Interview With Lou Redmond: Becoming A Meditation Teacher

In this conversation, David and Lou explore the real path of becoming a meditation teacher, from starting in local classes to guiding thousands online. Lou shares how authenticity, presence, and caring for students matter more than perfection, and why the teaching journey is as much about your own growth as it is about helping others.

Transcript

All right. Hello, Everybody. I'm here today with my good friend, Lou Redmond. Lou teaches in the Meditation Teacher Training. This is our third round of it together. It's going to be in 2026. Lou is a coach, An author, And a very popular meditation teacher on Insight Timer. Lou, I've been on your podcast. We've had a number of conversations together. We've known each other for a long time, And it's good to see you again, Buddy. It's good to be here, David. What a gift. We're just two meditation teachers with good microphones. Well, I always say I want to be David Gandelman when I grow up. You've always been a mentor for me. You've been just a little bit further around the road, And I'm just grateful to be in your tracks. That's just because I'm older, Man. It is great to be here with you again. This conversation, I would love for us to go really deep into what it's like being a meditation teacher guide, Doing one-on-one work and give folks a window, Especially people who are interested in walking this path. Maybe they're starting to, Or they just want to, And help them realize that it's possible and what it looks like, Which obviously is always changing. Maybe that's where we could start. What's different about being a meditation teacher now than when you started? What does the landscape look like? How have the students changed? How has your career changed? The biggest notable thing is that when I started, So much of the work for me was in person, So doing weekly classes, Teaching at studios. I did a lot of work in school, So going to schools, Teaching kids. Obviously, That's still a potential, But I think after the pandemic, That a lot of things switched to solely online, Which is amazing. I think one of the beautiful aspects is that we can live a lifestyle that has a lot of freedom in it. I know some people will try to sell you that lifestyle as if it's the focus, And I'm never one to sell the lifestyle because it comes with its challenges. I'm a believer that we should want to be doing this work because it is coming from our hearts, Because it's something that we've been transformed with, And we want to give back that transformation. Just in a quick quip, The biggest shift for me has been so much more online. Then with online, That comes with learning new skills, Learning new ways to market, New ways to reach people. How do you create meditations and where you're putting them? How you're making the most of the meditations that you're creating, Whether that's putting them on meditation apps, YouTube, Podcasts. It's just other skills if you want to lead in the online way. Now, I still think there's so much opportunity in person, Especially now that we're in post-COVID time and people are wanting to gather. That's definitely been one of the bigger shifts for me in the last decade of pursuing this. What have you noticed with the change in students? Are they coming in for the same reasons as they did? Do they have less attention span? As a teacher, What kind of shift have you noticed there? I have less attention span, It feels like. It must mean I have to continue to deepen the practice, Because it is. We do live in such a high-paced dopamine rush, Scrollification, Quick hits, Where that is a part of the consciousness. I don't know if it's just myself that's felt it more over the years, And that seems to project out into the world in a way. I do think that it has only grown, Especially again with COVID bringing us all online, Where we're constantly seeking some kind of hit of something. At the people are coming with, There's perennial issues out there. If you're a teacher, And you can find a way to position yourself in these perennial issues, Whether it's relationships, Whether it's finances, Whether it's health and just well-being, These are always going to be issues that people are facing. I'd be curious, Your thoughts too on, Is AI going to extrapolate some of these issues? Maybe. Is it going to help some of these issues? Maybe too. We're really sitting in this really interesting time of what's going to happen as AI comes in with people seeking this type of support. I can make cases both ways on it's going to grow, Or maybe it's going to have a transformation in some ways. If you can come back to people are always going to be going through divorces, Dealing with difficult things, Seeking support. It's just learning to find where's your lane. I think that's something that I learned over the last decade is where is my gifts? Who do I want to meet with? Let's just say if I'm talking in a one-on-one container, What do I want to be working on with people? Because I do have the skills and capacities to work on a wide variety. I think as a meditation teacher, You learn that naturally. You learn how to hold space, How to help people deepen into their process. You could just be a meditation teacher that works with anyone on anything, But it's probably even more so as there's more teachers coming into the world learning, Who do I want to work with? What