A powerful handbook of tools and principles that empower youth to explore their inner life.

Mindfulness is not simply a technique. It is more of a deeply honest conversation with ourselves and each other—a conversation that includes all of the joy and sorrow, love and loss of a human life.  

As adults, we can facilitate this radically honest conversation with and among adolescents. This book invites educators to draw on their own wisdom, vulnerability and strength to engage their students, awaken mindfulness, and nourish compassion within them.

“Bolstered by the three authors’ years of meditation practice and their real-world experience, Teaching Mindfulness to Empower Adolescents is an invaluable resource for anyone who practices mindfulness and meditation with teens. This excellent book is a tract on how to navigate the ups and downs of daily life that not only supports readers in their work with adolescents but in their own lives as well.”

“Teaching Mindfulness to Empower Adolescents is a gorgeous gift in learning how to raise a generation of empaths. As a parent and individual, I felt deep support and a renewed understanding in the most important teachings and practices a person can have. I particularly loved this book’s guidance on the reminder to ‘make space to listen.’ Thank you to JoAnna Hardy, Matthew Brensilver, and Oren Jay Sofer for bringing such essential teaching to light.”

“In teaching mindfulness to adolescents, the ‘what’ (curriculum) is important, but not as important as the ‘how’ (quality of the teacher’s presence and mindset). This book shows the way to give life to mindfulness teaching with authenticity, ethics, and integrity—always starting with, and coming back to, the teacher’s own practice. I highly recommend it to all adults who wants to bring mindfulness to youth, and to all adults who care deeply about young people."

“This book is a cutting-edge resource for anyone sharing mindfulness with teens. The authors offer a skillful, innovative, and developmentally tailored approach that promotes youth receptivity and buy-in. Sharing mindfulness is much more than teaching techniques, and this book will give you everything you need; from the practice of cultivating relationships, to working with resistance, to tough conversations about the issues teens struggle with.”

“In a time when teens face real inner and outer challenges, and quick-fix, faux mindfulness offerings are increasingly popular, this book is a true gift. Every page is infused with the authors’ deep personal mindfulness practices and their years of experience in sharing these practices with diverse youth. This book is a powerful and heartfelt contribution to the field, and an essential read for those committed to offering mindfulness with integrity and authenticity.”

“[This book]... stands above the crowd with practical advice built on hard won experience. I’ve been waiting for these excellent teachers to write up their wisdom, and they’ve exceeded my high expectations. Organized effectively and written in straightforward language, in this book Brensilver, Hardy, and Sofer empower not just adolescents but their caregivers and communities as well. A gift to mindfulness educators everywhere.”

A flexible set of lessons tailored to the developmental needs of adolescents.  

Arguably, no student population stands to gain more from mindfulness practice—with its power to enhance emotional regulation, attention stability, and self-awareness—than adolescents and young adults. 

In this comprehensive curriculum developed at Mindful Schools, Oren Jay Sofer and Matthew Brensilver provide twenty-five lessons that supply a framework for mindfulness instruction that can be expanded or condensed according to the needs of students. Each lesson includes a science supplement, research findings relevant to the practice, and printable handouts of the lesson that can be distributed to students.

“The Mindful Schools Curriculum for Adolescents is a timely and valuable contribution to the field of Mindfulness in Education. The curriculum does a wonderful job creating connection and making mindfulness relevant to the adolescent context. This resource is a must-have for anyone sharing mindfulness with teens!“

“This curriculum offers invaluable ways to address some of the biggest things that teens struggle with, including social media and bias, working with difficult emotions like anxiety, and gaining authenticity in relationships.”

“This comprehensive and beautifully designed curriculum is sure to become a classic in the field. It offers carefully crafted lessons with helpful examples, study and practice questions, and scientific evidence to back it up.”

“Teaching mindfulness is an art; teaching mindfulness to adolescents is a rare art. In this thorough, well-researched, and creative curriculum, the authors offer innovative and timely tools for sharing the powerful practice of mindfulness with teens and adolescents. This book will serve well anyone who is seeking guidance on how to teach mindfulness to adolescents.”

“An absolute must-read for every person teaching mindfulness to teens and young adults. Oren Jay Sofer and Matthew Brensilver have combined their many years of experience teaching mindfulness for adolescents and developing curricula with their decades of personal meditation practice to create a clear, engaging, down-to-earth and step-by-step classroom approach.”

“Part of what makes this curriculum so important is that it actually has the resources you need to teach adolescents. Developed over many, many years, it focuses on meaning and context, not just 'techniques and games.' The lessons and resources answer a core developmental question of adolescence, namely: ‘Why should I care about this and how does it apply to my life?’”