SIY Organizational Teacher Certification FAQs

Adaptive Resilience is now approved by the International Coaching Federation. Coaches receive 4.5 Continuing Coaching Education credits when attending. Letters are available to anyone with confirmed program attendance, by request. After attending a program, simply send an email to siypublic@siyli.org stating your name, date and location of the program, and requesting a “letter of completion for coaching credits.”

In order to get the most out of the program and ensure a supportive program for everyone, we request that each participant:

• Attend all live sessions (if you know in advance that you will have to miss one session, please just let us know)
• Unplug from other devices and give your full attention during live class time
• Respect the confidentiality of other participants

The program will be conducted using an online video call platform, so in order to participate you must have the following available to you:

• A private computer with internet access. The program is designed for each person to connect from their own device so that you can participate in breakout sessions
• At least a 2G internet connection
• A camera so that you are able to use video call functions (not required, but strongly recommended)
• A location where you can use video and can comfortably speak with others over the computer (as such, a coffee shop or shared work room are not ideal)

We will be hosting this online session through Zoom, so to join live you’ll need an internet connection and be able to use Zoom.

To get the most out of the session, we also recommend that you unplug from other devices and choose a location that’s relatively free from distractions.

We aim to identify and cultivate truly outstanding SIY teachers who are driven to establish SIY as a valued program within their respective networks and markets. As a program that has won the trust of individuals and organizations around the world, we take seriously our responsibility to certify teachers we believe can represent SIYLI with the integrity and embodied presence required to honor that trust.

We anticipate that we will only very rarely ask a participant to leave the SIY Teacher Training program–and in fact hope that we’ll never have to do so. If a participant is asked to leave the program, however, we will offer a refund based on the following schedule:

Prior to Module 1 – SIYLI will refund 75% of your paid tuition.

After Module 1 – SIYLI will refund 50% of your paid tuition.

After Module 2 – SIYLI will refund 25% of your paid tuition.

Yes, SIYLI is able to offer partial scholarships. Scholarship is awarded on a first-come first-serve basis, so we invite you to apply by June 30th for greater opportunity to be considered for one.

Our capacity to provide them has increased recently, and we’re now able to offer more than usual. If a scholarship would be helpful to you then be sure to complete the scholarship request section of the application (it’s the final section).

We kindly request, if you are able to pay the full tuition, that you do not apply for scholarship. While we have more to offer now, we’re still limited in total scholarship available, and we’d like to direct it to those who have the greatest need.

Please know that we cannot guarantee that everyone who applies for aid will receive it.

At this time we’re unable to offer scholarships. Depending on the number of registrants, we may be able to offer partial scholarships later in the spring. If so, this will be announced in April. Any scholarships offered would only be available to those who demonstrate a clear need for financial assistance in order to attend the Engage program, and applicants may be asked to provide proof of income. Preference will be given to those who have a clear plan of how they will use this teaching in the world. Please note that we cannot offer both the early bird discount and a partial scholarship; they are mutually exclusive.  Therefore, to receive the early bird discount, you must be one of the first forty people to apply, get accepted and pay for your space in the program.

Yes!  SIYLI offers a limited number of scholarships to each of our programs. To apply, please complete this form.

This program is specifically designed for people who have already attended the core SIY program and will build on specific skills learned during SIY.  We highly recommend you first attend one of our Search Inside Yourself programs around the world.

No, we require you to complete all the modules 1-6 with your cohort. Once you have begun Teacher Training, we do not allow participants to change cohorts and complete any of the modules with a different cohort.

Yes, it is mandatory to complete modules 1-5 before you can submit your materials to the certification committee in Module 6. This means you are required to attend all of the in-person session days.

Yes, co-teaching your practicum is required. However we do approve exceptions on a case by case basis when co-teaching is not feasible (e.g. someone is the only Teacher Training participant or Certified Teacher in their region, language constraints, etc.)

Please feel free to contact us at teach@siyli.org

Yes!  In addition to our programs for individuals, all of our offerings are also available as internal programs for organizations.  You can learn more about our in-company programming here.

No, SIYLI is rarely able to provide full scholarships to programs.  Offering partial scholarships enables us to offer scholarships to a greater number of applicants. That said, if you are unable to financially contribute towards the program fee, please share that in your application.

Yes!  SIYLI works with a wide-range of partner organizations around the world to increase our impact.  You can learn more about how we work with partners – and if your organization is a good fit – here.

SIYLI ofrece un número limitado de becas en cada programa. Para solicitar una beca, por favor cumplimenta este formulario: https://www.tfaforms.com/431872.

Safety and health are of the utmost importance to us and are crucial considerations when planning our in-person programs. We recognize that many participants are both excited by and concerned about in-person events given our current global situation.

For all of our in-person programs, we will be adhering to local guidelines given that the situation in each location is unique and ever-changing.  While we wish we could share exactly what our protocols will be, we won’t know in full detail until a few weeks before the program starts. This gives us the flexibility to ensure our programs and choices are aligned with the most up-to-date local guidelines, policies and protocols.

You will receive an email 3-4 weeks before your in-person program outlining what to expect with regards to the COVID-19 precautions we will be taking and what we will be asking you to do to help us create a safe event. You will also receive information in that email about how to follow-up with us if you are not comfortable attending given the COVID-19 guidelines and numbers.