are the topics I actually want to work on with people? What makes me come alive? How am I excited to do the work? You might not need to know that in the beginning, But I know that has continued to crystallize for me over the years. Who is a teacher that you looked up to as you started to become a teacher or before? Is there someone that you always wanted to emulate? Or is there one teacher that had the most impact on you whose teachings that you just loved and took to heart and helped you transform? There's so many teachers that can come to mind. I'm trying to think of the meditation aspect of it. Initially, Some teachers that I feel like I've ingested and have woven into my own meditations is someone like a Joseph Campbell, Who is not a meditation teacher, But what he taught about myth and the hero's journey. For me, That was so important during that time where I was on my own hero's journey, That taking that and weaving it into meditations and helping people figure out their purpose in life and to direct them and to move through the uncertainty and the fear, I feel like that's been someone who I've definitely ingested and have taken my own ways and brought it into my own teachings. If I think of people that they might know who she is, Let's say on Insight Timer, I'm like anyone else back in 2015, 2016, Found this woman, Sarah Blondin, And just crying my eyes out to her meditations on there. I would joke in one of my courses that I have on Insight Timer, I mentioned this at the end of also someone Tara Brock for a point was really supportive. I mentioned I'm not like a Tara or Sarah. I would get a lot of feedback saying, Lou, Yes, You're not, But I really like you even more than those people, Or I like you for these reasons. It was just a reminder that whatever you look up to, And you might think, Oh, I can never be this person. We can't. You're not meant to be that person or that teacher. What you'll find is as you actually come alive into, As I mentioned, How you share your own gifts, Just to certain people, They need what you have more than your teacher, More than what you think. We love to compare and say, Oh, They're, Quote unquote, Better than me. I can go on and on around spiritual teachers that have continued to have an impact, But I'll pause there. Yeah. A teacher of mine used to say, If you want a perfect teacher, Choose a dead one. I always loved that. That was so easy to idolize somebody who's no longer alive. What about the opposite end of the spectrum? Was there any teachers or any formative moments where you're like, That is not what I want to do or be? I've definitely had a few with some gurus and different teachers. I was like, Oh no, That is not the direction I want to take. I'm always surprised. I watch a lot of cult. I love cult documentaries. I don't know. It's because we live on this edge of things could turn into a cult very fast sometimes. I feel like I'm on the fringe of these type of communities and world. Just like any good spiritual teacher often starts out with, There's a lot of positive things. Then how does it turn in these webs? I'm always surprised. It tends to fall for the three false idols in some way. It's either money, Power, Fame. I guess sex is a part of that, Which is maybe a separate thing. It seems to always go down that route when it gets bad. It's like tail as old as time. That's just always curious for me to be like, All right, Just be aware of that. Be aware that these things, Just because we are spiritual, We're also very human. These are very human traps that we can fall into. I don't know. I think as far as an actual experience that I had where I'm like, I don't want to be like that. I think part of me in the beginning really wanting to, I wrote a book and wanting to be a speaker and go out and talk about it and also share meditation was always a part of my talk or like, Hey, This is what can help you. It was always like an invitation into that. When I see how, I don't know, I saw people in that field in the ways that they had to overly sell or that whole world of speaking and someone like a smaller version of a Tony Robbins, Which again, Not meditation necessarily, But I was kind of turned off to that aspect of it, Of having to sell people on things to run seminars and do this whole industry on its own. That was a bit of a turnoff to doing that and actually just really finding, Actually just creating and sharing meditations and just that pure sense to be the most rewarding and where the energy was. I think if anyone's listening to this, Figuring out their path, Whatever, I'm imagining it's in some realm of wellness or healing or growth. Often we want to give back what we received. Meditation transformed my life. How do I give back in some ways? I found that we kind of have to let ourselves experiment to try new things, To go down this path and maybe to get pushed around to do another path and continue to experiment and wait till like, Oh, This door is really opening and let me just keep going to this door. In that way, I'm a big believer. There's not really a failure. Just esteem yourself for taking action, Signing up for the training that calls to you, Doing the next thing that is opening or just putting yourself out there in some way. I feel like I'm a big believer. We have to meet God halfway. I had a talk recently that's like, Stop attracting, Start acting. Meaning sometimes for meditators, We