At the Academy for Mindful Teaching, we are proud of our dedicated and passionate team of professionals. Each team member brings a unique combination of expertise, experience and passion and shares a common vision: to promote wellness and personal growth through mindfulness.

Founder Method Eline Snel®

Eline Snel

  • I am Eline Snel, mindfulness and compassion trainer and developer of the Method Eline Snel, a mindfulness method specifically for children and adolescents aged 4 to 19. In 2008 I founded the Academy for Mindful Teaching (AMT), where thousands of professionals worldwide are now trained as mindfulness trainers for children and adolescents.

    My journey began in 1980 as a family therapist and in 2004 I developed my own method for children and adolescents, which is now used in 42 countries and has been translated into 30 languages. My book "Sitting Still Like a Frog" became an international bestseller and led to several follow-up books and meditation app for children.

    In addition to my work as a trainer and author, I lecture at international conferences. My mission is to make mindfulness accessible to children, adolescents, parents and professionals so that they can live life with more peace, attention and resilience.

    Read more about Eline and her method 

Director of Academy for Mindful teaching

Christel van Hoof - Elderhorst

  • As of September 1, 2024, I, Christel van Hoof - Elderhorst, have proudly taken over the Academy for Mindful Teaching (AMT) from Eline Snel. Eline's dedication and pioneering work in the field of child mindfulness are a great source of inspiration for me. With the same passion, I continue her mission focused on promoting inner peace and attention in children.

    I myself, in addition to owning the AMT, am a certified child mindfulness trainer. My personal experience with mindfulness has taught me how valuable it is for both children and adults. I look forward to working with the team at AMT to further integrate mindfulness into the lives of children, parents and professionals.

Educator AMT NEderland

Jan-Paul Buijk

  • As a trainer of the AMT, I stand with heart and soul behind the method "Attention Works!" which gives young children and adolescents more grip and peace in their often already very hectic world. Both from my practical experience in education and my background as an educationalist, I am convinced that the train-the-trainer approach is the most effective method to introduce as many children as possible to mindfulness in a very cost-effective way. Every summer I provide a 5 day mindfulness retreat in the Netherlands from the AMT so that child trainers from the education sector can participate.

    During the trainings I notice that many students, from their understandable motivation and drive, often set their own bar very high. I try to relativize this pressure by making it clear to them that with this training you receive your 'license' as a child trainer, but that you may allow yourself 2 years to learn to drive mindfully. In an open, inviting atmosphere, where laughter is allowed, a fine learning environment is created where you gain knowledge, insight and experience to apply with confidence in your own practice.

Educator AMT Netherlands

Mirjam Blok

  • In 2016, I attended the child trainer training at the AMT. Subsequently, I completed the training as a Mindful Parenting and Teaching trainer. I work as a teacher and attention trainer at the Willibrordschool IJburg. This school has been a Mindful School since 2019. All children at our school receive an 8-week mIndfulnesstraining according to the Method Eline Snel. Teachers and parents can also follow an 8-week mIndfulnesstraining. I speak from experience when I see what the children gain from attention training. The children learn skills that help them focus more. They experience peace in their heads, but also become more aware of external and internal stimuli. The children learn to maintain their attention muscle.

    Starting in 2021, I joined the AMT as an educator in the children's trainer training program and I enjoy doing that. I hope to get many more people excited to become mindfulness child trainers in education, but also outside of it. I find it special to combine my experiences as a teacher with the experiences I gain as a trainer.

AMT ASIA

Trainer and Licensed Partner - Asia

Angie Bucu

  • I came to know Eline Snel, and I trained in the Method, more than 10 years ago through an interest in helping young people discover the possibilities that come from presence and awareness. In this time I have taught mindfulness to children and youth from all walks of life, and I continue to be passionate about sharing the transformations that can happen through pausing, being present, open and attentive in our daily life. Originally from Australia I have called Hong Kong home since 1992. I am an MBSR teacher and I also work with children and their parents in disadvantaged and underserved communities.