In the unfortunate case the program needs to be cancelled due to COVID-19, we will provide you a full refund for your ticket.

We appreciate your patience and understanding in advance and look forward to gathering with you safely in person again!

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please reach out to siypublic@siyli.org.

• We’ve created a “convince your boss letter” in order to appeal to your organization to receive funding.  You can access the Convince Your Boss document here and download the Engage brochure here.
• Other ways in which people have received funding are by setting up a go-fund-me account or using other crowd-sourcing options.

This toolkit contains resources to support people to make the case to stakeholders and includes:

• A detailed collection of helpful resources and suggestions to build support within your organization, including the results of our program as well as the full Impact Report which outlines the various benefits of the SIY program.
• A slide template to propose SIY and the Organizational Teacher Certification for your organization.
• A short overview to share with colleagues and stakeholders.

Participants have the option to attend in-person at the Project Chironas Venue or virtually via Zoom. For those who are in-person, we are working directly with our on-the-ground partner to ensure that all local safety protocols are in place. Your safety is our top priority.

There is no set time, but the SIY Advanced Series was designed for SIY alumni who have had a chance to explore integrating the practices into their life.  The program is not meant to be taken right after SIY.  If you do choose to take them together, some of the exercises in SIY Advanced Series might feel redundant or may not be applicable since they were designed for people have had a chance to explore applying the practices between SIY and the Advanced Series program.

During practice sessions, we will ask that you teach segments of the SIY program in English. We may also ask you to teach short segments in your own language, which sometimes gives us a better feel for how you hold the room, how you embody the material and your facilitation skills. Occasionally we may ask existing certified teachers who speak your language to also review your materials and provide SIYLI with their feedback. The combination of the proceeding, along with program assignments, provides us with enough data to make an assessment of those participants for whom English is their second language.

For certification, we require that all materials be submitted in English. This includes written statements, but most crucially, recordings of you practice teaching SIY in English in front of an audience. We understand that you may only want to be certified to teach SIY in your native language (i.e. not English). The entire Teacher Training journey is taught in English and the best way for us to assess your knowledge of the materials is by seeing you teach it in English. It is for these reasons that we require all your Module 6 materials submitted to the certification panel to be in English.

The OTC program is specifically for employees of organizations to teach SIY exclusively within their company where they are employed.  People who are employees but want to teach outside of their company, or people who are self-employed consultants, coaches, or freelancers, are not able to participate in this training.

At this time we are not offering our original Teacher Training program for individuals/consultants to share SIY with their clients, or others outside of their organization.  If you want to receive notifications about this program, please sign up here to receive future updates.

Check out our public program calendar to see all upcoming SIY programs (online and in-person). To receive 10% off the SIY Program registration, enter promo code OTC2021 on the registration page.

No, scholarships are not transferable between programs.  We evaluate applicants to each program based on the pool of applicants to that program. You are more than welcome to submit a new scholarship application for a different program, but receiving a scholarship to one program does not guarantee that you will receive it to a different program.

When you receive a scholarship to a program, you are guaranteed the funds to that specific program, but not a seat.  All of our events – both in-person and online –  have a participant cap to support the program experience that cannot be changed.  Occasionally after sending out scholarship letters a program will sell out. Given that, we recommend you purchase your ticket as soon as possible after you receive your scholarship award email.  If your program sold out, you may reapply to a different program.

Yes. Please have everyone apply for a scholarship separately and mention in your application why you believe attending together is important.  If you have more than 10 people from your organization who would like to attend and need scholarships, please email siypublic@siyli.org to discuss the possibility of a group scholarship.

Given the demand for scholarships to programs, it is possible that not all members of your group will receive one.

Much of our SIY content has already been translated into various languages and more is being translated as opportunities arise. Materials are available in: Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (both Brazilian and EU), Spanish (both Mexican and EU), and Thai, with translations coming soon in Vietnamese, Romanian, Serbian, and Turkish.

SIYLI’s aim is to create the structure and processes that enable teachers and partners to generate translated content. In some cases, SIYLI will take a more active role in translation. SIYLI’s involvement will scale up or down based on a number of factors such as: staff capacity, market demand, and market opportunity.

If SIYLI does not already have content in the language in which you wish to teach, we will help guide and provide you the tools to help you with the translation of that content.

No. You will need to register for all sessions you wish to attend.

No, you will need to register for each webinar in the speaker series individually.  To the other offerings, click here.

If the Certification Panel determines that you are not ready to be certified they will provide you with:

• An explanation as to why, including what criteria you did not meet.
• What they require you to demonstrate to them in order to become certified.
• Specific guidance and recommendations to help you understand what you can do to improve.

If you do not receive certification you have the opportunity to repeat Module 6 (i.e. re-submit your materials to the Certification Panel) in three month’s time. The certification panel meets quarterly. This will give you time to continue practicing and improving as a teacher.

The cost to repeat Module 6 is $500 USD. You may repeat Module 6 once. If you do not receive your certification after the second attempt, and you wish to continue being considered for certification, you will need to repeat Module 4 (the 2nd in-person training session where we focus on practice teaching). The cost to repeat Module 4 is $1,500 USD. Once you have repeated Module 4, you may once again pay $500 to repeat Module 6 and be considered for certification. If you are not certified, you may repeat Module 6 one last time, again at a cost of $500 USD. This is the final opportunity to apply to receive certification. No other recourse is available after this.