feel like we can just sit and think about what we want to bring into our lives. I think there is a part of that that allows us to feel and there is some truth in that, But there's also our responsibility to actually take action amidst the immense uncertainty of what our path is going to look like. We can only just take that next right path. Yeah, I agree with you. I once had a teacher who would always say he was enlightened, And then one day he exploded in anger at somebody asking a very basic question. I'll never forget that because it was such a letdown and a pop of a bubble. It just really always stuck with me. As I became a teacher, I was like, Well, Let me not just pretend I'm enlightened because it'll attract more students or give me some ego high, Whatever that game is, And just be myself instead. That was a more formative experience for me than a lot of the teachers that I looked up to. I've always really shied away from that perfection picture that you're just right. I think a lot of people who want to become teachers, I'm not perfect yet. I'm not ready. I've got my own issues. I'm human. Then they shy away. Actually, I think if you're willing to be honest with that stuff, You can make a much better teacher than someone who's just great at holding it together in public. If anything, I feel like I've built. . . If I didn't do that, I don't think I'd be talking with you right now. I've never taken the. . . I've have something figured out and I'm bestowing this. It's always more of the, Hey, I really messed up here. Here's the story. Here's what I learned from it. Maybe you like this meditation that's helped me to go through. That's always been the way. That's been my path to. . . Not that you have to go that path of. . . I think there's archetypes that you can take on. You can take on being a resource for people. The way that you teach is bringing a lot of other things in. You can take on being the expert in neuroscience. There's so many different ways that you can follow your own way to how you teach. That's always been me. It's just, Hey, I'm going on this journey. Here are my notes. I had a teacher in a meditation retreat I went to, Amazing Buddhist teacher, Vinnie Ferrero. Hilarious guy. You don't find a lot of hilarious Buddhist teachers, At least I haven't found a lot of them, But he's hilarious. Something that always stuck with me was. . . Oh, There's God. Sorry. We're just comparing notes. Hey, Here's my notes on life, So to speak. Other people are like, Oh, That's interesting. I didn't see those notes. That's helpful. I'm going to put those into my notes. Then we're all just sharing the notes we pick up in our journey. Yeah, We're all just sharing notes. How's life for you? Suffering, Annoying, Fun, Just sharing notes. Yeah. My AI has been taking my notes recently. They're a little professional now. Yeah. That's right. In terms of the actual landscape of teaching, You teach on Insight Timer. Most teachers have a landscape of stuff that they do. It's rare that you just do one thing. But what is something that you do focus a lot on where you've noticed there's a lot of return from impact, Really reaching people, Something that's fulfilling as a teacher? Yeah. I think I've always felt more of a meditation artist than a meditation teacher. To me, It's a creative process. Doing that both is really fulfilling personally, And just the creativity of it, But also what drives the most results. If I create a 20-minute meditation or 30-minute meditation around a specific theme, That meditation then goes out to Insight Timer. But then also for that week, That theme that created the meditation, That can become a newsletter that I write. It can become what I talk about on social media. It's really just one piece of work that works for you over and over again. I found that to be the most return on investment and the most rewarding. Doing that, And then posting it, And then people listening to that, Feeling impacted from it, And then having the system where, Yes, If someone was like, Hey, I want to go deeper with this guy, What do they have? They go to your website, And maybe they get on your newsletter. They see you have other opportunities to work with you. That's kind of been my flow of being able to create. I think what's beautiful about meditation compared to, Let's say, If you weren't into meditation, But you were trying to make it in the wellness field. Let's say you're a wellness coach, And you're posting on these 90-second reels, And you're having these quick hits. But the thing about meditation is it's such an intimate connection with someone. It's a form of long-form content. When you spend time enough with people, There's a trust that's built. If you're just talking about sales, No like and trust factor, Going for a week, Someone meditating with you for every day for a week or something builds so much trust. It also proves that, Wow, You actually know what you're doing, And that there's a shift that's happening. It's so much easier for that person to want to work with you than to try to attract random people cold who've never had an experience with you or only have an experience with you through a very short time frame or a very short frame. They read something. Yeah, They like something, But there's so much depth in a long-form meditation. There's so much trust someone has to give you to even let them into your mind, Really. Yeah, I