    I am honored to be part of the Academy for Mindful Teaching (AMT) international team of dedicated trainers and professionals. For our learning and teaching communities across Asia, I am committed to offering our participants a safe and friendly environment in which they can fully explore and experience all that the Method Eline Snel and the AMT programs offer. We open the space to learn, to be playful, and to experience the joy that is in the Mindfulness Matters!, a commitment that continues long after completing the training. I hope we can work together to bring mindfulness to many of the children and youth who touch our lives.
    Email: [email protected]

AMT AMÉRICA LATINA & ESPAÑA

Directora et Formadora para América Latina & España

Bea Peco

  • Poder darnos cuenta de los que nos pasa, mientras nos pasa... sentir la vida siendo conscientes de lo que vamos sintiendo... Parece simple, parece complejo. La buena noticia es que lo podemos practicar. Y lo podemos practicar junto a niños y adolescentes. Es un privilegio poder formar parte, junto a un grupo de bellas personas con clara intención, de atestiguar procesos de presencia, de cultivo, de práctica, juegos, historias y reflexión junto a ellos. El método desarrollado por Eline Snel atraviesa fronteras, abre barreras, a fin de que los niños y adolescentes puedan acceder a vivir conscientes, a experimentar plenamente la vida, con todo lo que trae, confiando fundamentalmente en ellos mismos y asi, vivir una vida plena, amable, con
    sueños, deseablemente, feliz!

Director et Formador para América Latina & España

Christian Plebst

  • Me llamo Christian Plebst y vivo y ejerzo en Buenos Aires, Argentina. Como Psiquiatra de Niños y Adolescentes mi principal interés ha sido el bienestar infantil, la resiliencia y la prevención, intereses que se han unido naturalmente desde mi formación con Eline en la AMT. Lo que más disfruto es estar en las escuelas y enseñar mindfulness a niños y adolescentes. Como director de la AMT en Sudamérica, mi desafío permanente es contribuir a crear comunidades escolares que practiquen abiertamente el amor y la bondad.

Coordinadora AMT Latinoamérica & EspañaLic. En Psicopedagogía

Vicky Severini

  • Me siento muy honrada y agradecida de formar parte de este maravilloso equipo y de la valiosa tarea que nos convoca de acercar la atención plena a la vida de las niñas, las adolescentes, sus familias y comunidades.

    Mamá de Manolo, Felipe y Julia; apasionada por las prácticas contemplativas, el yoga, la danza, el movimiento y las artes expresivas, el modelo de Eline llegó a mi vida a reunir e integrar orgánicamente mis motivaciones más hondas y verdaderas.

    Como psicopedagoga, danza/movimiento terapeuta e instructora de mindfulness certificada por la AMT, me conmueve y entusiasma profundamente facilitar y acompañar procesos vivos, creativos y conscientes, con la intención de cultivar la vida en
    comunidades cada vez más despiertas, armónicas y amables. Estando en contacto profundo con quienes realmente somos, nutriendo nuestra capacidad creativa y presencia amorosa, es que podremos "ser el cambio que queremos ver en el mundo."

Coordinadora AMT Latinoamérica & EspañaMgtr. En Educación Especial 

Vero Martorello

  • ¡Qué bendición poder ser parte de este equipo que es para mí una parte de mi familia elegida, con plena conciencia y a puro corazón! Siento con claridad la belleza, en todas sus formas y múltiples facetas, de la tarea que nos convoca y encuentra. Siento el temblor y la sinergia en mi cuerpo, por lo profundo y hondo que representa en mi vida el poder transitar este camino y la verdadera alegría de poder hacerlo con otras y otros. Poder ofrecer esta herramienta a quienes nos suceden, en los diversos contextos y abrazando las diversidades que nos son inherentes como valor humano, siento es el legado más genuino, puro y noble que puedo ofrecer en este hoy. 

    Me formé como docente de educación especial y me especialicé en el trabajo con niños y jóvenes con desafíos en su desarrollo. Me divierte y convoca el trabajo con grupos de diversas edades, explorar distintos lenguajes expresivos y potenciar la sabiduría colectiva. 

    En el modelo de Eline encontré la posibilidad de integrar las distintas dimensiones de la aceptación plena y poder ofrecer una herramienta concreta y práctica que acerca el autoconocimiento y la posibilidad de construir comunidad, de una forma amable y cálida. 

    En lo personal, como mamá de T&J&P, agradezco poder contar con este recurso para volver a recordar lo que verdaderamente importa: Soy porque somos. Puedo ser porque vamos siendo. 

    ¡Infinita gratitud y amor!