Sandy Sousa (forefront) as featured in Time Magazine, with Jon Kabat Zinn, world renound teacher and forefather of the MBSR Program, Omega Institute June 2013
Over time, I have come to realize that my practice has been integrated into my life, as a way of being that has always supported me.
I look forward to offering the teachings of mindfulness based approaches for health and wellness, so that you too may discover this for yourself.
Sandy Sousa (forefront) as featured in Time Magazine, with Jon Kabat Zinn, world renound teacher and forefather of the MBSR Program, Omega Institute June 2013
Over time, I have come to realize that my practice has been integrated into my life, as a way of being that has always supported me.
I look forward to offering the teachings of mindfulness based approaches for health and wellness, so that you too may discover this for yourself.
Hello I am happy to meet you!
I would love to express a warm welcome to you as you begin to explore Mindfulness, Self Compassion, and Meditation.
I am the mother of 4 wise humans, caretaker of 2 sweet dogs, a wife, a daughter, a sister, and have many friends that I would call family, all of whom continue to teach me more about myself and this world than I could ever possibly imagine. I live in Kingston Ontario, along the shores of Lake Ontario teaching primarily online at this time.
I maintain a daily practice of mindfulness, meditation, self compassion, and yoga. Embodying my belief that mindfulness and self compassion are more than just a practice or a skill set to perfect, it is a way of living and being in the world. From the moment I began practicing meditation as a post secondary school student I felt the benefits and knew that there was no other way to be in relationship with my life. My interest has become my passion which has led me to pursue a path that will allow me the opportunity to bring my learning to others, so that they may benefit from it as I have.
I have studied and trained with Jon Kabat Zinn through The University of Massachusetts Medical School and received my Certification in MBSR at Brown University. I am also a Trained Mindful Self Compassion Teacher through the Centre For Mindful Self Compassion, at the University of Southern California San Diego, and completed a two year Intensive Mindfulness and Meditation Teacher Certification Program with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. I attend regular silent retreats integrating my practice into my teaching, as I continue to learn and grow with my wise and gifted teachers.
I look forward to meeting you in person or on Zoom in an upcoming program.
“We offer our blessings and confidence in support of the MMTCP graduates of our worldwide teacher training. We honour the quality of what they have to offer, and the healing and awakening that these teachings and practices bring to our world.”
--With Metta, Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach
EDUCATION in Mindfulness and Meditation
Retreats & Practice
- Off the Mat, Into the World, Yoga, Purpose & Action Leadership,
2009 Intensive with Seane Corn, Hala Khouri & Suzanne Sterling, Rhinebeck, New York - Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training, Sept 2010 – June 2011
200 hour training with Swami Nitya Muktananda, Kingston, Ontario - Conscious Classrooms Yoga for Schools workshops
With Tamika Shilbe and Carolyn Jyoti Burke, Toronto, Ontario - Yoga and Recovery 12 Step Yoga for Addiction workshop
With Les Leventhal, San Francisco, California - Neuroscience, The Brain, Yoga and Meditation workshops
With Kelly McGonigal & Bo Forbes, Toronto, New York & San Francisco, California - Jin Shin Do Mind Body Acupressure, Basic and Intermediate training 2009-2011
With Tolling Jenning and Kay Marchibald, Kingston, Ontario - M.B.S.R. Mind Body Medicine, June 2013
With Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli, Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, New York - M.B.S.R. training, Sept 2013
8 week course with Roy Hinsta, Toronto, Ontario - M.B.S.R. For Chronic Pain for Health Care Professionals, Oct – Dec 2014
With Jackie Gardner-Nix, Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto & Kingston - Hatha Yoga Teacher Training, Jan 2015
200 hour training with Deborah Koehn, The Big Island, Hawaii - M.B.S.R. Mind Body Medicine, Jun 2015
With Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli, Nottwil, Switzerland - Mindfulness in Education, July 2015
Teacher Training Intensive with Daniel Rechtchaffen, Rhinebeck, New York - Mindfulness and Education Conference, July 2015
With Daniel Rechtschaffen, Daniel Siegel, Linda Lantieri, Nimrod Sheinman, Daniella Labrador, Jessica Morey, Bidyut Bose, Mina Srinivasan, Elizabeth Lesser, JG Larochette, JusTme - MBSR Practicum with Carolyn West, Feb 2016
Ann Twohig, Wicklow, Ireland - Yoga Nidra Training, Mar 2016
Richard Miller - MBSR Practice Teaching Intensive, University of Massachusetts Sept.2016
- Qualified MBSR teacher, University of Massachusetts Sept 2016
- Mindfulness Based Self Compassion Teaching Intensive USC, San Diego School of Medicine. Kristen Neff and Chris Germer, Big Sur California, Dec. 2017
- Power Of Awareness 6 week online program Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield Nov. 2018 - Jan. 2019
- Mindfulness Based Self Compassion Teacher Training, University of Southern California, San Diego School Of Medicine Chris Germer, Steve Hickman, Michelle Becker, Beth Mulligan. Joshua Tree California. Jan 13-19, 2019
- Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, Greater Good Science Centre University of California Berkeley Feb. 2019-Feb 2021
- Inquiry Essentials The Centre For Mindfulness Studies Toronto Ontario, Patricia Rockman and Susan Woods, Oct. 2019
- MBSR Certification Brown University Rhode Island April 2020
- Trauma Informed Mindfulness Training David Treleven April 2020
- The Embodied Mind Jill Satterfield Feb- March 2021 Spirit Rock
- Mindful Self Compassion For Health Care Professionals Feb- March 2021 Natalie Wood USCSD
- MMTCP Graduate Study Program Feb- 2021 Jill Satterfield
- Mindful Self Compassion Teacher Training Practicum USCSD Tina Gibson and Marcia Burton April-June 2021
- Diversity Equity Inclusion and Belonging Oct.4- Nov.22 2021 USCSD Dr. Sydney Spears and Dr. Tracy Ochester
Retreats & Practice
- Yoga Retreats, ongoing 2005 to present
- 7 Day Silent Meditation Retreat, Feb 2015
- Insight Meditation Society with Sharon Saltzberg, Barre, Massachusett
- 5 Day Silent Retreat, Feb 2016
- Beth Mulligan, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- 5 Day Meditation Retreat, May 2017 Jon Kabat-Zinn and Will Kabat-Zinn
- 7 Day Silent Retreat, Oct. 2017 Rhinebeck N.Y. Saki Santorelli, Bob Stahl, and Florence Meleo- Meye
- 5 Day Silent Retreat Loving Awareness for Experienced Meditators Jack Kornfield, Trudy Goodman, Spirit Rock California, Oct. 2019
- Retreat 4 day Sharon Salzberg, Krisha Das Menla Centre New York Nov.2019
- 7 Day Silent Retreat Tara Brach Jonathon Foust Oct 2020
- Silent Day Retreat Tara Brach Feb 28, 2021
- Silent Day Retreat East Coast Mindfulness March 7, 2021
- Silent Day Retreat Jack Kornfield March 20, 2021
- 7 Day Silent Retreat Tara Brach, Jonathon Foust, October 2021
- Community For Deepening Practice in Mindful Self Compassion year long program David Fredrickson and Tina Gibson Sept. 2021- June 2022