Endorsements

What Experts Are Saying

“Even when we have an inside familiarity with the practice of mindfulness it is challenging to make it accessible and meaningful to others. Broderick’s book and program have done just this-translated the practice into a practical, accessible program for both teachers and students. The result is a curriculum that maps beautifully onto both the opportunity and the vulnerability that are inherent in the teenage years.”

Rebecca Crane, Ph.D.

Director, Center for Mindfulness Research and Practice, Bangor University, UK

“Engaging, varied, and user-friendly lessons make this an essential resource for any educator who wishes to bring mindfulness into the curriculum. From theory to practice, this guide provides teachers with the necessary information to make mindfulness come to life in their classrooms and in the lives of their students. A must-have for all those committed to the social and emotional health of adolescents.”

Karen Bluth, Ph.D.

research fellow at the Program of Integrative Medicine, School of Medicine at University of North Carolina, NC

“Learning to Breathe is an invaluable resource for those looking to share mindfulness with adolescents. Broderick has carefully crafted a professional and wonderfully straightforward mindfulness curriculum that can be used in a variety of settings. Highly recommended!”

Doug Worthen

mindfulness teacher, Middlesex School in Concord, MA

“I have seen first-hand the transformational potential Learning to Breathe has for a wide range of students in the high school setting. Broderick has done an amazing job of creating a mindfulness-based universal prevention program for high school applications. Those looking for a program to use to bring mindfulness to high school students in a curricular way need not look further than Learning to Breathe.”

Todd D. Cantrell

house principal , Central Bucks High School West in Doylestown, PA

“Learning to Breathe is an excellent program for teachers or practitioners interested in teaching mindfulness to adolescents. The instructions and lesson plans are easy to follow as an instructor, and they allow for enough flexibility to make the program fit your needs. Our students readily engaged in the activities during class and kept up with a home practice as well. Most told us that they noticed differences in their lives and reported that the mindfulness practices they learned would be helpful in their classes at school to help relax them before tests or keep them alert, as well as being helpful for sports. We heard from several students that it was their favorite part of their summer and that they were very glad to have taken the course.”

Kristen Lyons, PhD

assistant professor of developmental psychology , Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, CO

“Learning to Breathe is a gift to educators and therapists who are committed to supporting the resilience and well-being of the young people they serve. Well-researched, with lessons that are well designed and accessible, it enhances and contributes to the field of social and emotional learning.”

Pamela Siegle

executive director, Courage and Renewal Northeast

“Learning to Breathe is truly a gem that fills a critical gap in social and emotional learning programs for adolescents. With a deep commitment to helping young people navigate the social and emotional challenges of this developmental period, Broderick has artfully crafted an outstanding mindfulness-based program supported by rigorous research. The program is unique among its peers. Rather than functioning as an ‘add-on’ that places extra burdens on teachers, it has been successfully integrated into existing curricula and meets standards in the areas of science and health. This program is a proven method for promoting well-being and resilience among young people.”

Patricia A. Jennings, MEd, PhD

research assistant professor in human development and family studies, Prevention Research Center at Pennsylvania State University, PA

“I have had an opportunity to use the BREATHE program with a cohort of first semester college undergraduates. The move to college creates unique challenges, and the BREATHE program, which can be adapted for this population, provides powerful tools to help emerging adults manage this transition. Learning the basics of mindfulness, strengthening emotion recognition and emotion management skills, and developing compassion for self and others, are all extremely important skills for college students. . . .As Broderick writes, `there is a difference between knowing about emotions and knowing your own emotions as they are experienced.’ The BREATHE program allows this distinction to emerge brilliantly.”

Sandra Kerr, PhD

professor in the department of psychology, West Chester University, PA

“I am delighted to provide an unequivocal endorsement of Broderick’s Learning to Breathe. This program for adolescents is beautifully designed and hits all the right notes for teaching mindfulness as a tool to navigate the ups and downs of adolescence. Grounded within a developmental framework and clinical understanding of adolescent issues, Broderick’s book is user-friendly and will resonate with clinicians, educators, and parents alike. As a school social worker with experience of successfully implementing [the program] within a very diverse population, it is gratifying to have a program of this integrity that is compatible with multiple areas of the curriculum.”

