Led by Mark Coleman and Lori Schwanbeck
The Awake in the Wild Teacher Training is an apprenticeship training in guiding contemplative nature practice, inspired by the wisdom teachings from the Buddhist tradition, by Mark’s book Awake in the Wild (AITW) and by the wilderness retreats led by Mark and Lori for more than a decade across the Americas. Nature meditation brings mindful awareness practices into the outdoors as a support for presence, connection, and insight. Mark and Lori are excited to share this cherished work with a group of dedicated nature meditation practitioners that will give them tools to begin to share similar practices with others.
The Awake in the wild Teacher Training is for people who care deeply about the earth, who have a a strong Dharma / meditation practice and who take that contemplative presence into the outdoors. Equally important, it is for those who feel called to take people deep into nature with a spirit of reverence and contemplation.
This program will have four residential retreats in California or the western states. There will also be monthly online tutorials, personal nature-based work and a teaching practicum.
AWAKE IN THE WILD TEACHER TRAINING COURSE DETAILS
Intention
This in-depth apprenticeship training in nature-based mindful contemplative practice trains you to:
- Teach mindfulness in nature
- Teach specific AITW practices
- Facilitate meditation in nature immersive experiences
- Teach AITW classes, daylong and weekend programs
Certification
The Awake in the Wild Teacher Training will be organized under an apprenticeship model. This means that Mark and Lori will be sharing their hearts and souls’ knowledge of nature-based meditation as a way to inspire your own creativity and nature-based work. Upon successful completion of the course, you may teach nature-based meditation practices and we encourage you to be creatively inspired by the Awake in the Wild practices and content. If, after gaining experience teaching nature-based meditation workshops and courses, you would like to become a certified Awake in the Wild teacher, you are encouraged to apply for authorization that may requires apprenticing with Mark and/or Lori.
As you can see, this is a different model than a typical teacher training and we feel it will best support the work to thrive – based on creative empowerment and learning by apprenticing.
Format
This training will take place over one year including 4 Awake in the Wild immersion retreats. It will include:
- Multiple immersions in the Awake in the Wild experience
- Orientation to teaching foundational and in-depth nature-based meditation practices
- Applications of contemplative practice in the wild to daily life
- Nuts and bolts of organizing and holding a nature meditation course
- Exploring the key elements of a Awake in the Wild course which includes cultivating the areas of silence, meditation, community, wilderness awareness, inquiry, mindfulness and love
- Learning how to teach nature-based practices in multiple formats
- Understanding issues of diversity and cultural sensitivity to different populations
- Integrate issues relating to the climate / ecological crisis in the context from a mindfulness and compassionate perspective