Meditation for Misfits
Make transforming young lives your day job
Train to support young people’s mental health on the Connected Kids Professional Course, with Trainer Alice Chinn. Become a certified professional kids & teens meditation teacher and create a powerful ripple effect in your community.
Does this sound like you?
• You want to do meaningful, heart-led work with the kids and teens in your community.
• You’ve overcome your own struggles with mental health and would love to help young folk do the same.
• You’d love to specialise in supporting neurodiverse young folk (like those with ADHD/SEN/Autism/dyslexia) and the special way they shine in this world.
• You dream of making supporting the emotional well-being of young folk your day job.
What if things could be different?
How amazing would it be if we could transform young folks' emotional well-being by empowering them with life-saving meditation and mindfulness?
We are talking about setting young people up with life-long self-care mindful practices that will support the mental health of the most sensitive or neurodivergent amongst us. But let’s call these mindful superpowers because we need to meet kids where they are at, which is full-on playful and creative ;)
Wouldn't it be fabulous if we could teach them meditation in a way that is bespoke, heart-centred and child-led?
A methodology that provides each child with a mindful toolkit that will help them on the path to less stress, anxiety, and low self-esteem, and more calm, self-acceptance, emotional stability and joy. A holistic approach that has at its heart supporting young people to thrive and embrace their truest versions.
Wouldn’t it be incredible if you could make empowering young people with mindful superpowers your day job and make a viable business out of it?
Pragmatic and comprehensive training support, where you will feel fully ready and prepared to take your services out into your community and create powerful ripple effects, whilst also getting paid good money for it.
How amazing would it be if your own mental health struggles could be used as a strength?
Where you are supported to channel your life experience into becoming an expert who knows intuitively how to support young people with similar struggles. Oh how you can empathise with them, because you’ve been through it all yourself!
How wonderful would it be to have access to a community of like-minded adults that provide continued support you grow your heart-led business?
A place where you can feel mutually lifted up by others who are in the same boat. A private online community that will support you with your questions and struggles, and inspire you with their meditating-with-kids triumphs.
If this resonates for you....
I invite you to trust your gut and read on.
Because it IS possible to make empowering young people with mindful superpowers your day job! And this day job can be joyful, meaningful, life-affirming AND financially viable.
A course that uses a heart-led, holistic approach, placing at its centre your own personal journey as the motor behind empowering young people to overcome their own mental health struggles so they can shine and thrive.
I'm doing a wee happy dance as I tell you more about
THE CONNECTED KIDS PROFESSIONAL COURSE
Running for 20 years, the Connected Kids Professional Course is a pioneering, award-winning, international programme. When you train with us you come out the other side as a certified kids & teens meditation teacher.
On this course, you’ll learn how to empower young people to reduce stress and anxiety through meditation and mindfulness, so they can thrive and embrace their truest versions. Integral to the course is supporting you to turn this qualification into a viable, successful business, so you can create a powerful ripple effect in your community, whilst also earning a living from it. Once qualified, you are set up to offer anything from 1-2-1 sessions with families to working with schools and youth groups in your community, and everything in between.
At Connected Kids, we advocate and embody a heart-led, inclusive approach that welcomes all kids, including those who are neurodiverse. We are committed to ensuring you feel confident and prepared to teach kids with additional needs such as ADHD, autism, or dyslexia. In addition, as a queer lesbian, I also specialise in helping you tailor your services to best support the mental health of LGBTQI+ young folk.
