Introduction
Today’s world is busy, fast-paced, and interconnected. Stress has become a normal part of life. Whether it’s work stress, career, family or financial, no one appears to be spared from the tenacious nature of the “stress-web”.
In order to improve our living quality, we all need to get adroit at managing stress in the healthiest way possible. Everyone has their unique ways of handling stress. While some of us release our stress with a glass of wine, others may choose to listen to their favorite songs.
Many take to playing different sports as a way of relieving both mental and physical stress. Some people may choose to seek medical help from a certified counselor or therapist, it all depends on preferences.
All these stress-reduction methods can be helpful and highly effective. Nonetheless, these methods work differently on each individual depending upon certain factors.
Very few people are aware of the concept of mindfulness and its effectiveness in managing stress.
The mindfulness-based practices to reduce stress; plays a crucial role in stress management. Do you want to discover the benefits of mindfulness, and how important it is in stress management?
There are several mindfulness-based stress reduction courses that are available online to learn the art of creating space for yourself.
What is Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a mind and body-based integrative approach to help people manage their feelings and thoughts and improve their mental health. It’s being widely used all over the world to experience self-control.
These days, several mindfulness training courses and online meditation practices are being offered by several meditation experts and spiritual teachers.
Through mindfulness exercises, you will learn how to pay attention as well as train your mind to focus on the moment you’re presently living in.
While just about anyone can benefit from mindfulness-based programs, there are certain areas where mindfulness is highly recommended.
Schools
Researches have proved that mindfulness practices are highly effective for youngsters and children. It helps in reducing stress and anxiety in the students, it improves their overall mental and physical health as well as their personal development and overall well-being. Meditation practices in schools will boost their concentration power and help students focus more on their studies.
However, online courses for meditation can help them practice mindfulness at the comfort of their homes.
Workplace
Mindfulness practices in the workplace have been promoted by a number of world-class companies like Google. Evidence has shown that mindfulness can have lots of positive effects on the workplace.
By introducing training programs for the same purpose, organizations may help to reduce work stress among their employees and increase their productivity.
Pregnancy
Limited research has demonstrated mindfulness during pregnancy produced a significant reduction in the anxiety levels of potential mothers. It also improves mood and minimizes prenatal stress.
Simply put, mindfulness will help you by rooting your mind to the present moment. Although an ancient practice of Buddhists, mindfulness is becoming popular in western medicine circles.
Here’s an overview of 11 mindfulness training courses that are worth taking. These are some of the best online mindfulness courses which will help you practice meditation at home or anywhere you want. The mentioned courses are accredited mindfulness courses that are easily accessible online for a subscription.
Related reading: 7 Best Online Reiki Courses
1. The M Word by Emily Fletcher – Mindvalley
This course is one of the most useful mindfulness courses available online. Its online classes are worthwhile and will help you have in-depth learning of both meditation and mindfulness. The instructor of the course, Emily does an outstanding job in this course— by merging the two practices skillfully into a complete course without compromising the quality.
Emily is a renowned expert on mental well being, trusted by many celebrities and corporations. She has also published several books on meditation and mindfulness and developed her own meditation practice known as The Ziva Technique.
Related reading: Mindvalley Review
This course is highly recommended for anyone interested in learning meditation and mindfulness simultaneously. Its beginner-friendly resources and learning materials provide you with a wonderful toolset to rebuild your mind life. The mindfulness meditation courses offered here are the best overall mindfulness training for anyone.
Important Highlights of This Course
- High-quality learning materials.
- Beginner-friendly content.
- Two-in-one: Both meditation and mindfulness courses online in the same package.
2. How To Practice Mindfulness Meditation – Skillshare
“Mindfulness Meditation” is an engaging online meditation training to learn how to improve your physical and mental wellbeing. This course is designed for beginners as well as advanced spirituality students who want to put their knowledge into action.
