What Some Participants Say About Their Practicum Training Experience:
“I wanted to share my experience with the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Practicum that I participated in from March 2018 to April 2018. It was a powerfully transformative experience. Valerie is a knowledgeable, experienced and professional teacher. I very much appreciated that she honored the integrity and rigor of Jon Kabat-Zinn’s work. Her teaching introduced me to language and nuances that have exponentially enhanced my embodiment of mindfulness practice. My yoga teaching and yoga therapy have new tools, enhanced vocabulary, and understanding, because of the curriculum, teachings, and exploration during the Practicum. It has been a great entry-point into becoming certified to teach MBSR and I look forward to Valerie’s continued mentorship.”
~ Peter J. Calin, The Yoga Warrior, JD, MBA, LLM-HR, CYT, retired corporate international tax attorney
“As a Board Certified Nurse Practitioner with extensive training in Integrative Medicine, I was impressed with the depth of this MBSR Practicum Training. The UCSD curriculum touches on many of the deeper tones and subtle notes of the study of mindfulness. Valerie, a sincere and compassionate practitioner, made for an excellent guide during this part of my journey.”
~ Thomas Schlepko DNB, ARNP, FNP-BC, Clinician, Educator, and Co-founder Health and Wellness Creations
“Experiencing the positive changes by practicing mindfulness and incorporating the principles of MBSR into my daily life led me to want to share these experiences with others. In my desire to be able to share this gift with others, I chose to continue to expand my personal practice and to work on studying and practicing to become a teacher of MBSR. I began my studies with Valerie Zimmerman. With her guidance and generous sharing of her vast experience and knowledge, I earned my MBSR Teacher Qualification. Working with students of MBSR is a wonderful, powerful experience.”
~ Wendy Nottoli, M.A., CCC, BCaBA, Speech-Language Pathologist, Board-Certified assistant Behavior Analyst and Director, Kendall Speech and Language Center
“Having been an MBSR teacher for 20 years, Valerie brings a treasure trove of knowledge to the subject and teaches with enthusiasm and passion.”
~ Bill Durham, founder, Miami Meditation Center
TESTIMONIALS from participants in the inaugural Inner Journey Teacher Training:
“The Inner Journey TT has been a truly wonderful, rich, inspiring journey. It, very effectively, blends traditional Mindfulness practices, NVC, Inner Child work, etc., with current research on Childhood Trauma. Valerie brings her passion, conviction, clarity, knowledge, and compassion to each class. Above all else, the training encourages and nourishes an attitude of kindness, compassion, understanding and mindful awareness towards our children and young people. The course offers a profound opportunity for deep self-inquiry and healing. I would highly recommend this course to anyone working with children and young people in any setting.”
– Niamh Houghton, Founder and Teacher, Mindful Kids Belfast, Northern Ireland
“The Inner Journey Teacher Training (IJTT) is an incredible opportunity to learn tools, practices, and ways to teach mindfulness to children and teens. Valerie York-Zimmerman is a knowledgeable and caring teacher trainer whose passion for this work is evident. She brings her years of experience practicing, teaching, and training teachers into every class.IJTT gives participants a broad understanding of how they can bring mindfulness to children and teens of all backgrounds. The program is an effective blend of science, practice, and inquiry. It covers foundational mindfulness practices and principles and more up-to-date topics such as trauma-sensitive awareness, social-cultural effects, and compassionate communication skills.
This training is a wonderfully rich experience thanks to Valerie’s clarity, authenticity, and potency and the community of like-minded learners that support each other. I highly recommend this training for novice or experienced mindfulness teachers that would like to dive deeply into what it is like to bring mindfulness to our youth.”
– Gus Castellanos, UMass Certified MBSR teacher, retired Neurologist
“I’ve been a student of Valerie since 2018 and joined her Inner Journey Teacher Training to not only deepen my own practice but also to learn trauma-informed practices to teach mindfulness to kids and teens. What I loved is that we didn’t only learn tools and practices. We also dove deep into challenging conversations of our times so we can speak and honor our truth. I admire Valerie’s authenticity and embodied presence in each class. I feel the Inner Journey TT program is an essential course to take for Mindfulness Teachers and practitioners who want to bring mindfulness into schools and communities.”
– Frances Lacuesta, Senior Deployment Specialist (Wunderman Thompson Data), MBSR Teacher-in-Training, Owner of Mind Body Heart Mindfulness
“The Inner Journey Teacher Training has been an amazing opportunity to learn about Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness while intensely cultivating lovingkindness and compassion. The extraordinary combination of in-depth experiential learning with the support of a strong scientific perspective has made this training particularly powerful and effective.”
– Manuela Gabbi, Psychologist, MBSR Teacher-in-Training
“Valerie York-Zimmerman’s fierce advocacy for the children and teens of Miami-Dade County is evident in the passion and conviction she brings to the Inner Journey Teacher Training program which is based on her years of experience in proven mindfulness-based practices. My only regret is that my own training in this program is ending much too soon!”
– Nancy Lynk-Alberts, Certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, RYT 500, M.S. Counseling