Marjorie James, MSW, RSW

social worker, Toronto District School Board

“Learning to Breathe is a superb guide for helping adolescents manage their emotional lives. Broderick draws from the finest knowledge in psychology and mindfulness education to craft this extraordinary book-it is sure to become a classic.”

Richard C. Brown

founder and co-developer, Naropa University’s Contemplative Education Department and Garrison Institute’s mindfulness-based Care for Teachers program

“I wish that I had had this resource when I was principal of my high school. I can’t think of a more important gift than to teach students to work with their emotions at such an important period of transition in their lives.”

Rona Wilensky

founding principal, New Vista High School, Boulder, CO

“School reform is doomed to failure until it faces the reality of kids as they come: stressed-out, overwrought, and inattentive to school work. This marvelous book fills this gap with a curriculum that helps teenagers reduce stress, handle their emotions, and master their attention. A step-by-step guide for teachers and clinicians, Learning to Breathe is clear, inventive, and practical, and it can be implemented starting tomorrow. This inspiring book is also a timely wake-up call for the nation.”

Jerome Murphy, PH.D.

Dean Emeritus , Harvard Graduate School of Education

“Learning to Breathe offers a time-tested, research-based solution to assist young people in cultivating positive qualities, such as mindful awareness and compassion for oneself and others. [The book will] inspire young people to use these qualities in the service of the greater good in the twenty-first century. I hope we see this curriculum in all of our schools.”

Robert W. Roeser, Ph.D.

professor of psychology and human development in the department of psychology, Portland State University, Portland, OR

“Learning to Breathe is an extraordinary curriculum, grounded in a deep understanding of adolescent learning, adolescent growth, and the daily experience of adolescent life. The brilliant design of the BREATHE program provides teachers with ease in implementation and flexibility to adapt for the uniqueness of each class, while at the same time providing the quintessential elements of mindfulness-based well-being in each lesson. Educators and school systems that adopt this creative program will be giving a gift to themselves and to the adolescents in their care for a healthier, more positive and productive future.”

Irene McHenry, PhD

licensed psychologist, author, international speaker and workshop presenter, and currently executive director, Friends Council on Education

“As a longtime instructor of mindfulness-based stress reduction, currently teaching instructors in two school districts, Broderick’s book, Learning to Breathe, is a welcome gift. It is filled with clear information about mindfulness, from both the educational and neurological perspectives, and presents an excellent, thorough, and complete curriculum for adolescents. This book will be welcomed, used, and gratefully received by teachers and students.”

Ferris Buck Urbanowski, MA

mindfulness instructor, South Burlington, Vermont School District, and Washington West School District, Waitsfield, VT

“This is experiential learning at its best. The teacher facilitates a journey of discovery from which both students and teachers alike come back hungry for more!”

Bruce Glick

special needs children and youth teacher

“Broderick’s years of real-world experience with teenagers shine through on every page of her wonderful new book, Learning to Breathe. When it comes to teaching mindfulness, adolescents can be an especially challenging group and Broderick has developed wise, practical, and time-tested methods that help teens manage stress and develop attention as they integrate mindfulness into their daily lives.”

Susan Kaiser Greenland, JD

author, The Mindful Child

“Know thyself. Building not only on the accumulated wisdom of the ages but also on the pioneering work of Jon Kabat-Zinn, Broderick has created an extremely well-pitched curriculum for helping teens through what may well be tumultuous years. Practicing mindfulness, a sustained state of nonjudgmental self-awareness, has well-documented salubrious effects. In this well-written and insightful book, Broderick explains clearly what mindfulness is, why it is important, and how to teach it to our youth.”

Philip David Zelazo, PhD

Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota

“Learning to Breathe couldn’t have come at a better time! Educators are seeking new ways of meeting a rising tide of societal challenges. Compelling new research supports the benefits of learning a mindfulness practice. With a focus on adolescents, Broderick has intelligently created a flexible mindfulness curriculum that is user-friendly, evidence-based, and age-appropriate. Through this achievement she offers the opportunity to `experience burgeoning self-awareness, self-regulation, and the emotional balance that supports fully engaged learning and well-being.’ Ideally, all schools would teach these practices.”