The prime focus of this course is mindfulness, meditation and their benefits. The course is divided into a duration of 24 minutes with straightforward and to-the-point online meditation classes.
This tool is mostly useful to the folks who are busy in their life and get a very limited amount of time for themselves. These short mindfulness training crash courses are easily accessible and can be taken whenever and wherever you want.
Mr. Zachary Philips, the tutor is a popular life coach. He strongly encourages mindfulness practices among all his clients.
The course offers a short introduction to mindfulness living and its benefits. The enrollees are given some breathing exercises and practical tips to avoid mental strain.
These tips are very beneficial to beginners, who will establish a strong meditation routine with this accredited mindfulness course.
In the online reviews, the course is appreciated by many enrollees and has been recommended to others.
Important Highlights of This Course
- Free of cost meditation course with the Skillshare trial.
- Short, quick and focused course.
- Engaging learning experiences.
- Useful for both beginners and advanced students.
3. De-Mystifying Mindfulness – Coursera
A perfect all-around mindfulness course to develop healthy living. The De-Mystifying Mindfulness course offered by Coursera is one of the best online mindfulness course available currently.
This course is one of the creations of the oldest university, Universiteit Leiden of Netherlands. It is a great option for both beginner and advanced spirituality practitioners. This online mindfulness course is available for free unless you want to take the certification for the same.
The online course will take around 34 hours for completion. It consists of several video lectures, numerous interactive quizzes, and a plethora of practical exercises to test the knowledge of the user. Despite the time frame, this course still feels concise and practical.
This mindfulness course begins by introducing the practitioners about mindfulness from a different perspective. The first phase is the most practical lesson—it starts with tasking students with common exercises at once.
The second week talks about the psychological aspects related to meditation and mindfulness. It also sheds light on why and how mindfulness has gained so much popularity and is treated as a scientifically accepted practice.
In the third week, there is a deep talk about the philosophy behind mindfulness. It will teach enrollees the different aspects of mindfulness which are found around the world.
In a nutshell, if you are interested in meditation and want to spend your time wisely, this online meditation training is the best course for you.
Important Highlights of This Course
- Interactive quizzes
- Strongly supported by science
- Contains numerous unique takes throughout the course
4. Mindfulness and Resilience to Stress at Work – edX
When it comes to mindfulness practice, the workplace is one of those places which needs to be considered in the priority list.
Whether it’s fieldwork or working inside a cabin, it’s hard to escape the stress related to our work. This course offered by edX is a splendid way to learn the steps to deal with all the work-related mental stress.
The lessons for mindfulness offered in this course are highly effective for any organization or its employees. It helps to enhance their performance without huge investments. Mindfulness needs nothing but a clear mind and pure dedication.
The course starts by teaching the toxicity of stress and its negative impacts on both individuals and teams of professionals. It will guide you on how to differentiate between mild stress and severe stress.
This online mindfulness course was introduced by the University of Berkeley. It’s one of the top-ranked universities around the world.
The course moves on to teach how to infuse mindful living, especially in the business world. The exercises are fantastic and will help manage any stress related to work.
Numerous organizations have already enrolled in this course and have witnessed a significant boost in the health and productivity of the team. It ultimately improves the overall output of the employees and the organization as a whole.
Important Highlights of This Course
- Meditation exercises to practice at work.
- Suitable to practice in groups.
- The course is of high standards—led by a top university.
- Helpful for both individuals and organizations.
5. Mindfulness for Well-Being and Peak Performance – Futurelearn
A practical and informative entry-level mindfulness training program for all. It’s an excellent online mindfulness training for the newbies of the world of mindfulness and spirituality.
The major advantage of the mentioned course is its versatility. It is tailored in a way that is suitable for every group of society.
The captivating tutors of Monash University, a leading university in Australia, teach each lesson of the course with humor and light-heartedness. This makes the introductory course the most suitable course to get the first experience with meditation and spirituality.