Check out our Community Toolkit to help you support your workplace and community (and of course yourself :)) which includes resources to:

• Lead Group Practice Sessions: A set of guided meditations and prompts by topic, and a suggested agenda, so you can offer 30-minute group meditations to cultivate greater resilience and emotional intelligence.
  • Suggested meditations and prompts
  • Sample agenda for virtual meditations session
• Spread Compassion: A workbook to learn about the benefits, practice, and explore ways to spread compassion throughout your community, as an antidote to empathic distress and a way to meet the suffering occurring in ourselves and our world.
• Resource Yourself: Tips to support yourself as you support others.

Yes, please find the list of SIY Certified Teachers here.

If you haven’t yet heard from us, you will soon!  We typically send out an email to let you know if you did or did not receive a scholarship about three weeks before in-person programs start and one week before online programs.

If you still have questions, please mail siypublic@siyli.org.

The SIY program represents sixteen hours of content and exercises. The time required to learn this content is substantial. The amount of practice required to then bring the content and experience to life for participants is also substantial. Even our most experienced Certified Teachers tell us each time they co-teach SIY they learn something new, make new connections to the material, and understand different ways of explaining particular points in an effort to help it land with diverse audiences. In addition, have two teachers and two perspectives provides the best participant experience of the program.

Because of this, and in order to better support our Certified Teachers to deliver an impactful SIY program, we HIGHLY recommend that Certified Teachers co-teach SIY, but it is not required for client or pro bono programs. Co-teaching is required for SIY Public Programs.

Un programa público consta de un entrenamiento presencial interactivo de dos días, seguido de cuatro semanas de prácticas recomendadas, con objeto de sostener e integrar el aprendizaje, desarrollando el crecimiento desde el interior. El programa incluye sesiones de mindfulness (la ciencia de estar presente), autoconocimiento (comprender los propios pensamientos, emociones y hábitos), autogestión (gestionar con destreza los propios impulsos y reacciones), motivación (alinear valores y trabajo), empatía (comprender las emociones y experiencias de los demás) y liderazgo (influir con empatía).

Las personas se apuntan a Search Inside Yourself por muchos motivos, incluyendo el propio desarrollo personal, o la evaluación del programa antes de traerlo a su empresa.

Consultores, coaches y terapeutas también se apuntan a SIY para evaluar la posibilidad de adoptar estos principios en su propio trabajo. Algunos participantes son nuevos en la práctica de mindfulness y meditación, mientras que otros tienen una larga experiencia.

Search Inside Yourself ha sido aprobado por la International Coaching Federation. Los coaches que asisten a un programa SIY reciben 12,33 créditos de Continuing Coaching Education. Se puede obtener un certificado de finalización una vez realizado el programa. Para ello basta con enviar un email a siypublic@siyli.org indicando tu nombre, fecha y lugar del programa, y solicitando un “certificado de finalización para créditos de coaching”.

Search Inside Yourself is now approved by the International Coaching Federation. Coaches receive 13.5 Continuing Coaching Education credits when attending SIY! Letters are available to anyone with confirmed program attendance, by request. After attending a program, simply send an email to siypublic@siyli.org stating your name, date and location of the program, and requesting a “letter of completion for coaching credits.”

Cohort 8 – Lisbon, Portugal

• Application deadline: August 5, 2019
• Scholarship is awarded on a first-come first-serve basis, so we invite you to apply by June 30th for greater opportunity to be considered for one.
• Module 1: Program pre-work begins in late August, 2019
• Module 2: First in-person session:  Sunday – Thursday, September 22-26, 2019
• Module 3: Independent Practice to Learn Content: October, 2019 – early March, 2020
• Module 4: Second in-person session: March 11-18, 2020 (multiple 3 day sessions will be offered during this time period)
• Module 5: Independent Practice to Refine your Teaching Skills: April – June, 2020
• Module 6: Certification Panel: June, 2020

The information here is an overview of the business relationship between SIYLI and Certified Teachers. For a comprehensive explanation of all the policies, please see this document.

Participants in the SIY Teacher Training who receive certification may sell and teach SIY to companies, organizations and nonprofits, paying SIYLI a 25% licensing fee per program sold, as well as a $500 annual certification fee. Participation in Teacher Training, however, does not guarantee certification. Please see the FAQ for more information on the certification process.

Please note that SIYLI maintains a geography and currency specific price list with a set minimum price to ensure consistent global pricing. SIYLI also maintains a short list of existing clients and prospects. In an effort to reduce customer confusion SIY Certified Teachers may not solicit or sell to these companies without first contacting SIYLI.

SIY Certified Teachers may also:

• Teach public programs upon approval by SIYLI (this is primarily to minimize competing programs at the same time, in the same city).
• Teach programs that are “by invitation”, meaning teaching SIY to a group of participants that you invite individually, rather than through a public announcement.
• Earn referral income by referring individuals and organizations to SIYLI for client, participant or partnership engagements.
• Attend SIYLI-run Public Programs for free and get discounts for your sales prospects.
• Receive ongoing teacher development and general sales support from SIYLI such as updated SIY program materials, marketing materials, webinars and more.

