All certified Mindfulness Works mindfulness teachers have received extensive professional mindfulness training. They are required to complete at least 20 hours of professional development every year to retain their certification.

Certified Mindfulness Works teachers are licensed to run the Mindfulness Works Introduction to Mindfulness and Meditation course, as well as offer mindfulness coaching and retreats.

Certified Mindfulness Works teachers are licensed to run the Mindfulness Works Introduction to Mindfulness and Meditation course, as well as offer mindfulness coaching and retreats.

Glenda is a lead facilitator for Mindfulness Works and trains other facilitators in the Mindfulness Works Introduction to Mindfulness and Meditation course. She has authored numerous mindfulness courses and is the author of the official follow-on courses: Mindfulness 2.0 and Mindfulness and Relationships. She is also part of the Mindfulness Works for Organisations (MWFO) team of experts who deliver mindfulness as a professional competency within organisations.

Glenda came to teach secular mindfulness practices through her own parenting experiences and her commitment to a philosophy of mindful awareness. She studied with the USA teacher Amy Saltzman in 2010 and has continually pursued professional development throughout her teaching career. Trained in ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and CFT (Compassion-Focussed Therapy), Glenda is also a student of Psychology at AUT University. Her level of coaching qualification is that of Trainer Master Coach whereby she supports ANZCAL coaches to use mindfulness in theirs, and their clients’ response to change.

During Glenda’s lengthy career in teaching and one-to-one support, she has trained literally thousands of individuals. She continues to see her work as a privilege and receives consistently excellent feedback.

• Attaining a manageable but highly effective meditation habit
• Science-based trainings for mental wellbeing
• Mindfulness for Neuro-divergence

 

Conscious growth, within your mindfulness practice and as an individual?
Take this next step with Glenda.

Kovido has been teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programmes since 1996. He is a certified teacher and coach with Mindfulness Works whose courses he has taught for 10 years. He is co-facilitator of the Dunedin Men’s group and is a Hakomi Graduate.

Although his training is primarily Buddhist he is very eclectic, drawing on the wisdom of many different traditions and contemporary teachers including Rumi, Osho, Ajahn Chah, Ram Dass, Jeff Foster and Thich Naht Hanh. Probably his greatest teachers have been his two foster children, Mason and Savannah, who could take him from love, joy, delight to rage and frustration and despair on a daily basis.

For many, many years, Kovido tried to get enlightened, improve himself, get better at meditation but constantly failed. Gradually his focus has changed to more self-acceptance, trusting his own intuition and being with life as it is on this wonder-full and mysterious journey as a human being.

Recently he walked the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route in Northern Spain, which has greatly affected his attitude to meditation practice and life.

• One on one sessions in person, online and in nature
• Particularly good at working with people who have problems with meditation and think that they can’t meditate
• Developing Well-being and Self acceptance
• People who are going through major transitions in their life
• People who want to live life fully

Wimal (Wim) Wickramasuriya was born into an Eastern Buddhist culture in Sri Lanka and moved to New Zealand as a teenager to begin a life of Western culture at Gisborne Boys High in the east coast of the North Island. The cultural difference has made the blend of East meeting the West a cognitive experience as he progressed through life within the engineering field, real estate selling and owning a business. So much was misunderstood and miscommunicated along the way. Difficult work life, family life & health issues prevailed. The innate being was constantly challenged. Teachers appeared, practice became ritual and Wimal was drawn into Mindfulness as a rich basis to live life fully and be more “in-tune” with himself and others. Attending to life with more self compassion and gentleness…. to develop a greater sense of awareness and manage stressful and anxious situations using mindfulness as a tool.

• Mindfulness and youth
• Meditation teaching
• Positive psychology and mindset

Susan is a passionate mindfulness facilitator and coach. She offers a stimulating approach to bring mindfulness to life and accessible to people ready for change.

Mindfulness has been central to Susan’s approach to life over the past four years — reconnecting with her interest in meditation and personal growth while navigating great change. Experiencing the impact of mindfulness first-hand Susan wanted to bring this forth for others, clearly seeing the powerful application for both personal and business growth.

Susan is the Founder of Mindful People, a company focussed on optimising individual and organisational effectiveness using mindfulness approaches. Her corporate, entrepreneurial and personal experience positions her well to inspire and support leaders, small business owners and business start-ups in navigating growth and change. She also works with individuals navigating or wanting change in their lives, offering a range of courses including the 8-week MBSR programme, the most globally recognised, evidence-based mindfulness programme.

Her extensive background spans 25+ years in roles including training, human resources, senior leadership, organisational development, teaching and business start-ups. She has a Human Resources degree and Teaching degree (UK) and is currently completing a Diploma in Psychology. Susan is a Professional Member of the Human Resources Institute of New Zealand (HRINZ) and is a Chartered Member of Personnel & Development (CIPD, UK).

Susan is a trained meditation and mindfulness teacher. She has completed Level 1 Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher training through Mindfulness Training Institute – Australia-New Zealand. Susan teaches from her own experience, gained through her own daily practice and regular attendance at seven-day silent retreats.

Susan moved to Napier eight years ago from Auckland. Originally from the UK, Susan now thrives on life in the sunny Hawkes Bay along with her husband and twins.