The course will start with teaching some scientific research and specific examples of the adverse impacts of living an unmindful life. You will be given a detailed list of exercises to help foster healthy relationships and improve the way of communication. This course will also give examples of the benefits of mindfulness and meditation to memory.
All these factors make the course one of the best online mindfulness courses for the practitioners looking to upgrade their performance in school, college, office or wherever they want.
Once the overview and exercises of this course have been completed, this mindful training will begin the mind training process with its final chapter. You will find this lecture essential—as you will also learn how to inculcate these practices into your daily living. By the end of this course, you will surely get a clear understanding and vision of mindfulness and its benefits in your daily life.
Important Highlights of This Course
- Freely accessible course content.
- Beginner-friendly curriculum.
- Strongly backed with scientific research.
- Led by a top-ranked university.
6. Sounds True’s Freedom to Choose Something Different – Udemy
It is an impressive Tibetan-Buddhism based course on mindfulness. This course is presented by a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and writer, Mrs. Pema Chodron. This mindfulness course is a great option for both beginner and advanced students. It is worth taking if your goal is to improve your mindful living.
Although, the prime focus of this course is quite specific when compared to other mindfulness and meditation training. It emphasizes on learning about the mind patterns and thoughts, and how these patterns have created the current living situation whether it’s good or bad.
The course begins by guiding the enrollees to identify their negative thoughts and mind patterns. It also informs them about the addictive nature of this thinking. After that, the online class continues to teach simple meditation practices to make the course easier.
The lessons also provide some background knowledge related to the Tibetan attachment theory. In ancient Buddhism, any kind of attachment is believed as the root cause of suffering.
The course will teach the students about replacing their negative thoughts with positive ones. The tutor, Mrs. Chodron, provides several real-world examples throughout the course to give a clear picture of mindfulness.
By the end of this course, all the enrollees will have a basic idea about Buddhist philosophy. The course will also help them learn to implement the Buddhist mindfulness laws in their day-to-day lives.
Important Highlights of This Course
- Outstanding source to learn Buddhism theory.
- Primarily focuses on converting negative thoughts and mind patterns.
- Mindfulness practice from the Buddhist angles.
- Beginner-friendly curriculum.
7. Mindfulness Practices – LinkedIn Learning
The LinkedIn learning is replete with courses which will help you learn mindfulness effectively. Mindfulness practices are one of those courses. It’s a quick online mindfulness meditation course to help you get started with the basics. It is offered by LinkedIn. It mainly focuses on mastering the stress related to work life. However, these practices are certainly beneficial in personal life also.
In this online class, practitioners will learn to apply spirituality and mindfulness to lead themselves and others in a better way. The syllabus is for 2 hours only, but it doesn’t fail to cover the basics of mindfulness practices.
The course also contains some unique thoughts on the topic of spirituality. Practitioners who will enroll in this course will get to know more about the disciplinary skills necessary to lead and control their emotions and mind patterns.
The online mindfulness course will also talk about becoming friends with the inner critic. It will teach you to embrace inspiration even in the challenging circumstances in both your personal and work life.
The second lesson of the course primarily focuses on the leadership part. It will contain the steps to becoming a leader and guide to leading any team.
While mindfulness is more about self-practice, this course acts as a double-edged sword—by helping you learn mindfulness as well as teach you leadership skills.
The structure of the course is helpful as each theoretical information and practice is time stamped. This is a concise and straightforward course to learn about mindfulness quickly.
Important Highlights of This Course
- Great for the work environments.
- Ideal course to develop leadership skills.
- A concise yet awesome course.
- Mostly text-based content.
8. Maintaining A Mindful Life – FutureLearn
A course to help inculcate mindfulness in your daily life. This course will build up your mind and thoughts in a spiritual way. Students with no experience with spirituality and mindfulness will be overwhelmed by the course material presented in this training. This course as well is created by Monash University. It is the logical step towards solidifying the understanding of mindfulness.