Also, please take into account:

• Teachers are required to pay an annual certification fee of $500 (though this may be waived if you teach pro bono SIY programs each year). As part of the teacher agreement, SIY Certified Teachers agree to co-teach SIY programs, follow specific brand guidelines, the teacher code of ethics, pricing and commission guidelines, program integrity guidelines and the public program protocol.
• SIY Certified Teachers also agree to use online platforms and other software provided by SIYLI to access content, register participants and otherwise manage the teaching and coordination of SIY programs.
• VERY IMPORTANT – SIYLI is not responsible for passing sales leads to SIY Certified Teachers. Teachers are required to conduct their own marketing and sales outreach. Additionally, receiving certification in the SIY Teacher Training program does not guarantee working as a teacher for SIYLI’s client base.

SIY Certified Teachers will be able to teach the full SIY curriculum to any client organization worldwide. SIY Certified teachers are not able to directly certify or teach other SIY teachers without consent from SIYLI.

Include information about licensing fee, annual certification fee, split, referral fees, etc.

Once a participant successfully completes the program, they will be certified as an SIY Organizational Teacher, meaning that they are allowed to teach SIY only within their organization.

SIY Organizational Teachers can teach (online or in-person) the SIY program, as well as the SIY Keynote, Half-Day, and 1-Day program versions, and SIY’s Adaptive Resilience program. In addition, they may run meditation practice sessions, host mindful lunches, and lead mindful meetings, and other activities to gain interest and support implementation.

SIY Organizational Teachers are not allowed to teach or sell SIY to other organizations, or earn a separate income for this work. The only exception here is that SIY Organizational Teachers can teach SIY pro bono (for free) to small non-profit organizations of fewer than 500 employees, to support additional practice and impact.

At SIYLI, we are working to make mindfulness and emotional intelligence practical and accessible. We recognize that cost is a barrier to participation and are happy to offer scholarships to our programs. Scholarships are awarded based on an individual’s financial resources and their commitment to integrating what they learn at the program into their life.

• The program price covers tuition, materials and access to all online resources and community. For in-person sessions, it covers daily breakfast, lunch and snacks. It does not include dinners, transportation or lodging.
• The program price varies by location because of to currency differences and local costs for expenses, such as the venue and catering.
• Prices for the 2018 program are to be announced. For reference, 2017 prices for the San Francisco program ranged from $6700-$7200 and prices for the Sydney program were $6500.

The tuition to attend SIY Teacher Training is $9,800 USD. This tuition covers all program materials, two 45-minute coaching calls, certification panel time, and venue. It covers lunch, coffee/tea, and snacks during Module 2.

The tuition does not include the costs to attend a 2-day SIY program, which is a prerequisite to participation in Teacher Training. The tuition excludes all travel and accommodations, and all other such expenses. Breakfast, lunch and snacks are not provided during Module 4, though there is a dining option at and nearby the venue.

Please see the SIY Teacher Training Application for a full list of submission requirements.

Each of our programs have a limited number of seats and we typically receive a high volume of applications. As such, we admit qualified candidates on a rolling basis, so we advise you to submit your application early, as we may run out of seats before the application deadline for the cohort you’re applying to. Once you submit your application you should receive a decision from us in two weeks.

Once accepted into the program, you will need to register and confirm your spot through payment of your Teacher Training tuition, which is $10,000 USD. You may either pay in full, make two equal payments one month apart, or make four equal payments each one month apart.

After you are registered we’ll be in regular communication about program specifics.

• Five weeks prior to Session 1, you will receive a prework assignment that consists of reading articles, watching videos, completing a self-assessment, participating in recommended daily practices and following weekly journal prompts. Please budget approximately five hours per week (for a total of 25 hours) to complete this work prior to arriving at Session 1.
• To make the most of the program, come to Session 1 prepared with a couple of ideas about how you would like to apply the program to your life and with whom you would like to share and introduce these mindfulness-based emotional intelligence practices.

• Budget three to five hours weekly to complete various homework assignments, including reading articles/sections of books and watching videos.
• Participate in virtual meetings with your pod and a 12-part webinar series with Engage guest faculty members every two weeks.
• Make time for a daily mindfulness practice (at least 10 minutes, but it may be longer, depending upon your existing practice).
• Share mindfulness-based emotional intelligence practices with your friends and colleagues to practice using the mindfulness-based emotional intelligence applications, tools and resources we provide you, which include:
  • leading mindful meetings to support greater self-awareness and compassion
  • hosting wisdom circles
  • participating in a one-hour presentation about mindfulness-based emotional intelligence practices and benefits
  • and much more.
• Explore how mindfulness-based emotional intelligence applies to your inner life through bi-weekly prompts, journaling and self-assessments.

• There are two five-day in-person sessions.
• Receive content and tools from experts in the fields of emotional intelligence, neuroscience and mindfulness.
• The sessions focus on developing, strengthening and deepening your personal self-awareness practices.
• Receive peer coaching and support.
• The daily schedule is approximately 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. with a few optional evening activities. Breakfast and lunch are provided, as well as mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks.
• See a sample syllabus of the entire Engage experience.
• Review a sample agenda of the in-person sessions.

If you’re unable to attend a program that you’ve registered and paid for, there are a couple of options:

• Transfer to another participant: Tickets are fully transferable to another person at any time. Contact SIYLI to give us the name and email of the attendee in your place.
• Full or partial refund: You are eligible for a full refund (minus Eventbrite processing fees) until three weeks prior to the event. If you cancel between one to three weeks before the program, you can receive a refund less 25%. If you cancel within 1 week of the program you are not eligible for a refund.

