A guide to meditation for teachers and education staff

Meditation is a useful tool that can profoundly affect your sense of wellbeing. The good news is that it doesn’t have to take hours.

In this guide we have broken down the benefits of meditation – backed up by science – and a few different types you can consider trying.

Guides / 11 mins read

A simple illustration of a woman sitting in a yoga position, symbolising wellness

Our annual Teacher Wellbeing Index tells us stress is incredibly high among senior leaders, teachers and education staff. And while it is clear that the well documented drivers of stress in the system need to be removed, it can be helpful to know how to protect yourself.

In 2025

76%

of teachers told us they were stressed

86%

of school leaders described themselves as stressed

One thing you can do to protect yourself from the potential harm caused by stress is meditate.

Meditation is a useful tool that can profoundly affect your sense of wellbeing. And the good news is that it doesn’t have to take hours!

Download our guide below where we have broken down the benefits of meditation – backed up by science – and a few different types you might want to consider trying.

We also explore the connection between meditation and breathing. With simple but effective breathing techniques provided by The Zen Project, a social enterprise working with schools, colleagues and universities to reduce stress and ease anxiety.

Support our charity

Education Support is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting the mental health of teachers and education staff. We only provide free resources thanks to the generosity of our community of donors. If you’ve found these resources helpful, please consider making a donation today.

About the author

Emily Kenneally is a UK-based communications specialist working across teacher mental health, social prescribing, and workplace wellbeing in education. She has over 10 years’ experience in the charity sector.

She is a trauma-informed mindfulness practitioner, trained in non-clinical Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) at NHS Sussex Mindfulness Centre, and holds a Master of Design from the University of Brighton.

Since 2019, she has delivered wellbeing workshops to 1,400 adults and children across education and healthcare, including at the University of Surrey and NHS Sussex.

She joined Education Support as Content and Media Manager in 2022, co-producing 100+ teacher wellbeing resources with educators and partners, including The Mental Health Foundation and NAHT, contributing to BBC News reporting of the Teacher Wellbeing Index.

Sources

Full Catastrophe Living: How to cope
with stress, pain and illness using meditation,
Jon Kabat-Zinn, 15th edition, 2007
Mindfulness Based Cogitative Therapy:
Distinctive Features, 2nd Edition,
Rebecca Crane, 2017
How breathing can reduce stress and anxiety, NHS therapy in focus
Breathing exercises to relieve stress, British Heart Foundation
Zen tips from The Zen Project, zen tips pack

Resource last reviewed April 2026.