Marilyn Webb Neagley

Education Consultant, Coeditor of Educating from the Heart, and Author of Walking through the Seasons

“The unfolding field of mindfulness education for tweens and teens is most fortunate to be gifted with Broderick’s theoretically grounded and pragmatically written step-by-step guide. Broderick offers first-hand experiences and clear insights to encourage teachers and therapists teaching mindfulness practices to deepen their own practice while teaching and learning alongside youths. When offered in the spirit with which it is written, the Learning to Breathe curriculum opens a conversation around the often overwhelming stressors that are simultaneously unique and universal to preadolescents and adolescents while offering them an array of exercises to meet the stressors with more clarity and care. In doing so, these exercises for youths can introduce a new way of being in the world that frees young people from automatic avoidance and risk-taking behaviors that often compound their stress-thereby decreasing experiences of distress and increasing experiences of empowerment. Let the exploration begin!”

Laura J. Pinger, MS

senior outreach specialist, Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center on the University of Wisconsin-Madison

“Drawing on her expertise in developmental psychology and mindfulness, Broderick has crafted a comprehensive, beautifully designed, mindfulness-based curriculum for adolescents. Learning to Breathe details a multitude of simple yet powerful mindfulness practices for teens as well as clear, concise, step-by-step instructions for teachers and clinicians to implement this wonderfully rich curriculum. This book is a tremendous resource-a must for educators and clinicians who want to bring the transformative power of mindfulness to teens.”

Diane Reibel, PhD

Director, Mindfulness Institute, Jefferson Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine, and co-author of Teaching Mindfulness

“This is a much needed, extremely well thought out, and beautifully constructed curriculum. It is commonsensical, user friendly, and straightforward to implement. Most importantly, it engages you, the teacher, in developing your own mindfulness practice so that you are not asking things of your students that you are not actually exploring and experiencing for yourself. This element of honing your own personal mindfulness practice can provide great benefits in terms of your well-being and sense of ease and presence in your work. Bringing this curriculum to life in a nonmechanical way can have profound effects on your students. It can catalyze the development of embodied self-awareness and, with it, the potential for greater self-understanding, self-confidence, and emotional intelligence. This process is made easier by the inclusion of extremely effective “scripts” for each lesson, offset from the rest of the text, which can support you on the steep slope of your own learning curve. Through the systematic cultivation of attention, awareness, self-compassion, and kindness toward others—all capacities that adolescents already have and that can be strengthened through training—a set of fundamental and highly beneficial life skills are developed. These skills can help teenagers navigate more effectively through a time in life that can be confusing, filled with uncertainties, and exceedingly stressful. These life skills form the basis for building successful relationships, beginning with oneself. They can also contribute to optimizing the classroom environment and learning. Even great musicians have to first tune their instruments. It is the same with learning.”

Myla Kabat-Zinn and Jon Kabat-Zinn

The L2B Teacher training sequence

Basic teacher preparation involves a 3-day training sequence described below in Steps 1 and 2.

More advanced training is required for certification, Step 3.

Those who teach mindfulness should also have completed a mindfulness course, like MBSR, to establish and support their own mindfulness practice.

1: Online L2B Foundation Course

The online course offers a broad overview of the theory and research behind L2B. This Foundation Course may also be accessible as an in-person workshop in certain locations. Once you have completed this course, you will receive a Verification of Completion which allows you to progress to Step 2. You must complete the Foundation workshop and receive the verification before registering for further training.

Enroll Here

2: L2B Intensive Workshop

The Intensive is a 2-day workshop designed to prepare participants to teach the program, so it relies more on practice than on presentation of theoretical and research background information. Intensive workshops are available in-person in certain locations and live online. Get details of the next workshop here.

3: Become an L2B Certified Trainer

L2B certification exists at the Master Trainer level and is available for those who want to teach others to deliver this program. The process involves an application, prerequisites such as MBSR, L2B workshop participation, L2B instruction for at least five group, individual coaching and supervision, as well as other requirements. More information is available by contacting the program developer at broderickl2b@gmail.com