Unfortunately, registrations are not transferable between programs and we are unable to provide credit for future programs. Refunds will be issued through Eventbrite and processed within 15 days of notification of cancellation.

Conference Organizer shall not be held responsible for any delay or failure in performance of its obligations hereunder to the extent such delay or failure is caused by fire, flood, strike, civil, governmental or military authority, acts of God, acts of terrorism, acts of war, epidemics, the availability of the Venue or other similar causes beyond its reasonable control and without the fault or negligence of Conference Organizer or its subcontractors.  For one or more of such reasons, Conference Organizer may postpone, reschedule or cancel the event without liability on the part of Conference Organizer. In the event Conference cannot be held or is postponed pursuant to this section, Conference Organizer shall not be liable to attendee for any damages, costs, or losses incurred, such as transportation costs, accommodations costs, or financial losses. Conference Organizer will review refund and/or fee transfer requests, submitted in writing, for approval on a situational basis.

We recognize that there is additional uncertainty for in-person programming in these current times.

If the program is cancelled you will be able to choose between transferring your registration to an upcoming SIY Online program, attending a future in-person program if available, or receiving a full refund.

SIYLI is unable to reimburse you for any costs you may have incurred associated with program attendance, such as accommodation and transport costs.

• Join the thriving community of Engage alumni, sharing resources and experiences, supporting one another to create a more vibrant world.

If you are interested in attending one of SIYLI’s online offerings but this time doesn’t work for you, please check out our full program calendar and sign up to learn when we open up other programs.

It is still possible to self-pay for this training if you are not able to get budget or a sponsor from your company. However, you would still only be able to teach SIY exclusively within your organization. Additionally, you will still need to secure funding for the ongoing fees including co-teaching and licensing once you start teaching SIY within your organization.

We will have some limited financial assistance available and you can indicate this in your application.

If you’re unable to attend a program that you’ve registered and paid for, there are a couple of options:

• Transfer to another participant: Tickets are fully transferable to another person at any time. Contact SIYLI to give us the name and email of the attendee in your place.
• Full or partial refund: You are eligible for a full refund until three weeks prior to the event. If you cancel between one to three weeks before the program, you can receive a refund less a 25% processing fee. If you cancel within 1 week of the program you are not eligible for a refund.

Unfortunately, registrations are not transferable between programs and we are unable to provide credit for future programs. Refunds will be issued through Eventbrite and processed within 15 days of notification of cancellation.

Unfortunately, we cannot issue refunds for this program.

If you’ve bought a ticket and can no longer attend, you are able to transfer the ticket to another person at any time before the program begins. You cannot transfer your ticket after the first session. Contact SIYLI to give us the name and email of the attendee taking your place.

Unfortunately, registrations are not transferable between programs and we are unable to provide credit for future programs.

As per the University of Rotman’s cancellation policy, all cancellations must be received in writing. Cancellations made greater than 45 days of the program start date receive 100% refund minus a $500 administrative fee. Cancellations made between 16-45 calendar days of the program start date are subject to a fee of 50% of the program cost. Cancellations made within 15 calendar days of the program start date are subject to a fee of 100% of the program cost.

Our experience is that selling the SIY Program to companies and organizations from scratch can take between 4 and 6 months, and may involve running an SIY program as a pilot to build and secure interest. Selling the SIY program is like selling any other training program into an L&D or HR department; though the program is very strong, the name and origin at Google does not simply sell itself. The sales time and effort will vary based on your network, awareness of mindfulness in your market/geography and your prior experience selling a program or product of this nature.

This is the reason we stress in the admissions criteria that you reflect on how you plan to reach 100 participants annually. Building your business selling SIY is hard work–just as is building any business–but one we believe is an extremely valuable service to the world.

Once you are certified, you are and can market yourself as an “SIY Certified Teacher.” You are an independent contractor. For more information on this topic visit this FAQ on the “Business of being a SIY Certified Teacher”.

You may cancel at anytime. If you cancel more than 60 days before Module 2 you will receive a full refund of tuition paid minus a $1,000 USD cancellation fee. If you cancel between 30-60 days before Module 2 you will receive a 50% refund of tuition paid. All cancellations fewer than 30 days before Module 2 or at anytime during the program will not be eligible for a refund.

If you need to cancel after you’ve been accepted and made payment for the Engage program, your request must be sent in writing to engage@siyli.org. The cancellation policy is as follows:

• If you cancel your participation in the program two months prior to the program, you will be refunded your payment(s) less a $1,500 cancellation fee.
• If you cancel your participation in the program less than two months prior to the program, there will be no refund issued.

Final certification will be based on: Embodiment, Presentation/Facilitation skills and Mastery of Content.

Embody the Material – While the content is important, students are most impacted by a teacher’s authenticity and depth of personal practice, supporting their ability to connect on open ground about the challenges of being human. A SIY Certified Teacher is not just a “knower of content,” but someone who supports others on their growth paths by listening with kindness, curiosity and openness. Skillful teachers can embody the paradoxes of confidence & humility, attainment & nonattainment, depth & lightness, structure & aliveness, and spark & stillness.

