Sounds True Meditation Teacher Training Certification teaches those with a solid meditation practice to share those teachings with others. There is genuine gratification in supporting others on their journey towards healing and personal growth, and becoming a meditation teacher is a great way to align your values with earning a living. However, with so many courses out there, how do you know if this is the right one for you?
The Mediation Teacher Training Certification from Sounds True is perfect for those who have a profound desire to deepen their understanding of meditation practices and share those teachings with others. With successful completion of the course, students receive a certificate that will enable them to establish meditation classes, workshops, and teachings within their community and throughout the world.
If you’re interested in Sounds True Meditation teacher training, this article is for you. Just keep reading to learn all you need to know.
Table of Contents
What is Sounds True?
They partner with leading spiritual teachers across the globe to offer books, audio programs, online courses, and in-person events in an effort to “accelerate spiritual awakening and personal transformation.”
Founded in 1985 by Tami Simon, Sounds True started as a one-woman project with a mission to spread spiritual wisdom. Today, it exists as a multimedia company with over 100 employees, boasting the world’s largest living library of transformational teachings.
In an age full of demanding jobs, full social lives, family, and friends to tend to, and a constant connection to the online world, Sounds True seeks to expand the love and goodness in the world by teaching others to serve their own highest nature and honor human dignity.
With the demand for meditation instruction increasing among the general public, educational institutions, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and within healthcare, Sounds True is paving the way with their library available on multiple media platforms and in multiple languages for those of us to learn from today and for future generations to come.
What Types of Programs and Certificates Does Sounds True Offer?
Sounds True focuses on teaching people to grow through spiritual awakening and personal transformation. They offer over a hundred courses and trainings that touch on things like meditation, mindfulness, healing, health, and personal relationships.
Each program encourages students to show up authentically and come from a place of love and understanding. They are taught from experts in mindfulness and meditation from all over the world, with years of experience in their practice.
From healing trauma that may be associated with anxiety and insomnia to learning the best breakthrough techniques to uplevel your career, Sounds True courses have helped thousands accelerate their journey of personal growth and awakening.
Continuing Education Credits
Most states require continuing educations as a means of ensuring that professionals stay up to date on current research and practices within their field. Sounds True offers Continuing Educations (CE) credits that are mandated by states and professional organizations for counselors, social workers, and psychologists among their courses.
Certificates Offered Through Sounds True
Program Review: Sounds True Teacher Training
The Sounds True Meditation Teacher Training is a one-of-a-kind, unrivaled program that prepares students to embark on a journey of creative teaching, mindfulness, and compassion within a vibrant community.
The course takes place completely online, save for two in-person events, which allows you to connect with students and instructors from all over the world.
Overall, this is a transformative course that will quickly set you in the right direction towards your own mindful meditation business.
Here’s a quick rundown of the pros and cons for Sounds True’s teacher training:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Accredited | Sign-up only occurs every two years |
| 1-on-1 Mentoring | More costly than other programs |
| Flexible payment plan and refund policy | Stringent prerequisite requirements |
| Lifetime access to resources | Length of the program requires a long-term commitment |
| Live teaching practice | Teaching isn’t completely self-paced |
| Live and recorded webinars | |
| Business marketing | |
| Interactive community |
Cost of the Meditation Teacher Training
The cost of admissions is $6,700, including a $50 deposit that is due when you submit your application but will be deducted from your first payment.
The facilitators of the program are committed to helping qualified candidates participate, so Sounds True offers three different payment plans to make the program available to all.
- 3-Month Interest-Free Plan: this splits the cost into three payments of $2,233.33
- 12-Month Plan: this is 12 monthly payments of $575, which equals out to a total cost of $6,900.
- 24-Month Plan: the cost is split into 24 monthly payments of $287.50, costing a total of $6,900.
What Does Tuition Include?
Your tuition gives you access to the online Portal and communities, coursework, lessons, admission to two of the in-person events, monthly group mentor sessions, three private mentor sessions, and administrative support.
Lodging, meals, and transportation for in-person events need to be covered by you. Books for required and optional reading are also not included in the tuition.
Is Financial Support Available?
For the 2021 class, a very limited number of scholarships were offered from Sounds True and The Awareness Training Institute for those with true financial needs. To apply for the scholarship, students need to submit their application with the $50 application fee and a teacher recommendation.
What is the Refund Policy?