The videos, audio and text-based materials will encourage you to quickly start applying these techniques in your life. If you devote yourself completely to this course, you will see positive changes in your life.
This online mindfulness course will mostly focus on the practical application of mindfulness training. The instructor will also provide examples and theories to face any negative situation in your life. They will give you specific exercises to solve and apply in your life.
At the end of this course, you’ll have the knowledge of building your so-called mindful living. You will know the value of mindful living and it will automatically become a part of your life. One thing to be noted here is that living mindfully can extensively improve your thought process.
Important Highlights of This Course
- Great to expand your previous mindfulness knowledge.
- Full of exercises and practical theories.
- Useful for advanced spirituality students.
9. Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction –
Palouse Mindfulness
It is an extensive mindfulness and meditation training with free certification upon completion of the course.
This course by Palouse Mindfulness will surely help you to start with learning mindfulness. It is 100% free with high-quality content on meditation and mindfulness. It is full of helpful study materials and suitable for every level of the mindfulness journey.
The introduction of the course will give students a strong foundation in mindfulness and meditation. The extensive scientific approach provided in this course will convert the skeptical minds positively. The official duration of this course is 2 months neatly divided into different weeks.
Each week will contain some video lectures and additional reading materials. It also comprises weekly exercises and practices to help students understand the course better.
On top of that, the FAQs in the chapters will help the beginners to remove their misconceptions and doubts.
Once you complete the course and the additional materials, you are eligible to claim the certificate for free. You can avail the certificate by sending an email containing completed worksheets.
The enrollees of this course have witnessed a significant improvement in their standard of living. Many reviewers also appreciate the free certification that can be availed from the course.
Of all the free materials available online for mindfulness practices, this course is the best extensive mindfulness and meditation course available.
Important Highlights of This Course
- Free mindfulness certificate on completion of course.
- A concise and clear course structure.
- Access to additional books.
- Helpful for beginners.
10. 101: Mindfulness Foundations – Mindful Schools
The 6-week mindfulness and meditation online course of Mindful Schools is surely going to help anyone who’s looking to develop their understanding of mindfulness.
It provides a 6-week course and includes a lifetime access to other course materials. This online mindfulness and meditation training is self–paced. The course is divided into separate weekly courses which include 2-3 hours of instruction per week.
The instructors of the faculty is an amalgamation of numerous different tutors having more than a decade of experience in mindfulness practices and meditation programs.
The syllabus mainly focuses on the areas like mindfulness of breathing, mindfulness of the body, development of heart, mindfulness of our emotions, everyday mindfulness, and interpersonal mindfulness.
This course is very helpful to both beginner and advanced spirituality practitioners.
Important Highlights of This Course
- 6-week course partitioned into smaller chunks.
- A clear course structure.
- Experienced tutors having over a decade of experience in the subject.
- Helpful for beginners and advanced practitioners.
11. Be Mindful Online
It is an online mindfulness and meditation course which can be learned with self-pace. It can be accessed on the computer as well as on a smartphone with interactive audios, videos and text-based materials.
The duration of this online course is 4 weeks, but one can complete it even after that as well.
The course consists of 10 sessions of mindfulness classes with videos, texts, and interactive practical exercises to help you practice mindfulness better. It also comprises 12 assignments for the enrollees, 5 guided mindfulness downloads, resources and online tools. After the successful completion of the course, all the resources will be sent to your email.
The tutors Tessa and Ed Halliwell are great at doing their jobs. Both of them are experienced in mindfulness and meditation training.
Important Highlights of This Course
- A well-structured course on mindfulness.
- Highly experienced tutors having significant experience in meditation and mindfulness.
- 4-week self-paced course for everyone.
The Final Message
Practicing meditation and mindfulness is helpful to just about everyone. Learning mindfulness and meditation is worthwhile. No matter what your current thinking pattern or mindset seems like, mindfulness training is always the best option to help you better handle your everyday challenges.