Present and Facilitate Skillfully – SIY Certified Teachers are expected to convey the material in a way that is engaging and authentic, creating an experience that maximizes learning for participants. This includes the ability to lead all practices and meditations included in the program with skill and presence.  They are also skillful at co-teaching, leveraging each other’s strengths and supporting one another in front of the room. Teachers should be well-versed at using stories, examples and humor to ground learning; know how to adjust the program to the audience; manage timing and flow; remain curious and answers questions skillfully, including when not sure of the answer.

Master the Content – A SIY Certified Teacher understands the content included in the SIY curriculum and can explain it with confidence, drawing on examples and connecting it to participants’ real-life/business experiences. Science plays a big role in SIY, providing evidence-based credibility and infusing the program with a spirit of inquiry and curiosity. A SIY Certified Teacher fully understands the science studies included, explains them with confidence and makes relevant connections between science, mindfulness and emotional intelligence. They can also answer tough questions and elaborate on the material presented, going a few levels deeper than what is included in the standard presentations.

A certification committee consisting of senior SIYLI staff and teachers will serve to ensure the proficiency and expertise of all prospective teachers. Direct and actionable feedback will be given to participants after Session 2 and in their two Coaching Calls. A certification review will occur at the end of the program. Once the certification review is complete, you will need to sign the SIY Teacher Agreement in order to be considered certified. Note: completion of the SIY Teacher Training program alone does not guarantee certification.

The trainings are similar in many ways in that they both train you to teach SIY and have the same core curriculum. What differentiates this from our standard Teacher training is that it’s also to learn how to scale and implement SIY and other mindfulness & EI based initiatives in your organization, so there will be a focus on the what and how of doing this throughout the training.

The other key difference is that this program certifies you to teach ONLY within the organization of which you are employed, whereas our standard teacher training certifies people to sell and deliver SIY to any organization.

The OTC program runs from June – December 2021, and will all be run virtually and held online via Zoom.

• Location: Online via Zoom
• Duration: ~6 Months; June – December 2021
• Pre-work starting in June
• 3 live online sessions
  • Session 1: July 12-15 (4 days)
  • Session 2: September 20-22 (3 days)
  • Session 3: December 6-10 (5 days)
    • Timing: 7am-12pm Pacific / 10-3pm Eastern/ 2-7pm UTC
• Between-session fieldwork: individual work and small group meetings

When you are securing budget, you will need to plan for both the OTC program tuition (for 2021 budget), and then for ongoing licensing and co-teaching fees once you start teaching (for 2022 and beyond budget).

OTC Program Tuition  (one-time fee)

• Early bird: $10,000 USD per person (or if more than one person from the same org)
• Regular: $12,000 USD

Licensing & Co-Teaching (ongoing fees)

• Co-teaching: $10,000 per program (but no additional licensing fee for these programs)
  • Participants must co-teach 2x with experienced teachers
• Licensing:
  • SIY program & SIY Half-day program: $150 USD per person capped at $5,000 USD per program
  • Adaptive Resilience program: $95 per person, capped at $3,500 USD per program.
  • Keynotes, practice groups, and info sessions: no fee

All of our SIY Teacher Training programs are taught in English. All of the materials for SIY Teacher Training program are in English.

We’re looking for candidates with a high level of English language proficiency to help us bring SIY to more regions throughout the world. While the SIY Teacher Training program is taught in English and all of the program’s instruction materials are in English, the SIY program itself (the slide presentation) has been translated into a handful of additional languages. We’re looking for Teacher Training applicants who have a desire to translate SIY into their local language and help us to make it more widely available in local regions.

There are two required prerequisites to attend Teacher Training:

1) Participate in a 2-day SIY program prior to attending Teacher Training. This ensures all participants have experienced the SIY program and have the common foundational experience needed to learn how to teach it.

If you are applying to Teacher Training and have not attended the 2-day SIY, you may sign-up for any one of our international Public Programs. Please remember that you must attend SIY before attending the first teacher training in-person session (this is module 2 in the Teacher Training journey). Note that only the 2-day SIY Program counts toward this prerequisite. The 1-day program does not count towards this requirement.

When completing your application, you’ll be asked to state which program you have attended or are planning to attend prior to Teacher Training.

2) Attend at least one 5-consecutive-day silent meditation retreat of your choosing prior to certification. While you may start Teacher Training if you have not yet attended a retreat, you may not apply for certification until you have fulfilled this requirement.

You need to be a current employee of an organization who intends to teach only to your peers in your company.

You also need to have taken SIY (in-person or online) prior to the start of training (but you don’t need to take it before applying). Note that only the full SIY Program counts toward this prerequisite (e.g. not other SIY programs or offerings such as a keynote, webinar, Start Searching, Adaptive Resilience, etc). When completing your application, you’ll be asked to state which program you have attended or are planning to attend prior to the training.

SIY is an interactive two-day, in-person training, followed by four weeks of recommended peer-to-peer practices to sustain and integrate learning and self-directed growth from the inside out. The program includes sessions on mindfulness (the science of being present), self-awareness (understanding your thoughts, emotions and habits), self-management (skillfully managing your impulses and reactions), motivation (aligning your values and work), empathy (understanding others’ feelings and experiences) and leadership (influencing with compassion).

All of SIYLI’s programs, both in person and online, bring together emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and neuroscience to teach practical skills to help you succeed in your personal and professional life.  Taught by highly qualified teachers, SIYLI programs are highly interactive and designed to give you tools that you can start using immediately.

