For Lisa de Jong, becoming a meditation teacher began with a feeling that something was missing.
Working in a corporate role, she found herself wanting to move towards work that felt more meaningful. Meditation was already something she valued personally, and the idea of learning to share it with others began to take shape.
“I was working in a corporate job but wanting to find something that gave me more meaning,” Lisa reflects. “I did a lot of research into different courses and chose ACMM as it resonated with me.”
Lisa went on to complete the Advanced Certificate in Guiding and Teaching Meditation and Mindfulness, including three electives, supported throughout her studies by her mentor, Ramona Lane.
What began as a desire to deepen her own meditation practice has now grown into something Lisa once wondered if she would ever actually do: teaching meditation in her community.
From Personal Practice to Teaching Others
When Lisa enrolled, she hoped the training would deepen her own practice while giving her a way to share meditation with others.
“I really just wanted to share the gift of meditation with others,” she says.
Like many students beginning meditation teacher training, there were moments when Lisa questioned whether she would actually use the qualification once she finished.
Today, that uncertainty looks very different.
Lisa has recently completed a six-week Community Work Placement program in a retirement village, where the response has been encouraging enough that the village would like her to continue. She is now preparing proposals to take similar meditation programs into other retirement communities in her local area.
It is a lovely example of how a personal interest can gradually become a meaningful offering to others.
The Moment Confidence Began to Grow
One of Lisa’s most memorable moments during her studies came when she guided an entire meditation without relying on a script.
“The first time that I managed to do a whole meditation without any script, I was amazed,” she says. “I never thought I would be able to do it.”
That confidence did not arrive all at once. For Lisa, it developed through the way the training progressively built her skills.
“What I valued was that it was broken down bit by bit, so it becomes almost second nature.”
By practising each element separately and then gradually bringing those elements together, Lisa found herself developing a much more embodied understanding of how to guide a meditation.
She now feels equipped to enter a room and trust the foundations she has developed.
“I feel that I can walk into a room with any amount of people and know what I need to do. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be nervous, but the training and the Community Work Placement have given me the confidence to be able to deliver a beautiful meditation.”
Staying Consistent Through the Meditation Training
The volume of learning was one of the more challenging parts of Lisa’s studies.
“There is quite a lot of information,” she says.
Rather than trying to do everything at once, she found that consistency made the course much more manageable.
“I tried to do something small every day, or if I couldn’t do that, I would set aside a set amount of time per week where I couldn’t be interrupted.”
It is also the advice she would now offer someone starting their own meditation teacher training journey.
“Just take each section at a time and don’t overthink it.”
Sometimes the most sustainable way through a course is not to wait for large stretches of free time, but to keep returning to the learning in small and manageable ways.
Bringing Meditation Into Retirement Villages
Lisa is now developing her meditation work through Aligned Mind, with a particular interest in offering meditation to older adults and retirement communities.
Her first six-week program was delivered in a retirement village and has already opened the door to continuing sessions there.
“At this point I have just completed my six-week Community Work Placement in a retirement village and they are wanting me to continue,” Lisa says. “I am also contacting the larger retirement villages around my area to offer the same course.”
Her offerings are developing around aged care meditation sessions, six-week Learn to Meditate courses and workshops.
And while Lisa is still at the beginning of building this work, there has already been one simple sign that what she is offering is connecting with people.
Week after week, the same participants kept coming back.
For a new teacher, there can be something deeply affirming in that. People returning to practise again suggests that a space has been created where meditation feels accessible, worthwhile and meaningful.
From “Will I Ever Use This?” to What Comes Next
Perhaps one of the most powerful parts of Lisa’s story is the distance between the uncertainty she experienced while studying and where she finds herself now.
She has completed her training. She has guided a six-week program. The retirement village has asked her to continue. And she is beginning to reach out to other communities to explore where the work might lead next.
There are still nerves, as there are for many teachers, but nervousness no longer means she cannot do it.
The foundations are there.
The experience is growing.
And so is her trust in herself as a teacher.
What Lisa Would Tell Herself Before Enrolling
If Lisa could sit down with herself on the day before she enrolled with ACMM, her message would be beautifully simple:
“This will be an amazing learning journey and one that you are going to love, so just do it.”
It is advice that reflects her whole journey so far.
Take one section at a time and keep practising. Try not to overthink it.
And eventually, there comes a moment when you find yourself standing in front of a group, guiding the meditation you once wondered whether you would ever have the confidence to teach.
Lisa is continuing to develop her meditation offerings through Aligned Mind.
Visit Lisa at: www.alignedmind.com.au
If you enjoyed reading about Lisa’s journey, you might also enjoy exploring more of our ACMM graduate and student stories.
ACMM provides a range of meditation and mindfulness teacher training pathways, along with mentoring and our Community Work Placement Program, designed to help emerging teachers develop their skills and begin sharing meditation within their communities.
If you enjoyed reading about Lisa‘s journey you might also be interested in:
- Samara Hackett Welcoming Beginners Into Meditation With Care and Consistency
- Peta Barwick – Creating Calm and Connection Through Meditation
ACMM provides a range of certified meditation teacher training options and support, including our Post Graduate Diploma and Community Work Placement Program which supports new meditation teachers to begin or expand their teaching practice. Download a prospectus for all the details or book a discovery call here to find out more!
