trained at Sogenji monastery in Japan under Shodo Harada Roshi. Zenways teaches the Rinzai Zen tradition through public-facing Zen meditation classes, intensive retreats, and a structured Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher Training certified by IMTA (International Mindfulness Teachers Association). The IMTA accreditation places the training within the international standards framework for secular mindfulness teaching while drawing on Daizan Roshi's Rinzai Zen lineage authority. The training combines mindfulness teaching pedagogy with Zen meditation depth. Curriculum covers the foundational practices students will teach (mindfulness of breath, body awareness, walking meditation, loving-kindness practice, working with thought and emotion) alongside the broader teaching skills of holding sittings, leading workshops, and supporting students' personal practice. The Zen lineage shows up in the depth of practice expected of trainees and in the emphasis on direct experience as the basis for teaching. Daizan Skinner Roshi is one of the more publicly engaged Western Zen teachers in the UK, having taught in NHS, corporate, and community contexts alongside leading Zenways' own programs. The organization's position is somewhat distinctive: explicitly Zen-rooted but accessible to non-Buddhist students, IMTA-aligned for clinical and educational credibility, and built around the practical reality that most students will teach mindfulness in secular contexts even when their personal practice is lineage-rooted. Students typically come from clinical, educational, coaching, and yoga teaching backgrounds and use the training as foundational mindfulness teaching credentials. The London base draws students from across the UK and Europe; some elements may run online to accommodate distance students. Cohort size is moderate, supporting direct teacher contact across the multi-month program.
Foundational practices: mindfulness of breath, body scan and body awareness, walking meditation, loving-kindness (metta) practice, working with thoughts and emotions, and the integration of meditation into daily life. Zen tradition material informs the depth of practice expected: trainees engage with sustained sittings (zazen) and the directness Zen teaching emphasizes. Teaching pedagogy covers how to lead a sitting, give an introductory talk, work with new meditators, hold inquiry, and design and deliver workshops in clinical, educational, corporate, and community contexts. Ethics and scope of practice for mindfulness teaching, the research evidence base, group dynamics, and trauma-aware practice round out the curriculum. Practicum teaching is observed and assessed against IMTA standards. Personal practice and silent retreat attendance are part of the formation.
Delivery is in person at Zenways' London base, with online elements as appropriate for distance students. The training runs across multiple modules combining intensive workshops, ongoing classes, silent retreat attendance, and supervised practicum teaching. Mentorship from Daizan Skinner Roshi and senior Zenways teachers continues throughout the training. Final assessment includes observed teaching with feedback against IMTA standards and Zenways' own competencies.
Graduates receive Zenways Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher Training certification, IMTA-accredited and recognized within the international mindfulness teaching framework. The credential qualifies graduates to teach mindfulness meditation in clinical, educational, corporate, and community contexts. Graduates can pursue parallel IMTA listing after meeting their additional supervised-teaching and silent-retreat requirements. Continued professional development through Zenways supports ongoing teacher formation.
Open to practitioners with at least some prior meditation experience. No specific Buddhist commitment is required, though students should be open to engaging with Zen-rooted material. Application and interview process; cohort size is moderate.
Compared with secular MBSR teacher training (Brown, UMass, or European MBSR providers), Zenways adds explicit Zen lineage depth alongside IMTA-aligned secular mindfulness pedagogy. Compared with weekend mindfulness certificates, the training is multi-month and substantively credentialed. Compared with full Zen lineage teacher authorization (decades of training under a Roshi, transmission), this is a different category: foundational teacher formation rather than full lineage transmission.
| Location | London, London, United Kingdom |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Tradition | Secular Mindfulness |
| Format | In-person |
| Accreditation | IMTA Accredited |