In general, the time requirements increase as the training progresses and you move closer to holding your own Awake in the Wild retreat for your practicum.
You can divide up the year into three segments, each one bookended by the week-long intensive training. These retreats are where you will receive the bulk of your training from Mark and where Mark will be preparing you for the next phase of the training. Though we do record sections of the training by audio and video for you to review afterward, missing even one will severely hamper your learning process. You are expected to attend every one.
After the retreats, there will be one-hour online group meetings with Mark each month to discuss teaching topics and for the group to ask questions. You’ll be encouraged to meet with your fellow student-teachers–both through the training member-only website and directly–to discuss homework assignments and issues that come up in your own teaching: a support group that will hopefully last much longer than the training. As for those homework assignments, below is a general timeline of the homework assignments to help you better gauge the workload.
Pre-Workshop
Book Readings
Retreat 1 – Intensive Training Week – September 2023
Between Retreats – September – December 2023
Online Meetings Once a Month (1 hour)
Book Reading
Essay
Group Meetings (Number and Amount in Hands of Your Group)
Retreat 2 – Intensive Training Week – December 2023
Between Retreats – December 2023 – April 2024
Online Meetings Once a Month (1 hour)
Book Reading
Short Meditation Video
Essay
Group Meetings (Number and Amount in Hands of Your Group)
Retreat 3 – Intensive Training Week – April 2024
Between Retreats – April 2024 – July 2024
Online Meetings Once a Month (1 hour)
Practicum and Teaching Video (of you doing your practicum – roughly 10 minutes of teaching a meditation topic followed by a 5-minute Q&A)
Two Essays
Retreat 4 – Intensive Training Week and Graduation – July 2024