Stillness as Skill:
Meditation Training for Radical,
Relational Clinicians
September 20 - November 8, 2025
Join nutrition therapist and meditation teacher Jenna Hollenstein, who has spent the past 15 years practicing meditation and studying Buddhist teachings, for a unique training designed specifically for clinicians doing deep, relational work around food, body image, trauma, and healing.
Stillness as Skill is a 7-week, live online course that helps you develop your own grounded meditation practice—one that supports you personally and professionally—and prepares you to offer meditation skillfully and ethically to those you serve.
This is not a generic mindfulness class. It’s a trauma-aware, weight-inclusive training rooted in Buddhist wisdom, neuroscience, and lived experience. You’ll learn how to teach meditation not as an escape from discomfort, but as a way to meet the truth of our embodied lives with clarity, compassion, and care.
Whether you're a dietitian, therapist, or coach, this training will help you show up more fully—for yourself and for the people who count on you.
The program includes 35 CPEUs from the Commission on Dietetic Registration
Why You Need This Course
You help people navigate their bodies, emotions, and relationships with food. But who supports you in staying grounded, clear, and connected?
Meditation isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a crucial clinical skill. Research shows that meditation changes the brain in ways that lower stress, regulate emotions, and strengthen interoceptive awareness—the very skill at the heart of mindful eating, body trust, and true healing.
When you develop your own practice, everything shifts:
You show up more present and less reactive in your sessions
You spot subtle patterns in clients with greater clarity
You stay attuned and embodied—even when the work gets hard
You model regulation, self-compassion, and curiosity
You don’t burn out so easily
And when you’re ready to teach, you’ll know how to do it safely, responsibly, and with nuance.
This is more than a meditation course. It’s a training in therapeutic presence for clinicians working at the edge of healing—where food, trauma, and embodiment intersect.
Testimonials
Alissa Rumsey, MS, RD
Carrie Schimmelpfennig, MS, RD, LD, CEDS
Julia Vukicevic, MS, RD, CDN, CEDS-CD
Yasi Ansari, MS, RDN, CSSD
Mardi Parelman, Ph.D.
What Makes This Course Different
Live and relational – Not a bunch of videos you’ll never watch. We meet together each week.
Trauma-aware and weight-inclusive – Grounded in harm reduction, not spiritual bypassing.
Practice-first – Because the best teachers are first students of their own minds.
PROGRAM DETAILS:
Live Classes:
Seven consecutive Saturdays (6 classes + final exam) 10:00 am – 12:30 pm ET via Zoom (Use this time zone converter to check your local time.)
Structure:
Each week includes live teaching, discussion, Q&A, and breakout groups
Begins with your own daily practice (starting at 10 min/day and growing to 20)
20 hours of independent reading
From Week 4 onward, practice giving meditation instruction in pairs
Final class: The Warrior’s Circle—an open-book, low-stress oral exam (you get all the questions upfront!)
Time Commitment:
~15 hours live class time + 1.5-hour final gathering
~20 hours of reading
Daily meditation practice
Attendance:
You may miss one class—just not the first or last. Reach out if you foresee a conflict.
September 20 - November 8, 2025
Course Dates
7 Saturday Classes from 10 am - 12:30 pm ET
September 20
September 27
October 4
October 18
October 25
November 1
November 8
—Yasi Ansari, MS, RDN, CSSD
“This practice has been a great tool in my work with clients who are experiencing challenges with food and body image. Jenna offers a wealth of knowledge and creates a safe space both in supervision sessions and her support groups, creating an environment that connects people and fosters insightful conversation. I highly recommend all of Jenna's training sessions, supervision opportunities, and support groups.”
What Makes You Qualified to Teach?
Simple: You practice. This course is built on the belief that the most powerful teaching arises from embodied experience, not expertise alone. You’ll get the support you need to deepen your practice and share it with others in a way that is authentic, grounded, and trauma-aware.
7 Week Curriculum
WEEK 1: ENTERING THE PATH
Ground, path, and fruition of this course
How the “view” positions holistic clinicians to be of benefit
Evidence of meditations influence on recovery work
The story of the Buddha
Philosophy and principles of mindfulness
Intro to Shamatha-vipashyana meditation technique
WEEK 2: WHAT YOU’LL ENCOUNTER ALONG THE WAY
Recap, group practice, and debrief
Creating a strong and sustainable practice
Most common obstacles and their antidotes
Meditation and working with emotions
WEEK 3: FOCUS ON TRAUMA-INFORMED MINDFULNESS
Recap, group practice, debrief
Why trauma-informed mindfulness?