By introducing our young folk to meditation and mindfulness
we support them to feel:
less stress and anxiety
better focus and concentration
improved sleep
increased self-esteem
inner stability and peace
emotional literacy and self-regulation
When meditation and mindfulness become regular healthy habits, this is the really juicy stuff that kids can start to enjoy:
Learning to accept who they are and feel comfortable in their own skin
Resilience to surf life’s challenges and those big uncomfortable emotions
Thriving and embracing their truest version
Feeling connected, inspired, and a sense of belonging
Kindness and compassion
Learning to respond rather than react
What you'll learn:
How stress affects the mind, body and emotions, and how meditation helps reduce stress
Your own personal 'mindful toolkit' so you can self-regulate and feel less stress and more stability and calm
Explore the importance of grounding techniques in meditation
How to create unique, bespoke FUN meditations and mindful tools
and apply these to accommodate different abilities/needs in children/teens
Learn a methodology that is intuitive, bespoke, heart-centred and child-led. No ‘one size fits all’ at Connected Kids!
Understand the energy centres and the role they play when teaching meditation
Understand how to specialise with children and families who have ADHD, autism, trauma or other additional support needs
Develop a professional ‘mindful toolkit’ to help structure bespoke sessions (e.g. mandalas, mudras, crystals/stones, colour, senses)
Understand how to help young people process strong reactions to meditation, and learn tips for teaching those who don’t want to learn meditation
Explore techniques to boost self-confidence when delivering meditations to kids/teens
Learn how to professionally set up a meditation environment (online and in-person) suitable for children, both for 1-2-1 and groups
Mentoring and support to market and promote your practice in your community
Note: You may also leave the course with a newfound respect for Unicorns
As Scotland’s national animal (google it if you don’t believe me), I LOVE using Unicorns as a powerful metaphor for the inner superpowers we can access thanks to meditation and mindfulness!
Where you can apply this training
Schools & colleges
Working 1-2-1 with kids, teens and their families
Charities, associations & local youth groups
Privately to set up your own teaching kids programme
As part of your current profession (teachers, learning assistants, therapists, yoga teachers etc.)
Online, in-person, or a combination
Here’s what you’ll get when you buy:
3 full days of training - 45 CPD points
Comprehensive training manual
Continuous online support of in-class exercises
Mentoring to set up your own heart-led, successful business
Lifelong membership of our international online community where we share and learn
A copy of Lorraine E Murray’s Connected Kids book (teaching meditation to kids with special needs)
Come and join our international community of thousands of successful kids' meditation teachers and start doing that meaningful job that I know you’ve always dreamt of doing. I trained on the Connected Kids Professional course in 2019 and now run my own heart-led business called Meditation for Misfits. Here’s some feedback from the inspiring kids and teens I’ve had the pleasure and honour of working alongside since I got my qualification:
Some amazing things my kids have said
"I feel relaxed and excited to use my new magical powers to help me concentrate and feel safer."
Nina, 9
“When you guided us to release all the heavy and uncomfortable emotions into the ground, I imagined many hands helping me do so. Now I feel calm and light.”
Roser, 11
”Meditation with Alice has helped me see that stress doesn’t define me. It’s given me simple and effective tools that leave me feeling calm, content and happy.”
Hugo, 15
“I feel at peace with the world and really grateful. I'm not frustrated or annoyed anymore.”
Lucas, 8
“Alice gave me tools that helped overcome my struggles and feel inner peace. I’m learning to be guided by my own inner voice and appreciate how far I've come.”
May, 14
Courses are available in-person in Sant Cugat, Barcelona, Spain and Fife, Scotland
Sign up now from 1397€*
*payment plans available
“This course impacted me deeply. I hadn’t thought through how the ‘teaching’ might present itself and I was surprised by how personal the journey was into my own energy and meditation practice.
Parts were difficult, parts were fun, parts were healing, parts were grounding….Alice was amazing – the Scottish/Spanish combo works – mixed with her evident passion. The course definitely stirred my energy up - I haven’t felt the emotional apple in my throat for some years. I’m proud of myself and so excited to take this journey forward…”
— Oliver, England
"The Professional course with Alice was informative, enjoyable and also a personal-reflective experience. I liked the invitation to practice and experience the guided meditations personally first, to help us to align and ground ourselves energetically, so we can be fully focused on the client and serving their needs. Alice held a safe, warm and inviting space to delve deep into our internal experience and then feel confident to share our reflections and begin to guide our own meditations. Alice challenged us warmly and gave constructive feedback which helped me to feel confident as I continue my future studies and further professional development. Thank you for the wonderful experience Alice!"
