Today is a big day.

And a shift in my thinking.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to run a course ..

That certifies people .. to teach compassion meditation. 

YES it is a powerful type of meditation .. the technique the Dalai Lama says is MOST IMPORTANT today .. and what I practice each day myself.

It has changed me. I’m more patient now. I see the best in people, and I’m more open. 

But could we run an entire program on this? I wasn’t sure. 

And then Dr. Joe Loizzo, who leads our teacher trainings, sent an outline of the program.

And I cried.

And I thought, we have to do this.

It is easy to be hard on ourselves.

And I thought, we have to do this.

It is easy to be hard on ourselves.

We think we’re not good looking enough, we don’t work hard enough or we work too hard, we worry we should be in a better relationship, a better apartment or .. it never ends.

When we’re hard on ourselves, we often become hard on others.

Maybe we’re impatient with the green juice guy ..

Or maybe our relationships at home .. or work .. aren’t as easy as we would like.  

Perhaps being brittle with ourselves can make us brittle, even, with friends.

We see tough things on the news, in our city, and in our families. And then we become tough. In good and sometimes not-so-good ways, too. 

What is the answer here? Compassion.

Compassion makes us easier on ourselves. And softer on others. It makes us kinder and more understanding of ourselves and our colleagues, the coffee guy and everyone in our lives.

It is one thing to work on this ourselves. That’s huge. But what if you could TEACH compassion to others?

Many say you learn by teaching. I believe this. Never did I experience compassion more strongly than when I began guiding compassion meditations. And then teaching others.

I feel emotional about this program because it will change lives. Your life will change if you join, and the lives of your loved ones will change too. 

And when you begin TEACHING this… you will spread kindness and compassion to hundreds and eventually thousands of people, through the ripple effects of compassion. 

I’m starting to tear up as I write because I could not be more passionate about this course and what it will do for everyone who joins us .. and what it will do for our city .. and beyond.

Dr. Joe wrote, "While most of us have been taught to think of love and compassion as luxuries that make us vulnerable or weak, and were lead to believe
that emotions can’t be trained, decades of research have turned these myths on their head. Recent science has taught us that positive social emotions—love, compassion, joy, equanimity—like medicine help us heal, grow, and change, and that compassion in
particular is readily trainable and quickly alters the way the brain responds to emotional stress." 

Wow. You can change how you respond to stress, and you can teach others to retrain their minds, too.

So here’s the deal. The course starts March 10th and runs through early June.

The schedule, and all the details, are here.

Everyone who graduates from the program will be certified to teachcompassion meditation. And this 100-hour course is compatible with Yoga Alliance.

Please apply by clicking here. 

We opened registration last week to our past teacher training graduates, and we’ve already sold 10 spots. (Don't worry, the course is appropriate for people of all levels.) 

We’re limiting class size to 26, and we will sell out. We have sold out every teacher training program we have ever run.

And so I encourage you to apply today:

click here to apply for Compassion Teacher Training

This program is a gift to yourself. And a gift to your family and colleagues and friends. But really, in this day and age when compassion is so needed, this is a gift to your city and your country.

May we spread compassion. Together. I cannot think of anything more important today.

With love,
Dina

p.s. YES there are only 16 spots open for this program. Click here today to apply.

p.p.s. Dr. Joe's course description, the one that made me cry, is on the site for the course here.