• Mindfulness and Self-Compassion training
• Mindful Movement for self-regulation
• Compassionate Inquiry

Chani is a certified mindfulness teacher with Mindfulness Works. She has had a dedicated meditation practice, undertaking annual personal retreats for over 17 years, and has been teaching mindfulness classes, workshops and retreats in both New Zealand and Australia since 2012.

Chani works as a Feldenkrais Practitioner and Embodiment Trainer and is passionate about helping people connect with the intelligence of their bodies as the foundation of our practice. She has particular experience and skill in offering trauma-informed mindfulness practice, and is the creator of The Embodiment Journey; a 5-month embodiment training program.

She lives in Nelson with her partner and their young daughter, walking the awesome, challenging and deeply satisfying path of integrating inner growth with parenthood and the nitty gritty of everyday life. She supports participants to connect with their inspiration, trust their own experience, and use their practice to contribute to a healthier, happier, saner world.

• Trauma-informed somatic practice
• Mindful teams and organisational wellbeing
• Insight meditation training, and mindfulness for families.

Lucy’s philosophy of mind-body work has evolved over years of education and practice. Beginning with a bachelor of health science, she is a qualified acupuncturist and traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, tai chi instructor and certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher.

More recently she has completed postgraduate studies in Contemplative Psychotherapy and ACT therapy.

Lucy has been practising Taijiquan – internal martial arts since 1987 and insight meditation since 1995, which has awakened a passion for mind-body interventions as a holistic approach to health and well-being.

She started Wholistic Health Works in 1997, enjoys working with people in the community and offering mindfulness-based interventions for individuals and groups. Lucy’s favourite slogan is ‘choose to stay curious’.

• Mindfulness and Self-Compassion training
• Mindful Movement for self-regulation
• Compassionate Inquiry

Kate has a love for practising and teaching mindfulness. She has her home in rural North Canterbury. Her passion is to offer professionally led, science-based mindfulness workshops, retreats and courses to groups and workplaces in the area and has been doing so as Mindfulness North Canterbury for over a decade.

Mindfulness is a fundamental part of Kate’s life. She has a daily meditation and yoga practice, attends regular meditation and mindful living retreats and has done years of personal development work with mindfulness therapists. It is a value of hers not to teach anything that she is not willing to experience herself, allowing her to teach with authenticity and compassion.

Kate is a Registered Mindfulness Teacher with MTIANZ and is trained to teach the worldwide evidence base course Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), she is also extensively trained in trauma sensitive mindfulness and mindful self-compassion.

• Individualising mindfulness for chronic pain, neurotype and each persons’ life, body and circumstances.
• Mindfulness and self-compassion for health and caring professionals.
• Mindfulness for trauma recovery
• Mindful movement for self regulation
• Nature based mindfulness

John Fletcher is a qualified mindfulness educator who brings over two decades of extensive experience in the realm of mindfulness across diverse environments. John is a Certified Mindfulness Works Teacher and has delivered Mindfulness Works courses to hundreds of people in the Tauranga region since 2016.

John first experienced the benefits of mindfulness when he attended a 2001 Mindfulness-based pain management programme in Manchester (UK) for chronic back pain. Inspired by the immediate benefits he experienced, he trained and became accredited to provide the Breathworks mindfulness programme and has run these programmes in the UK and NZ for groups and individuals with chronic pain conditions.

John has also contributed to the establishment and success of the Pause, Breathe, Smile Programme within schools in New Zealand. He has introduced mindfulness practices in Primary and Intermediate schools across the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions. Notably, his approach encompasses a comprehensive “whole-of-school” strategy, tailored to instil mindfulness principles among students, educators, and parents within the school ecosystem.

A seasoned Clinical Supervisor and Coach, John integrates mindfulness-based methodologies into his work with various Bay of Plenty organisations. He spearheads a holistic approach to health and wellbeing, with a particular emphasis on areas such as workforce development, chronic pain and children’s and young people.
John’s expertise is widely recognised, having collaborated with a diverse range of entities including: Kindergarten Head Teachers, NZ Massage Therapists, NZ Clinical Advisory Pharmacists Association, Te Oho Mai Polytechnic, LINC support Services, Tauranga Vets, AQ2 (a Perth based water management consultancy), Port Blakely (Forestry Management), AB Equipment (Material Handling equipment supplier).

His extensive professional journey includes holding senior positions within Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the Disability, Community Development, and Children’s Services Development sectors, in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

John currently works as part of the team at Health Quarters which is a multidisciplinary health and well-being space in Tauranga, Bay of Plenty NZ. Being able to integrate mindfulness with other pillars of health: exercise, nutrition, mindset and recovery, enables the growth of a powerful community of support for members.

Beyond his professional commitments, John actively contributes to his community by serving as a Board Member for the Merivale Community Centre and the Taoist Tai Chi Society of New Zealand. Based in Tauranga, New Zealand, he enjoys tramping (the wilder and more remote the better), playing the piano, reading science fiction and practising Taoist Tai Chi – a moving meditation.

• Mindfulness in everyday life – practical tools
• Mindfulness based pain management
• Communities of practice – building supportive communities with well-being at their heart