Scientific evidence showing the potential for benefit of meditation and the potential for harm of meditation in individuals with trauma history
Foundations of trauma-sensitive mindfulness according to David Treleaven
4Rs
Window of tolerance
Guiding principles
Options when meditation is not appropriate
WEEK 4: TURNING YOUR PRACTICE OUTWARD
Recap, short group practice, debrief
Core Buddhist teachings and concepts to use in recovery work
Three marks of existence
Three objects, three poisons, three seeds of virtue
Hot vs. cool emotions
The meaning of discipline
Placement of attention
Review of meditation instruction
Preparing to give meditation instruction
Students break into dyads and give one another meditation instruction
WEEK 5: SHARING THE PRACTICE SKILLFULLY AND AUTHENTICALLY
Recap, short group practice, debrief
Sharpening your teaching skill set
Creating the appropriate teacher-student relationship
Creating a trauma-informed container for teaching
Students break into dyads and give one another meditation instruction
WEEK 6: THE BUSINESS END OF MEDITATION
Recap, short group practice, debrief
Bringing meditation and mindfulness into your clinical work
When to offer meditation
How to incorporate meditation
Supporting your clients to develop a sustainable practice
How to draw from the practice and view of meditation to support recovery work
How to give a talk on meditation and mindfulness to a small group
Students break into dyads and give one another meditation instruction
WEEK 7: FINAL GATHERING – THE WARRIOR’S CIRCLE
Brief but fierce group practice
Warrior’s circle based on Frequently Asked Questions in student workbook
Closing: Going forward and staying connected
Questions ?
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The total time commitment is approximately:
~15 hours live class time + 1.5-hour final gathering~20 hours of reading
Daily meditation practice
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This course will prepare you to start or deepen your own personal meditation practice so that it is sustainable and supportive of your life. And you will learn how to teach meditation to the people you work with, including being able to transmit the technique in your own words while maintaining its integrity, answering the most commonly asked questions about a meditation practice, and supporting clients as their practice deepens.
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The technique we will be practicing and learning to teach is shamatha-vipashyana meditation or “the practice of tranquility.” It is an open-eye breath awareness technique that consists of stilling the body, feeling the breath, and letting the mind be as it is. You will receive complete meditation instructions, suggestions for troubleshooting posture issues, and extensive guidance on deepening your connection with the technique, both for yourself and for those you work with.
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That is totally fine but in this course we will be practicing the shamatha technique. At the end of the course you’ll be qualified to teach that technique only.
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We do not offer refunds so if this is a concern, please reach out before applying to discuss this personally with Jenna. Email her at jenna@jennahollenstein.com
Bonus Material
A 63-page workbook
What happens when the program ends?
It’s not goodbye! A free monthly peer supervision group will be available to continue the connection with Jenna and your fellow students and to discuss both your personal practice and your professional offering of meditation.
CPEUs
The program includes 35 CPEUs from the Commission on Dietetic Registration
WHO IS THIS FOR?
This training is for you if:
You’re a weight-inclusive clinician (dietitian, therapist, coach, etc.)
You want a steadier, more grounded inner life—personally and professionally
You’re curious how meditation fits into non-diet, trauma-informed work
You’re ready to teach meditation (or already do, and want to do it better)
You do not need to be perfect, peaceful, or Zen to join. You just need to be willing to practice.
WHAT YOU’LL GAIN?
A meditation practice that actually works in real life
Tools to navigate your own stress, reactivity, and burnout
A deeper understanding of how meditation supports Intuitive Eating, trauma healing, and embodiment
Skills to teach meditation with clarity, safety, and compassion
Connection to a like-minded community of radical, relational practitioners
Even if you never teach a single client, the transformation in your own nervous system and presence will ripple through your work and relationships.
What’s the cost?
$995.00 Early Bird price (until August 6, 2025)
$1195.00 thereafter (starting August 7, 2025)
Limited to 30 people.
Payments may be made in 3 installments.
All payments to be received in full by the first class date.
Once accepted, applicants must pay within 10 days
to secure their spot in the program.
Apply here:
S C H O L A R S H I P S
We are offering 2 full scholarships to the program. The scholarship deadline is July 30, 2025.
Program Materials:
You will have access to all class materials (class page, videos, forum) for 90 days.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at jenna@jennahollenstein.com.
Refund Policy:
Please note: Our refund policy is very strict.
Since attendance is limited, there are
no full or partial refunds offered.
Your Teacher
The program was created by Jenna Hollenstein, also a registered dietitian, and tailored to the needs of other RDs. Jenna has been a registered dietitian for more than 20 years and a meditator for more than 14 years. She’s also a certified Intuitive Eating counselor, a meditation teacher, an author, and a nutrition therapist who uses a combination of mindful eating, Intuitive Eating, and meditation to work one-to-one with clients struggling with chronic dieting, disordered eating, and body image disturbances. Participants in this program will gain the necessary skills to teach the meditation technique clearly, answer the most frequently asked questions with confidence, and gain insight into the teacher-student relationship. They will also learn how to integrate the practice into their work as non-diet dietitians. This program is not about becoming a spiritual guide, but about learning to impart this ancient technique (backed by scientific research, of course) responsibly, kindly, and intelligently in the context of a non-diet approach.