just think it's such a powerful form of content in that way, Of long-form content that has been the biggest factor for me in building out and growing into other places and giving a lot of credibility to go out into schools or to companies and have those offerings out there too. I wonder if the Buddha was alive, If he would have a channel. He would reach a lot of people for sure. Or an Insight Timer profile. People will be commenting, He talks too slow. Who knows, Right? I remember recently, Not too long ago, You interviewed Christopher Plowman, The CEO of Insight Timer. I got to interview him some years ago as well. We've both been on that platform for, Good Lord, I don't know, A long time now. Many iterations. Many iterations. You guys discussed the changing landscape of the app and the direction and what people are interested in. I think me and you have a unique insight into that because we've been teaching on the world's most used meditation app. We've got to see so many iterations of it over the years and also know what works and what doesn't, What people want, What they don't, What's landing with them, What isn't. I think these days, A lot of beginner or new meditation teachers, That's one of the first places they go. It's an easy onboarding. In five minutes, You can set yourself up as a teacher, Put an audio on there and get some feedback. What has your experience been like teaching on there? What have you noticed? Where is the energy these days? Is there room for new teachers? At the baseline, Endless amount of gratitude for Insight Timer and what it's afforded and doors that it's opened. I think you've been on that journey for longer, As long as I have. I know a lot of people that have been on that journey. It's always been interesting, Insight Timer, And we talked about this with Christopher, Is the way the universe has supported Insight Timer. For the longest time, They weren't making any money, But it seemed like they never spent money on ads, Which is insane that they became this huge platform without spending money on telling others about it, That it was purely this word of mouth, That it just grew. The universe not only supported Insight Timer, It also supported so many people that I know in their own journey of wanting to share this work. At the foundation, There's endless gratitude for the platform, And platforms change. I've known this from the very beginning. It never was an intention to build my entire business on Insight Timer. It was always like, This is really great. I want this to be a pillar of the overall landscape of what I do. I've always known that. They have made some changes. They're always going to have. . . Our benefit is Insight Timer survives and does well at the end of the day. They've obviously made some changes, But I'm so hopeful that they continue to figure it out. They continue to figure out, Okay, How do they support teachers with more opportunities? It's 10 years in. I think even Christopher still considers himself a startup. His vision is for it to be a platform that supports teachers, Where you can go on and you can run your entire business on Insight Timer. It's clear that he believes in that mission. Whether it's possible or whether it's going to happen tomorrow, Who knows? It's clear that he believes in it. That's step one. If your CEO doesn't believe in the mission, Then you probably should jump ship. I think I'm a big believer in the Chinese adage, The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The best time to be on Insight Timer was probably 10 years ago. The second best time is now. It's starting now, Figuring out the system, Starting to develop a live schedule. I think lives still are the best way for people, New or old, To grow your following and audience on there because you're getting in front of new people. Figuring out how to go live on there. Who knows? In the future, They plan to have paid live events. They used to have workshops, But this is a little bit different where people can pay for classes. We'll see how that goes. I know you've been running retreats. I know that was amazing to have a place to promote it, Which I think has been doing well for you. I know a couple other teachers who it's been doing pretty well for. I haven't run any retreats yet, But that's definitely an option. That's a big dream for anyone getting into this, Is wanting to run retreats. I'm a big believer in, Sure, It's not right now, For some people, For many people, Going to be your full income. But cultivating it, It's still, I think, In a positive energy around where it started, Which was this generosity model. The universe has supported it. I trust that the universe will continue to support it and hopefully support me through it. But at the same time, Maybe for everyone's path is different. Sometimes I ask myself, It's like, Yeah, The dream is to grow larger than Insight Timer, To expand beyond it. It's a yes end. So grateful for it. I'm going to continue nurturing it. And, Yeah, Growing beyond it, I think, Is something to figure out as well. Yeah, I agree. I'll share a little Inside Baseball stories I don't think I ever shared. First time I ever met Christopher, The founder of Insight Timer, We were meeting in New York City in Manhattan. And whatever corner we chose, We didn't know there was a climate protest. Oh, It was in front of Trump Tower, 2015, I think. And we couldn't find each other