About Me

I’m Jon Walker, a retired physician, and during my years of clinical practice I realized the profound value of cultivating mindfulness and self-compassion. I redirected my career to be able to offer trainings in these qualities and to make what I teach as accessible as possible. I have done the Training in Mindfulness Facilitation program offered at the Mindfulness Awareness Research Center at UCLA, and have done teacher training in Mindful Awareness Practices. I have also done the 2-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher’s Certification Program (MMTCP) with senior teachers Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield through the Center for Greater Good at University of California, Berkeley. Additionally, I've done teacher training in the Mind Body Medicine program developed for physicians and medical students through Indiana University School of Medicine and University of Cincinnati. 

My training in Mindful Self-Compassion was done through the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, and that included training in online teaching and self-compassion for healthcare providers. My training for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction was done through the Center for Mindfulness at University of California, San Diego as well as though Imagine Mindfulness. I have also done training in Mindfulness-Based Chronic Pain Management through University of Toronto and training in Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness through David Treleaven's organization. My training in Focusing was through the PUPA Focusing Training Program. I am certified through the International Mindfulness Teacher’s Association and the MMTCP program, and also a member of the American Mindfulness Research Association and International Focusing Institute. ​

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I have also done training in Internal Family Systems with David Treleaven and Govinda Bader and multiple Nonviolent Communication (NVC) trainings, primarily through NYC NVC. I am not certified in these, but I have found them to be crucial adjuncts to mindfulness and self-compassion. Internal Family Systems is a great framework for working with what you find as you study your mind, and NVC is invaluable for deciding how you are going to act in the world once you understand and authentically support yourself. Richard Schwartz’s book No Bad Parts is an ideal intro to IFS, and NYC NVC is the best resource I have found to deeply understand and integrate the ideas of Nonviolent Communication.

 

Perhaps my main qualification, though, is that I have lots of life experience being neither particularly mindful nor self-compassionate, and addressing that remains a work in progress. So I am highly motivated to help you avoid such a fate!

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In addition to my online classes, I have done sessions for a number of organizations in the Fort Wayne area and beyond. These include:

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Parkview Hospital, Lutheran Hospital, Parkview Behavioral Health, Park Center, Allendale Treatment, Fort Wayne Recovery, Purdue Fort Wayne Continuing Studies, Indiana University, Indiana University School of Medicine, Manchester University, Wabash Hospital, Gladieux Consulting, Surgical Eye Expeditions International, Boardable.com, Glenelg Country School, University of Saint Francis School of Nursing, Benchmark Human Services, Cancer Services, Carey Services, the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, Imagine Mindfulness and others.

 

If you are part of an organization that is interested in offering these resources to your staff, please let me know. I often do this as a volunteer, especially for non-profits and those in healthcare.

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By the way, as a retired physician, I no longer provide healthcare in any form, and nothing on this site or in my teachings should be considered medical or mental health advice. (Check out the disclaimer for more details and additional info regarding the use of this site.)