Once you are certified, you will be given access to a number of marketing materials, including program flyers, templates for client proposals, contracts, and presentations, a toolkit for running public programs and more. SIY Certified Teachers are welcome to use all SIY branded materials and content following brand guidelines.  You are also invited to participate in a Launch Pod for support your business development (this is highly recommended!). Your Launch Pod group will meet for 8 sessions to cover everything from your vision as an SIY teacher, to finding clients, to making a client pitch, to nurturing client relationships & your own sales resilience.

In addition, all certified SIY teachers will be listed on the SIYLI website, and receive access to the my.siyli.org platform which supports the SIY program experience and program coordination.

• Mindfulness-based emotional intelligence practices help individuals increase well-being, decrease stress and become more resilient. Through mindful communication practices, individuals can improve how they relate and collaborate with one another, the result being more enjoyable and effective teamwork. Individuals are then able to navigate challenges more effectively while staying centered and calm. By sharing this knowledge and these practices within an organization, you will build a wiser and more compassionate culture.
• You will be able to share and lead a wide variety of mindfulness-based practices and explain the science behind them, including:
  •  Co-facilitate wisdom circles, a mindfulness-based group practice that helps sustain and integrate contemplative practices, support problem-solving by leveraging the wisdom of the group, and build a more compassionate team and workplace culture.
  • Introduce a mindful meeting process that will help people to be fully present, build trust and work more effectively together.
  • Navigate difficult conversations successfully with a framework to understand the unstated dialogue, emotions, and motivations.
  • Lead a sitting/meditation group. These groups help to cultivate community and connections while practicing together for greater wellbeing.
  • Facilitate a one-hour presentation that makes a clear, compelling case for bringing mindfulness into your workplace.
  • Learn tools and techniques to be a mindful listener, skillful facilitator, and inspired leader.

• Experience firsthand the benefits of mindfulness-based emotional intelligence, and learn how to share these skills with your friends, team and organization.
• Understand the frameworks and science that support mindfulness and compassion in organizations, including emotional intelligence, neuroscience, leadership and systems thinking.
• Learn specific tools and applications developed to make it easy to introduce mindfulness and begin shifting the dynamics of your interactions at work.
• Deepen your own mindfulness practice with support and accountability from peers.
• Learn firsthand from world-class faculty. (See below for a more details.)
• Gain confidence in your role as a mindful champion through assignments to introduce practical mindfulness-based tools into your world.
• SIY Engage focuses on deep personal growth. Participants especially value the combination of knowledge and tools; how the experience catalyzes personal growth; and the wisdom, heart and support that emerges through building community.

SIY combines cutting edge science with a broad array of mindfulness practices and emotional intelligence models to enable sustainable high performance, leadership effectiveness and personal well-being. SIY teachers-in-training can expect to acquire a depth and breadth of knowledge in the SIY content and methodology through:

• An interdisciplinary approach incorporating the domains of science, leadership and organizational development, psychology and mindfulness.
• A deep dive into the neuroscience of mindfulness, emotion, decision-making and behavior change
• An in-depth review of the core SIY content (including complete packaged presentations) and facilitation frameworks, including time to practice teaching the SIY material and getting feedback to further your learning
• Dedicated time for mindfulness practices to further development your own embodiment of mindfulness and emotional intelligence
• An ongoing community of practice
• A mix of in-person retreats and virtual learning with peers

SIY Teachers will develop mastery of the SIY program content, and deepen their subject matter knowledge in mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and neuroscience. SIY also has a large experiential component, and they’ll also learn how to guide SIY meditations and lead SIY exercises.

SIY Teachers will also learn facilitation skills that support an engaged, attuned, and collaborative environment and experience. We also know that embodiment is essential to being an effective facilitator, and therefore is an integral part of the training- this also allows Organizational Teachers to have an impact in their organization even when they’re not teaching by modeling through their actions and way of being.

This training will also equip you with the what and how of implementing SIY, and mindfulness & emotional intelligence, within your organization, as well as the internal (individual) skills and qualities to navigate this.

After the training, SIY Organizational Teachers will also have opportunities to participate in ongoing teacher development offerings from SIYLI (eg webinars, retreats, series focused on practice/teaching skills), etc.

As a participant in Teacher Training, we will help you build your expertise and skills in three main domains:

1. Master the content – A SIY Certified Teacher understands the content included in the SIY curriculum and can explain it with confidence, drawing on examples and connecting it to participants’ real-life/business experiences. Science plays a big role in SIY, providing evidence-based credibility and embedding the program with a spirit of inquiry and curiosity. An SIY Certified Teacher fully understands the science studies included, explains them with confidence, and makes relevant connections between science, mindfulness and emotional intelligence. He/she can also answer tough questions and elaborate on the material presented, going a few levels deeper than what is included in the standard presentations.

1. Present and Facilitate Skillfully – In general terms, SIY Certified Teachers are expected to convey the material in a way that is engaging and authentic, creating an experience that maximizes learning for participants. This includes the ability to lead all practices and meditations included in the program with skill and grounding. He/she is skillful at using stories, examples and humor to ground learning, knows how to adjust the program to the audience, manages timing/flow well, remains curious, and answers questions skillfully, including when not sure of the answer.

