Foundational Practices for Inner Peace: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness
with John Martin and Tuere Sala
Mindfulness began with one simple teaching: Satipaṭṭhāna, the Buddha’s path to peace through presence.
Over five months, join John Martin and Tuere Sala to explore the Four Foundations of Mindfulness—body, feeling, mind, and patterns and rediscover the freedom of simply being here.
“Every time you come into the present moment, you are relearning Satipaṭṭhāna.”
Begins January 11th 2026
Why Take This Course?
Because mindfulness was never meant to stop at calm.
Many of us turn to mindfulness to ease anxiety, quiet the mind, or find a little peace in our busy lives. And it works, but that’s only the beginning.
Beneath every modern practice lies an ancient source: Satipaṭṭhāna, the Buddha’s complete map of mindfulness. It shows how awareness itself leads to freedom, not through one technique, but through understanding the full landscape of our experience: body, feelings, mind, and the deep patterns that shape our lives.
Learning Satipaṭṭhāna is like finding the roots of a great tree, it grounds your practice, nourishes insight, and connects you to something vast and enduring.
In this course, you’ll discover not just what mindfulness is, but how it works and why it has the power to heal, balance, and awaken the heart.
This is mindfulness at its source: a training not only in attention, but in liberation.
If you’ve ever wondered how to bring your practice fully into your everyday life, this is where that understanding begins.
Course Introduction
This five month journey invites you to return to the roots of mindfulness, not as a concept, but as a lived experience.
Guided by John Martin and Tuere Sala, you’ll explore the Four Foundations of Mindfulness: body, feelings, mind, and the patterns that shape our lives through thirteen progressive practices that bring clarity, compassion, and freedom into everyday life.
Each month centers on a key dimension of mindfulness practice, deepening both understanding and embodiment.
Through teachings, guided meditations, and community reflection, you’ll cultivate a steady relationship with mindfulness as a way of being one that supports both calm and awakening.
Across the five months, you’ll explore practices such as:
- Body: Mindfulness of breath, posture, movement, and impermanence
- Feelings: Recognizing pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral experiences with balance
- Mind: Observing mental states, restless, contracted, or clear—with insight
- Patterns (Dhammas): Understanding the forces that shape perception and freedom
Through these foundations, mindfulness becomes more than meditation; it becomes a way of living: awake, compassionate, and free.
Course Journey
We begin with the heart of practice, breath and posture. You’ll learn to steady awareness through breathing, walking, standing, sitting, and movement, discovering mindfulness as something you can carry into every moment of daily life.
Weekly meditations will introduce Mindfulness of the Hindrances, helping you recognize the subtle patterns of desire, aversion, restlessness, sloth, and doubt that obscure clear seeing.
This month brings a contemplative exploration of the nature of the body itself. You’ll learn to perceive the body as elements: earth, water, fire, and air and contemplate its anatomical parts to soften attachment and self-image.
Through Mindfulness of Death, we open to impermanence not as morbid reflection, but as a profound doorway to freedom and appreciation for life.
Here we turn toward the feeling tones that accompany every moment—pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. You’ll learn how these tones influence craving, aversion, and the choices you make each day.
We’ll also explore the Six Sense Spheres—seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and thinking—as the meeting points where awareness comes alive in experience.
This month centers on understanding the mind itself—noticing when it is restless or calm, contracted or expansive, clouded or clear.
We’ll continue deepening Mindfulness of the Hindrances, learning skillful ways to meet them with curiosity and compassion.
Teachings on the Seven Factors of Awakening—mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, tranquility, concentration, and equanimity—show how awareness naturally matures into wisdom and freedom.
In our final month, practice comes full circle as we explore the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the Five Aggregates—teachings that illuminate how suffering arises and how it can cease.
You’ll learn how these core insights bring together everything you’ve practiced, revealing mindfulness as both the foundation and the flowering of the spiritual path.
What You Will Get
10 hrs Online LIVE
45 Min
5
What You Will Gain
Deepen Your Roots
Reground your mindfulness practice in the original teachings, reconnecting with the depth, purpose, and aliveness that inspired modern practice.
Bring Practice to Life
Learn thirteen step-by-step methods for cultivating awareness in every aspect of experience, from breath and body to thoughts, emotions, and daily activity.
See Clearly, Respond Wisely
Understand the inner forces that create stress and reactivity, and learn to meet them with clarity, compassion, and steadiness.
Live Awake, Every Day
Transform mindfulness from something you do into something you are, allowing presence and freedom to express through each moment of your life.
About the John and Tuere
John Martin
John Martin has been devoted to Dharma practice since 2001, and has been teaching since 2014. He serves as the Co-Chair of the Spirit Rock Guiding Teachers Council. John teaches Vipassanā, Mettā and LGBTQI-themed meditation retreats. He is on the teaching team leading the four year Spirit Rock/Insight Meditation Society teacher training program. John’s spiritual path has included volunteer service work, including over 12 years as a hospice volunteer.
Tuere Sala
Tuere Sala serves on Spirit Rock’s Guiding Teachers Council and is a Guiding Teacher at Seattle Insight Meditation Society. She has practiced Vipassanā meditation for over 30 years. Tuere is committed to lay practice and inspired by bringing the Dharma to nontraditional places. She is a strong advocate for practitioners living with high stress, past trauma, and difficulties sitting still. Tuere has been teaching since 2010 and has a long history of assisting others in establishing and maintaining a daily practice.
