Day of Mindfulness Practice in aid of Palestine Medical Organization

Josephine Lynch, M.A. Mindfulness-based Approaches (Bangor University), Lic. Ac., Dip. Herbal Medicine, has also gained the Certificate of Competence to Teach Mindfulness-Based Courses from the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at Bangor University. She completed a two year programme with the Bodhi College in early Buddhist Psychology and its influence on contemporary practice.  She is also a qualified to offer supervision to mindfulness teachers.

Josephine was among the first people to bring the teaching of mindfulness in the tradition of Jon Kabat-Zinn to Ireland and has been teaching MBSR/MBCT since 2005. She also teaches Mindful Self-Compassion and, having undergone a period of intensive supervision, and has completed all requirements to become a fully certified teacher of the Mindful Self-Compassion program as outlined by the Center for Mindful Self Compassion.  Josephine was part of the team that brought the world renowned Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh to Ireland in 2012.

Josephine is one of the core team of teachers on the M.Sc. in Mindfulness-Based Interventions in UCD and had been involved in programme development and delivery since its inception in 2014.  

Josephine’s background is in Mind / Body Medicine and she has worked most of her life using acupuncture, shiatsu and herbal medicine to foster mind / body wellbeing. She was involved in developing and working with Sláinte Pobal in Dublin in the 1990’s,  an initiative to bring courses in health education into areas of socio economic disadvantage.

Josephine was one of the founder members of the professional body, the Mindfulness Teachers Association of Ireland (MTAI.ie) which represents mindfulness teachers in Ireland and was its first chairperson from February 2018 until October 2020. She has been organizing CPD for mindfulness teachers and teacher trainees since 2008, fostering and supporting the development of a strong community of mindfulness teachers in Ireland.

Josephine is one of the founders of The Mindfulness Centre (mindfulness.ie, 2008), and she is co-director of the 18-month Professional Mindfulness Teacher Training programme which the Centre has been running since 2015.

Sarah-Jane Cullinane (PhD, Diploma in Mindfulness-Based Interventions) is an experienced facilitator, mindfulness teacher, and educator with over 15 years experience working with adult groups ranging from 5 to 500 participants. She leads short and long programmes ranging from 8 week courses, weekend retreats and half/full-day workshops, working with both the general public, with community / advocacy and activist groups, and with management / board groups in the areas of Group Development, Mindfulness, and The Work that Reconnects. She has also completed training in facilitating Council Circles which she uses in much of her work with groups.

Sarah-Jane is currently chair of the board of the Mindfulness Teachers Association of Ireland, a non-profit professional body of qualified mindfulness teachers. She previously worked in Trinity College Dublin as lead Fellow of Education for Sustainable Development and Assistant Professor in Organisational Behaviour where she led a curriculum reform programme across the University and co-developed transdisciplinary modules on Education for Sustainable Development, the Climate and Ecological Crises, and Work and Wellbeing. She co-developed the Postgraduate Diploma in Workplace Wellness in Trinity College Dublin and acted as an academic lead for Healthy Trinity. During this time Sarah-Jane published and contributed to content in national and social media on the topics of mindfulness and sustainability.

Sarah-Jane is particularly interested in creating supportive space for individuals and groups to explore their deep ecology and relationship with the natural world, to grieve for its unfolding destruction and social injustice, and to cultivate their collective resilience and agency for deep transformation.

Dominic has been involved in education as both a teacher, and teacher trainer in Ireland, Ghana, Japan, Oman and Nicaragua over many years. He began practising mindfulness in 2003. He has supported the wellbeing of both students and staff in schools through the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) suite of mindfulness courses known as Paws b, .b and .b Foundations. Dominic spent three years as a Board Member of the Mindfulness Teachers Association of Ireland (MTAI) and was responsible for setting up its Mindfulness in Education sub-committee.

Dominic teaches MBSR and MBCL (Mindfulness Based Compassionate Living) courses to the general public and organises mindfulness workshops in Dublin and the surrounding counties. In addition, he offers introductory courses in mindfulness to community groups, businesses and public sector organisations and offers one-to-one mindfulness training on request. Dominic has had a long association with The Sanctuary where he has devised and taught many courses and workshops related to mindfulness and wellbeing.

As well as teaching secular mindfulness and wellbeing programmes, he also has a particular interest in meditation as a spiritual practice and teaches courses and workshops that address the inter-spiritual dimensions across different contemplative traditions. 

Dominic has worked as a Mindfulness Based Supervisor and Assessor for both the UCD Masters in Mindfulness Based Interventions and The Mindfulness Centre for Professional Training, Teacher Training Diploma Course. He is also worked on the Irish Teacher Trainer Panel for the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP). Dominic provides supervision and mentoring to qualified and trainee MBSR teachers. In addition, he offers one-to-one spiritual guidance sessions within an inter-spiritual framework. 

He continues to upgrade his professional training through attendance at workshops, retreats and conferences as well as maintaining a daily mindfulness practice. Dominic adheres to the Good Practice Guidelines set out by the Mindfulness Teachers Association of Ireland.