1. Embody the material – The content is important. Walking the talk is even more so. An SIY Certified Teacher embodies the material presented when teaching and interacting with participants. This includes embodying the paradoxes of confidence & humility, attainment & nonattainment, depth & lightness, rigor & spontaneity, spark & stillness.

People join Search Inside Yourself for many reasons, including personal development and experiencing the program before bringing it to their company.

Consultants, coaches and therapists also enroll in SIY to evaluate whether to adopt the principles in their own work. Some attendees are new to mindfulness and meditation, while others are longtime practitioners.

People attend SIYLI’s programs for many reasons, including professional development, personal growth, and testing out one of our programs before bringing it to their organization.

Whether you are at the beginning of your journey or meditate regularly, SIYLI’s programs are designed to meet you where you are and provide practical tools that you can start using right away.

We encourage you or a group of your peers to apply! We are looking for people who:

• Are passionate about bringing SIY and mindfulness * emotional intelligence practices into their organization. They understand the unique challenges of their workplace and will be able to make connections between the SIY curriculum and their organization’s current challenges, opportunities, culture and values.
  • While this program will help support you in championing and implementing SIY, we are looking for people who might already have some involvement, or at least a vision and plans for what this could look like within your org.
• Have an established and consistent mindfulness practice, with a commitment to deepening this practice, since this is one of the core elements of our program and how we train EI
• Have experience facilitating to larger groups of around 30 or more people, and/or experience facilitating multi-faceted and experiential programs.
• Ideal candidates may have some experience managing large scale programs and/or driving culture change.

We are also looking for those people within organizations that are ready to implement these practices, for example:

• Established interest for (or at least an openness to) mindfulness & EI within the organization. We look for organizations that care about their employees and see the value of increasing skills for managing stress and building resilience, empathy and strong leadership.
• Organizations with the potential for scale and that can support running programs on a regular, ongoing basis (eg 2x per quarter). This also may be orgs who are looking to embed SIY as a core learning or development offering.
• Some budget approval and buy-in from decision makers. Note that this doesn’t have to be fully in place (we know part of this case is made over time as you start to collect data and gain interest!) but some initial or potential support from stakeholders/decision makers.

• Individuals seeking to create the thriving workplace they’ve always known was possible. Champions, influencers, change-agents. Anyone with a personal desire to be more effective at work and in life.
• Past attendees have included:
  • Individuals from 18 countries
  • People from wide-ranging industries, such as agriculture, banking, communications, consulting, education, entertainment, engineering, financial services, healthcare, learning and development, legal, nonprofit, real estate, retail and technology
  • Managers, HR professionals, entrepreneurs, community leaders, architects, CEOs, COOs, teachers, nurses, journalists, engineers, directors, merchandisers, principals, doctors, researchers, coaches, therapists and social workers.

SIY Teacher Training is for individuals with significant meditation, business and presentation/facilitation experience, and who have an intention to co-teach SIY to at least 100 participants annually. The SIY program uses the practice of mindfulness to build and strengthen emotional intelligence skills and is designed in particular to help individuals and teams in work environments. Note that SIY programs are always co-taught by two teachers and we expect Certified Teachers to agree to uphold this practice.

We are looking for applicants who meet the following criteria:

• Have an established daily meditation/mindfulness practice
• Have a cumulative meditation/mindfulness practice of at least 500 hours or more.
• Are skilled teachers and facilitators
• Are English language proficient. The Teacher Training materials, homework and program are all in English. Part of SIY includes technical content like neuroscience. If English is not your first language, having a good level of proficiency is important.
• Ideally have experience in organizational settings and understand the unique challenges of the workplace
• Are passionate about bringing mindfulness and emotional intelligence practices into organizations
• Have existing sales and marketing skills, as well as an existing network of clients to whom you can offer SIY.
• Are committed to their own personal growth and teach from a place of openness, curiosity and humility
• Have a demonstrable plan to teach at least 100 participants annually and can show ready access to new audiences
• Are willing to partner with other SIY Certified Teachers to co-teach each SIY program (rather than solo teaching).

When assessing candidates, we will consider the criteria mentioned above plus the country where you primarily live and work. Our intention is to ensure people around the world have access to the SIY program. In countries where there is already a high density of SIY Certified Teachers we will be offering fewer spots.

Additionally, we strongly encourage you to apply if you plan to teach within the organization in which you currently work. This will provide a ready-to-teach audience and fertile ground for you to quickly gain expertise teaching SIY.

Seasoned consultants, teachers and facilitators who believe they can and are passionate about teaching science-based approaches to practicing mindfulness and developing emotional intelligence. You should have a strong interest and/or background in any or all of the following areas: the practice and teaching of mindfulness, emotional intelligence, science, personal and leadership development, organizational effectiveness and/or overall wellbeing practices.

No.  In order to respect confidentiality and create a space where people feel comfortable sharing, we will not be sending a recording of the program to participants.  We will, however, provide post-program resources to help you remember what you learned during the program.

We will not be recording these practice sessions. We recommend you visit SIYLI’s resources for additional practices.

We will have some limited tuition assistance available and people can note their request for this in their application. We do also have an early bird price of $10,000 per person if you apply by January 5th, and you are also able to receive this discounted price if more than one person from your organization participates (which is encouraged to support your ability to scale SIY and also have a co-teacher to facilitate the program with).

We are also able to set up different payment plans to help accommodate any financial needs, or if you anticipate receiving funding in stages.