The deposit for the application is fully refundable until you are accepted and enrolled in the program. If you are not accepted, the deposit will be refunded in full.
If you enroll in the program and wish to cancel, you have to notify Sounds True in writing before a specific date to receive a full refund. The cancellation deadline for the 2021 class was August 31st, 2020. September marks the final reservation, and you can probably expect the date to be about the same for the 2023 class.
Time it Takes to Complete the Program
This program takes two years to complete. There are a number of breaks built into the program, such as summer and winter breaks, as well as holidays, that are accounted for when planning mentor calls.
It is expected that each student will work out a learning style that will work best for them, so the amount of actual time spent on the course will vary from person to person. However, this doesn’t mean the course is self-paced. There are a few weekly and monthly activities that must be done within a set time.
Coursework with set time limits include:
- 30-to-45-minute video lesson
- 90-to-120-minute monthly mentorship call
- 90-to-120-minute monthly peer group meeting
- Two live, four-day, in-person, or virtual events with the facilitators, guest faculty, and other students.
You can also expect associated readings, journal entries, and self-study time. Typically, you will spend about two hours per week on the course, not including your monthly mentorship and peer calls.
About the Facilitators
After 30 years in the making, Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach bring us a certification program that combines their best teachings. These two have played a key role in introducing mindfulness practice to the West. Together they lead the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training and The Power of Awareness Training.
If you are interested in getting to know Jack and Tara before the 2023 class, take a look at their Mindfulness Daily At Work training. It is currently being offered free through Sounds True for a limited time.
Jack Kornfield
Jack Kornfield is a meditation teacher with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. He is also the co-founder of Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Center. He has been teaching around the globe for more than 40 years and has 16 books that have sold more the 1.5 million copies.
Tara Brach
Tara Brach is the found of Insight Meditation Community in Washington, DC, and author of Radical Acceptance and Radical Compassion. She teaches meditation to students internationally and holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Fielding Institute. Her teachings blend Western psychology with Eastern spiritual practices to offer a caring approach to freeing ourselves.
About the Guest Faculty and Mentorship Program
Throughout the coursework, several guest faculty appear to allow students to learn from a range of renowned teachers and practitioners. Some of these names in the past have included: Eckhart Tolle, Konda Mason, George Mumford, Sylvia Boorstein, and Larry Yang, among many others.
Mentorship Program
The 2021 class saw Anne Cushman as the facilitator of the mentorship program. Anne is a mindfulness and meditation practitioner of over 35 years. She is a member of the Teachers Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and author of several books and essays.
Throughout the program, Anne facilitates monthly group mentorship calls and individual mentorship calls. She also provides authentic and encouraging feedback on meditation and teaching skills and support throughout each lesson.
What Will You Learn?
The Meditation Teacher Training teaches students a deep understand of transformational mindfulness principles and how to share those teachings with others in the form of classes and workshops.
The curriculum includes but is not limited to:
- How to develop your meditation practice with mindfulness, body scans, movement, and open awareness.
- Develop skills in conducting talks and group sessions
- Apply meditations to address trauma, pain, emotions, and internal conflict.
- Cultivate a community of dedicated learners
- Design and promote classes and workshops
- How to handle ethical issues in teaching
Are You Qualified to Participate?
Unlike many other programs, Sounds True Meditation Teacher Training has some strict prerequisites that must be met before being accepted into the course. This is a teaching course, after all, and to teach, you must have a solid understanding and experience with the material you are trying to share.
You are eligible to apply to the program if you:
- Are genuinely interested in mindfulness meditation and have a desire to share that with others
- Are committed to learning and growth throughout the program
- Have practiced meditation for a least two years and have maintained a regular practice.
- Have you received a letter of recommendation from meditation or spiritual teacher you have worked with
- Plan to or have completed the Power to Awareness online course
- Attended at least one 6-night meditation retreat in the style of Insight, Vipassana, or Goenka. Approved retreats are listed
Final Thoughts
The Mindful Meditation Teacher Training from Sounds True is an incredibly eye-opening and transformative course that will expand your understanding of mindful meditation and prepare you to share your teachings and experiences with others. You will witness your meditation practice evolve, and your confidence grows throughout this course, as the instructors offer support and encouragement along the way.
On top of that, the community and relationships you build during the training will be invaluable to you as you work towards growth, change, and waking up the world.
(Check out this article for tips to help get better at meditation.)
