General guidance for facilitating at Samma Karuna

Samma Karuna – Version 1.6 August 2018

Abstract: The following document describes Samma Karuna’s standards for facilitating class.

Author: Ishi
Audience: SK Facilitators

• When you facilitate a class you are not there to work with yourself but to support the student’s development and take care of them. You should avoid meditating or engaging on any activity that can make you loose awarness of the group.
• Be on time, if you are running late, you still needing to finish on time. Do this by reducing the lenght of some stage of the meditation you are facilitating.
• If you are facilitating Active Meditations, always describe and demo every stage before starting but also mention the upcoming stage as you move along the meditation process.
• Your maximum priority during class in on students health and safety.
• In case 2 or more people are teaching a class always should be a clearly defined leader and responsable for the class.
• If a student does not follow an instruction, repeat instructions focusing your voice towards this student. Avoid as much as possible providing individual instructions.
• Always finish a class with a general greeting amoung all students “Namaste” and offer them to come to you if they have any questions.
• Its highly recommended also to finish class with some recomendtions post-class such as, drink planty of water, take care of yourself.. stay in the school for a few minutes until you feel more grounded…etc.
• As a Tantric school, self development comes through growing from our light. If you need to provide feedback to a student always do it from a place of what the student can do better rather than what he is doing wrong.
• If a student does something different than instructed even when you clearly instructed otherwise feel free to talk to the student after class. A student need to follow your instructions (or try to) to be welcome to class. Otherwise he is free to perform his own practice by himself.
• Make sure the hall is clean and all fans and lights are switch off before leaving.
• You must not allow dogs inside the hall.
• If you find something that need to be repair or clean (and you cannot do it) please kindly inform this situation to the welcome center.
• As facilitator you are a point of reference in the class. You should stay always visible to your student and your students visible to you.
• Avoid doing something different than you instructed. Some facilitators use special techniques on themselves or get tired of doing something (such as jumping), leading students in perform the excesses incorrectly. If you cannot perform the technique as you instructed better do nothing.