because there were thousands of people protesting. And we didn't know. And finally through these crowds, And he's from Australia, Like, Well, Welcome to America. I don't know what to say. This is not so normal. And we had a great chat and walked through Central Park, Me, Him, And Matty, Who works there as well. It was so fun. And then the other story I wanted to share when you mentioned the retreats, I have had success sharing my retreats on Insight Timer. And that's been pretty cool. So it is, I see it like, Just like you see it, It's kind of like building an ecosystem for your teachings. And Insight Timer, Maybe if you're an online teacher, Maybe you're just an in-person teacher. But if you teach online, It's part of an ecosystem and a place where you can share mostly non-exclusive content. And it's just a way to reach meditation enthusiasts. And actually just recently, The New York Times, I know you know this, New York Times named Insight Timer the best meditation app of 2025. So that was really cool. And yes, Without any ads, Although I will add a little bit more Insight Baseball, Insight Timer some years ago said, David, We want to run some ads with you. Let's start there. I made a bunch for them. And then like the day before they're like, They pull the plug. They're like, No, No, We don't run ads. That's not our jam to run ads. So I was like, Oh, Okay. It's close. I've always appreciated the way they've done business, Though, And how well they've run that ship and navigated without spending money on marketing or advertising. That has been a really neat thing to watch. And no matter what platform you choose, If you just put out killer content, Really great meditations, Whatever it is, Over and over, Over time, It'll work. Most people give up way too soon and they expect results way too soon. But the way I try to think of it, And you tell me what you think, Is if you make a piece of content that you think is so good that one person will send to their friend, Like, You got to listen to this thing, It's going to help. And then they send it to someone and say, You got to listen to this. I think you do that, Not feed the algorithm. And then the algorithm rewards the peer-to-peer shares. And honestly, Lou, I look at my content and I ask myself, Is that something that I think is good or is it phenomenal? Would I send this to a friend and say, I really think this will help with this issue? Yeah, Love that. I 100% agree. You're reminding me of the Seth Godin, Who I know you're a fan of. He's a marketing business guy, But just a deep thinker and philosopher around this. So I highly recommend learning. And I know in the training, You recommend some of Seth's work for people to learn about marketing. But Seth has a book, And just the synopsis of that book is creating something that's remarkable. And the essence, What is remarkable, Just means people will remark on it. Like, Hey, Just like if you saw a purple cow, You're like, Hey, There's a purple cow. You would tell someone else about it. And so thinking of in your meditations, If it is good, People are like, Hey, They want to share it with others, Because know what, They get a good feeling when they know that they helped someone else, Because then that others get a good feeling. And so yeah, I'm a big, Big believer in focusing on, Just focusing on that, Not worrying about trying to play the algorithm or play the game. Like, It could always change. Like, It's like timers messing around with that all the time. And so, You know, I, There was a friend Darius Bashar, Who's probably been one of the faster growing teachers on the app in the last five years, He started in 2020. And, You know, He told me once Christopher, You made that change around return rate, Which I mean, It's some inside baseball here. But he was like, I'm not changing anything like there's this is impacting me 0%. I'm going to keep creating the content that I'm going to create. And that's has been his success. And he's so consistent. And that's another, You know, He's, He runs a group outside of insight timer that allows him to create a meditation a week. And it's really the system is really working for him. And he creates amazing, Amazing, Amazing content. And he's, But he's been doing it every week for five years. And so there's a, I think I learned this from Noah Kagan, The rule of 100. It's like, Whatever you commit to, Can you give yourself 100 times, Do it 100 weeks, Right? So for two years, Create a meditation a week for two years, See where you're at in two years. And in two years, If you're like, Well, That didn't work, Then reassess. Yeah, People want to do like, You know, Two, I'll do two meditations. And then hopefully, It'll, It'll pop off. See, A good teacher answers a question you don't even ask. And, You know, Michael Galleon, Who I'm teaching this teacher training with to he, He got millions of followers over just a few years by literally every single day doing a one minute meditation, Just one, One minute, Every single day. And that, And it worked. And he made content clearly that moves people. I played one of his podcasts for a friend recently, And they started crying within five minutes. Just like, Just see, Yes, This really touched on their emotions. So yeah, Insight Timer is we probably do an entire talk just on them. And that is where, You know, My core student base has grown over over the years, Obviously, I've