— Amy, Spain
Your Connected Kids Trainer: Alice Chinn
This course will be delivered by me, Alice Chinn, certified meditation teacher, Connected Kids™ trainer, and founder of Meditation for Misfits. I’m all about supporting young people to go from surviving to thriving. I specialise in providing kids with mindful tools to support their mental health, especially those who don’t fit in!
Over the past 6 years, I've worked with young people facing struggles such as stress, anxiety, sleep problems, depression, low self-esteem. A lot of my young clients are neurodiverse.
Together we explore meditation as an invaluable tool to help self-regulate, process emotions, relax deeply and calm the mind. When co-creating ‘mindful toolkits’ with my clients, I draw on my own personal experience of overcoming chronic anxiety, insomnia and depression and create a safe, inclusive environment for kids and teens to thrive. As a Connected Kids™ trainer, I also train parents, carers and professionals how to meditate with kids.
I’ve seen time and time again how meditation acts as a bridge that connects individuals to their unique inner superpowers, fostering resilience, connection, and autonomy. You can access my tailored services for kids, teens, and adults in Scotland, Spain, and online.
I present my own radio show Meditation for Misfits on community radio KindaSound, I’ve been interviewed by Connected Kids™ founder Lorraine Murray, and you can download my signature 'I don't fit in' meditation for free here. With a Psychology degree and experience in arts project management and as a (very alternative) English teacher, I bring a diverse skill set to my work.
I grew up wild and free in Scotland, but my adventurous spirit led me to put down roots in foreign lands as an adult. I’m currently based in a wee town near Barcelona. I’m most commonly found adventuring (barefoot) in nature ;)
Not sure if this course is right for you?
FAQs
I’d love to do this course but am held back by self-doubt and / or imposter syndrome.
I was too before I took the course, so I understand what it feels like to think you aren’t up for the challenge. When I first qualified as a kids meditation teacher I was terrified to start teaching. I had crippling imposter syndrome. Despite this, I knew it had to be done. I knew this was the meaningful work I’d been searching for. So I felt scared and I did it anyway. If I can do it, you can do it!
How long does it take to get certified?
After attending the 3 days of training, you have 12 months to complete the practical assessment work, designed to build your confidence and mentor you through your teaching practice. The turnaround for correcting coursework is 2-3 months.
How am I assessed?
10 case studies (5 x group and 5 x 1-2-1 sessions)
1 x audio/video recording of delivering a meditation to children
a teaching meditation business essay – to give you the confidence to set up a professional practice
police/PVG check*
completion of a written test
*PVG/criminal record checks; we require a copy of a basic disclosure/police check (or equivalent in your country) to confirm that you have a clear history with no criminal charges at the time your disclosure/police certificate was issued (certificate date must be valid within 18 months of the Connected Kids training).
Do I need meditation experience to do this course?
While it would be great if you had a bit of meditation experience, there is no pre-requisite to the course. To support our trainee meditation teachers, we automatically include the Foundation course modules as a bonus designed to support your meditation skills - especially if you are new to meditation :)
I’ve got extensive meditation experience, will I get bored?
Absolutely not. Meditating with kids is a whole different world, so much so that it often requires us to wake up and employ different parts of our brains. My advice would be to come to this course open and curious, ready to step out of your comfort zone and be teachable - above all from the young folk in your life. This course is also bespoke so I will adapt it to the needs and experience of each group.
How is the course accredited?
Connected Kids submitted our syllabus, training outline, course materials and assessment process to IMMA, BCMA and IICT so they could review and approve our course. This allows our members to secure teaching meditation practice insurance (and membership of these organisations) - we are accredited as approved training providers.
© Copyright 2024 Alice Chinn