Who Should Enroll?
This course is for anyone ready to deepen their relationship with mindfulness, whether you’re just beginning or returning to the roots of your practice.
New meditators seeking clear guidance and a supportive structure to build a steady foundation
Experienced practitioners wishing to reconnect with the original teachings and refresh their sense of discovery
Everyday seekers looking for practical ways to meet life’s joys and challenges with balance, presence, and compassion
Community-oriented learners who value shared reflection, collective practice, and the inspiration of practicing together
Wherever you are on your path, Satipaṭṭhāna meets you there—guiding awareness from effort to ease, from mindfulness to freedom.
Join Us for the January 2026 Cohort
Reawaken your mindfulness practice at its source
where awareness deepens, compassion expands, and freedom becomes lived experience.
Together with a supportive community, you’ll explore the Buddha’s original map for awakening and bring it to life in your everyday world.
Begins January 11th, 2026
Register Now
Payment Plan
- Over 10 hours of LIVE Instruction
- Online learning community
- Lifetime access to the content
- Weekly Guided Meditation
11 monthly payments of
$69
$59
* Early Bird Pricing, 50 Spots Ends Oct 31st
Full Payment
- Over 10 hours of LIVE Instruction
- Online learning community
- Lifetime access to the content
- Weekly Guided Meditation
$699
$599
* Early Bird Pricing, 50 Spots Ends Oct 31st
- Scholarships are very limited and reserved for those who are truly experiencing financial hardship. Click here to apply.
Course FAQ
Although our Programs are available on any device, we suggest using a computer (if possible) and Chrome or Firefox browser to log in: https://courses.spiritrock.org
Note: The login for our Online Learning Platform differs from your Spirit Rock login.
Accessing Your Program Page:
Click on it from your Dashboard after you’ve logged in. Once there, navigate through the sections on “My Courses” on the dashboard.
Are you logged in? Use the “log in” button on the top right of the page. This will give you the access you need to see all the content.
Although the Online Learning Platform works on mobile and tablet devices, for the best experience, use a desktop or laptop. This might be an easier way to find all the areas of the site as you are learning how it works.
The course is delivered LIVE online over a five week period over Zoom.
If you notice a link, content, or anything that isn’t working properly, please email us at courses@spiritrock.org
Try refreshing your browser and check your internet connection. Check another website to see if it’s just our site or something in your system.
Yes, once you’ve completed the course, you will retain lifetime access to all course materials, allowing you to revisit lectures, exercises, and meditations whenever needed.
We would love for you and your Sangha to join as a group. Please complete this form to request group registration.
This course is about the Four Brahmavihāras (Metta, Karuna, Mudita, and Upekkha), which are Buddhist heart practices that cultivate love, compassion, joy, and balance. The course will provide practical meditation techniques and real-life applications to help participants develop these qualities in their lives.
Spirit Rock offers scholarships for those in need. If the course fees are a barrier, please complete the scholarship form HERE.
- If you need to cancel before the course begins, we’ll provide a refund with just a $25 administrative fee deducted.
- For cancellations made by 5:00 PM PST on Oct 31st, we’ll happily refund your payment, keeping only a $49 course fee.
- To assist you with your cancellation, please reach out to us directly at courses@spiritrock.org. We’ll take care of the process for you.
- After November 1st, we won’t be able to issue refunds, so we appreciate your understanding.
- CEs are non-refundable.
Although our Programs are available on any device, we suggest using a computer (if possible) and Chrome or Firefox browser to log in: https://courses.spiritrock.org
Note: The login for our Online Learning Platform differs from your Spirit Rock login.
Accessing Your Program Page:
Click on it from your Dashboard after you’ve logged in. Once there, navigate through the sections on “My Courses” on the dashboard.
Are you logged in? Use the “log in” button on the top right of the page. This will give you the access you need to see all the content.
Although the Online Learning Platform works on mobile and tablet devices, for the best experience, use a desktop or laptop. This might be an easier way to find all the areas of the site as you are learning how it works.
The course is delivered LIVE online over a five week period over Zoom.
If you notice a link, content, or anything that isn’t working properly, please email us at courses@spiritrock.org
Try refreshing your browser and check your internet connection. Check another website to see if it’s just our site or something in your system.
Yes, once you’ve completed the course, you will retain lifetime access to all course materials, allowing you to revisit lectures, exercises, and meditations whenever needed.
We would love for you and your Sangha to join as a group. Please complete this form to request group registration.
Spirit Rock offers scholarships for those in need. If the course fees are a barrier, please complete the scholarship form HERE.
Our Guarantee
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Please read our detailed refund policy in the FAQ above. For any questions or to request a refund, please contact us at courses@spiritrock.org.
Group Program
Join us on the transformative journey of Foundational Practices for Inner Peace and save 15% when you sign up with a friend or group using the link below!
Safe and Secure
At Spirit Rock, we embrace the latest technology to ensure our courses are delivered with the utmost security, allowing you to focus on your journey of mindfulness and inner peace.