expanded over time. But in terms of that, Making content so remarkable, Or making it impactful, Because I would never call my content remarkable. But I will say that, Like, I get things that are close to threats, If I don't make a new sleep podcast, Like, Where's the next one? Like, They want to choke me out. And so I don't think the contents were remarkable, But at least people want it and or need it. And and Seth Godin will, You know, He'll always say, Will people miss you if you're dead? The way he puts it. Yes. And I always like that question. And so that challenges me to make things better, And really focus on just getting better and better and better over time, You know, Mastering the craft of teaching. That's a never, Obviously a never ending R. When, Well, Let me ask it this way, What advice would you give to somebody who's just starting out that maybe wants to be a coach, A teacher, A mentor, A guide? And they're like, I don't know if I've got what it takes. Maybe I've got some imposter syndrome, Where do I start? Well, You know, I'm sure you already coached some of these people, By the way. So what kind of what do you walk them through? How do you give them help them with the confidence to do this? I'm a big believer that imposter syndrome means that you care, And that any quality of leadership is going somewhere where you haven't gone before, Or anyone hasn't gone before, Like literally to when talking about self leadership is actually being willing to step into the unknown where you don't know what's going to happen. You don't know, Can you are you going to rise to meet the occasion? And I love the Richard Branson quote, When someone hands you a good opportunity, Say yes, And then go figure it out how to do it. So if you feel the call, Sometimes it's like saying yes, And then just going to figure out now, This is not to say that, I believe that our inner work is a reflection of our outer work. So there's also like the, You know, The real inventory, I don't think that you need to be like, You don't need to wait, But don't be like, It's not a black and white, Okay, I'm gonna do all my healing work. And I'm gonna work with my coach and therapist, And I'm gonna go to retreats and ceremonies. And then okay, And then in a year, Boom, I'm going to just teach, I'm going to just coach, Right? It's not like a or it's not a, It's not a one, The next, The next, It's like those things need to continue to move with each other, That you're continuing to do your own self work, As you go out into the world. And I mean, This is not to like, Sell people on coaching, Because I could get where this is coming from. But it always, It always boggles my mind when someone wants to do something that they haven't actually done themselves. So I'm going to be a coach, But I've never worked with a coach, Or I'm going to be a teacher, But I've never actually worked with a teacher. It's like, There's, I just feel like an energetic misalignment of you taking the medicine and feeling the medicine. Now, I get like, You might have had a meditation and coaching and one on one stuff that might not be what you want to do, You might just want to share meditation and meditation maybe did create the transformation for you. But when you're thinking about like getting, Starting off, Like actually getting support from people and, You know, Mentorship. And, You know, I've worked with you, David, I've worked with, I've worked with coaches, Since I started, You know, At the level that I can afford, Right, It's always changing in different levels. And so, You know, Really understanding that, Like, People can, That we can't do it alone. And we don't have to do it alone, That there's people that have done it already that can actually help you. And that's going to be the fastest and the most fulfilling way. It's like, Other people have done it. Okay, There's something in our mind that sees when it's possible that it's, Oh, Okay, It's possible. And then that just has an effect in our psychology, And has effect in our momentum. And so yeah, Like I recommend for whatever you're at to seek the, Seek some support, And also continue to do the inner healing spiritual work. And sometimes those go hand in hand. Sometimes you work with someone that's like, We're doing both of those, And it's great, Which often can happen. I think that's my favorite. I mean, I've worked with a client today, I was helping her write her novel, And then sitting and meditating together. That's amazing. All in one session. Yeah, That's amazing. I love doing that. I hope you don't ask me for a refund for my coaching after this interview. You always gave me a good deal. Oh my gosh. So just before we finish on this journey of being and becoming teachers, There is a part of us, Obviously, We're all always students. And then we put on the teacher hat, And then we guide. I don't know about you, But for me, Then I go transition back into being a student and learning. But I've always found that at the stage I'm at maybe in life, The best way for me to learn something or deepen into it is to teach it. I get another level of it than just being a student. Have you found the same thing? 