Teaching first MBSR classes: Individual supervision & recordings

Oasis Institute
#1

Hello,
I will be participating in the TDI in August, and plan to teach my first MBSR class shortly after that - beginning in late September. I have 2 questions:

  • Do you recommend that I receive the CFM individual supervision for my first 8-week course? I imagine there are different benefits of having it during my first teaching experience, and waiting until I have experience teaching a few rounds of MBSR. Is there a recommended best practice by CFM? (Note: I started teacher training before group supervision was added as a requirement, so this won’t apply for me)

  • If I don’t have my own CDs created before I begin teaching, are there options through the CFM to use recordings made by other teachers? If so, is there a cost associated with this? I noticed that links to the recordings of many CFM teachers were provided as part of the TDI pre-work - is it okay to share these links with my students for their guided home practice?

Thank you, and I look forward to connecting with many of you in August!

Aaron Less

1 Like
#2

Hi Aaron,

Thanks for your inquiry. I’ll take the questions one at time as you asked
them:

It’s true that there are different benefits to having individual
supervision for your first MBSR class or later on down the line. It’s up to
you to decide, and may also depend on the timing of your first MBSR and
avaibility of CFM supervising teachers.

Back when CDs were the standard, the answer would be to buy CDs from CFM.
Since we have switched to MP3s, I’m not sure how we are handling it. Let me
ask my adminsrative colleagues about it tomorrow, and then I’ll back to you.

Kind regards,
Eowyn

#3

Hi again Aaron,

Here’s the word I got back about the mp3 question:

Since we cannot monitor the use of the mp3s, we simply request that new
teachers who decide to use them offer a donation to the Center. It’s an
honor system, essentially. Also, some teachers continue to purchase at
least some CDs since not all participants are comfortable with or able to
use the technology - it can be helpful to be able to give those who need it
a CD instead of an mp3 file.

Lastly, just to offer gratitude to you for asking us before going ahead
with using the mp3s. We appreciate your transparency and honesty here.

Kindly,
Eowyn

1 Like
#4

Hi Eowyn,

Thank you so much for your quick response! I truly appreciate the CFM teachers’ willingness to allow us to use their recordings with students in exchange for a donation to CFM, in particular because their guided meditations are exceptional. Allowing students to listen to meditations by several experienced teachers from CFM will be of great benefit in establishing their practice. If I do decide to buy some CDs, can you direct me to where I can order them, costs, etc.?

Warm regards,
Aaron