100% Yeah, I think that's that this rings true for so many. And I think it can limit a lot of people like, Oh, I'm not an expert in this. I don't really know this. But in taking the time to actually teach it and understand it like that, You're really knowing it, To know something is like to know it, In some ways, Subconsciously. So like knowing it in your body. And sometimes you can only really do that by sharing it and transmitting it to others. So yeah, Huge, Huge believer in that. And that can often help people get over that hump of Oh, I'm not the expert, Right? I'm not actually no, But you care like people just, It's that classic line, Like people don't care how much you know, They until they know how much you care, Like if you actually care about the content that you're sharing, If it's coming from the heart, That's all we like, That's, We're so starved for realness and authenticity in the world that when there's like a moment, Even if you're just starting out, But if you do it in this authentic, Real way, Man, That is the that is the transmission like that is the teaching is is your your energy around it. And I think that's another thing that I know, You know, We've talked about before and talk about in the training is, Is your your presence and your energy and your not your care for it is 80 90% of the way like and then the rest is just yeah, Learning how to facilitate a group and hold space and you know, There is there is a role of like, Yeah, I'm holding the first I'm the facilitator in this room. So there's a different sort of orientation that you do have to learn like there's a responsibility in that because the responsibility for everyone else's care and safety that they know someone's in charge, Not that you're better than them. But it's just Yeah, So learning to facilitate and I think the best way to do that, Too, Is you got to just keep you got to do it, You got to put yourself in those situations to actually like, Yeah, Figure out how to facilitate whether it's online and in person, Like they're all different, They all have their own different flavors that you kind of just have to learn by by by being in it. Yeah, You know, Recently, A friend of mine asked me how long should the gaps be between when I'm talking in a certain kind of meditation. And like, There's something you just learn from doing it 1000 times over from working one on one or with a group, There's an energy there. And it's almost like a river. And I'm moving along with it. And like, Oh, It's going off too far over here. Let's rein it in now this side. And there's an intuition that grows over time, Guiding people even on a recording, Even if I'm just recording, And there's no one here but me, I can still tap into feel that energy. And I'll as a teacher be meditating alongside the meditation while I'm guiding. I always do that. And so I'm feeling it in the moment with myself and or with the group or with one on one. And that's, You know, That's always really helped me out. I remember, I gave a talk, I was on a panel in Australia once. And it was like hundreds of people in the Australian Museum in Sydney. I was kind of nervous, You know, Lots of cameras and just the whole thing. And I'll never forget that I felt nervous until I started speaking. And then when I started speaking, I realized, Oh, Just sharing what I always what I know, And what I always share, And just being myself. And then getting to connect with everyone after like, Wow, There's students in Australia that have listened to me, And there's been an impact there. And that, For me, As a teacher has always gone the longest ways, Like, Wow, You're actually making a difference in somebody's life. That is the coolest freaking thing imaginable. I love that. That's it, Man, Getting those, You know, Not that we need the validation, But it's so rewarding to get people's emails or comments or yeah, When you can, You know, Run into someone in person, Like, That's just, It's so incredible. And it's like, Yeah, Like, That's why, That's the cherry on this whole thing is like, Oh, That's just so sweet to receive, And like deeply meaningful, And makes us why we want to do this work. I agree. The other day, I was leaving breakfast with my aunt and uncle, And someone stopped me, And they were like, I love listening to your stuff. I was like, Oh my god, See aunt and uncle, I do have a job. Like, What do you do, David? Immediately, My grandma gets a call. He's somebody, Somebody recognized. Yeah, We should be, We should teach a class how to talk about what you do to people. So last thing here, We're doing this meditation teacher training together, February, It starts February 2026. And it's a year long, This time around. Last two times, It was nine months. We changed this, Lengthened the structure a little bit. So there's more time just to practice. And I would love to just take a moment and go over it. So one thing, Luke, You come in, Guests teach, Lou does small groups, So groups of five or six people. So there's the big class. And then there's the small group class where if you get to choose the time or the teachers, If you want to be in Lou's group, You can. And that's a great way to just have a smaller cohort. And then if you want to do one on ones, For example, With Lou, You can choose to do your one on ones with him too. And so I, What I really love about this program is kind of very hands on. And there's the big group, The medium group, And then the one on one, And then the practice. And so you're kind of held at every level. And what I like is that every teacher has their own style and method. And like, For example, You, There's so much you can say on writing a book, On teaching on Insight Timer, On having a podcast. And for the students who they're like, I'm not just a Buddhist mindfulness teacher, I'm more broad, They might look to someone like you and be like, Oh, That's the style I want to be free and work on, You know, And all the things under the sun. So maybe you could just share what it was like teaching in the last two. And yeah, Just who you think teacher training is for, Maybe who it's for, Who it's not for. Yeah, I mean, Well, I mean, I must say like to you, David, Like, I'm so grateful to be a part of it, Because it was also a big catalyst for where my work focused in the last two years, Running those small mentorship groups with teachers that are just starting. Those were just so much fun for me. Like it was, It was like, These are my people, Because these are where I was, These are the people where I was, You know, You know, Eight years ago or something. So it's been amazing to be a part of it. And, Yeah, I think who it's not for, It's definitely not for someone who just wants to like, Keep their, Their video off and just like, Listen, And not really like do their practice or to really show up and contribute. Like if that's how you do a training, Then you're already not going to be a good teacher. Like it's already like, Why even waste the money? Because if you're really if you're not, You know, Engaged with it, And like actually like putting energy to it, Then, Then the chances of like, Actually taking this into the world are tough. So if that's you, And you're just, You know, Wanting like information, Dopamine of like learning stuff, And maybe, Maybe there's a rule, Maybe it's okay for that, Like, But I think where, Where, You know, People that really can really feel a calling, I think, At least the people that I've worked with, Like, They really feel a calling to, They've had an impact transformation through meditation or their practice. And they're like, Wow, How can I just share this? How do I share this with others? And what's great about this training is you really give people a wide lens of different modalities and different pathways that they can take. And with the mentor teachers, There's a lot of skills and experts in like different places that you can really learn a wide variety of stuff and decide for yourself, Like, Where, Where do you want to take it? So, Yeah, I think if you're feeling that pull, And you'll know if you're feeling that pull of can this be, Can I make this my life's work? Because that's what I was for me. It's like, I want I quit my job. And I'm like, I want to devote myself to something that is really meaningful and of the soul and meditation was what transformed me and I wanted to give back. And I always say, Like, If it's your life's work, Be willing to work for it for life. And so to do a year long training, Like, Oh, My gosh, It's so much time. And, And then to want it to like work in the next month, Like thinking about this, You know, What do you want to do? Would you be excited to be doing this in 30 years in a flourishing way? And it's like, Okay, You know, It takes 1020 years for an overnight success. So giving, You know, Building the foundation with this 12 month container and the immensity of beauty and the teachers that are there, I just think is building the foundation for a much larger long term picture. So if you're looking to like, Make, You know, A million bucks in meditation in the next year, Probably not for you. But if you're looking to like, Build deep in your practice, And really like do work that you deeply care about, And just also connect with a lot of cool people, Then I think you're gonna you're gonna love it. Thanks. Yeah, I agree with that. And meditation now is I think the landscape has changed to where there's a lot of integration of different skills. So someone might be a yoga teacher, A therapist, A counselor, A school teacher, A guide, A parent, And like, And then teaching meditation is something they add to their repertoire. And versus maybe, For some of us, It's like the thing for others is just one piece of the pie. And that's another way I like to look at it, Too. And in the past, It was like, You're a mindfulness teacher, Or you're Vedanta, Or you're Zen. And I think now it's a much more integrative picture as well. And instead of just being a Buddhist, You're just yourself. You're teaching people how to become more conscious and wake up to who they are. And you've got many different paths to walk them on when you do that. So that also has changed since I started. And it's way easier to make a living being a teacher now than when I started. Lou Redmond, I know you got a role because you have clients because you are good at this. It was so great to see you again and speak with you. And thank you for sharing your light as always. Anytime, David. All right, My friend. Thanks.

Reviews

Thank you

Such a helpful discussion. As a new Insight Timer teacher I learned a lot, mostly to keep going, and got validation that I am on the right path because I have gained so much from meditation and I truly want to share it with others. Thank you both, not just for this but for all your guidance 🙏 💛 I feel so much love and gratitude for you.

Thank you! 🙏

Thank you for sharing and supporting us on this journey!

Really enjoyed listening to two of my favourite teachers! Great insight into your inspiring journeys. Thank you 🌟