Mindfulness Meditation Teacher

What if your presence could help someone find calm in one of the hardest places to be human?

Insight on the Inside (IOI) invites compassionate volunteers with an established mindfulness meditation practice to bring steadiness, care, and attention into DC jails. If you believe in mindfulness as a tool for real change—and want to use it in a way that truly matters—this is a deeply meaningful way to serve.

Since 2012, IOI has partnered with the District of Columbia Department of Corrections, offering seven mindfulness classes each week. Our volunteers help create moments of pause, reflection, and connection in environments shaped by constant stress.

Classes are grounded in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), an evidence-based program shown to reduce stress and support emotional well-being. Through guided meditation, thoughtful questions, and simple stories, participants learn to relate more skillfully to anger, cravings, trauma, and difficult emotions—while cultivating compassion, clarity, and self-awareness.

The impact is tangible. We regularly witness participants become calmer and more compassionate with one another. Clinicians and jail staff often observe our classes and consistently express appreciation for the grounding, stabilizing presence this work brings.

By volunteering with IOI, you support:

• Mental and emotional well-being
• Personal growth and rehabilitation
• Safer, calmer jail environments
• Skills participants can carry with them after release

IOI provides training, mentorship, and ongoing support within a caring teaching community. Volunteers are well-prepared, supported in their own practice, and never asked to do this work alone.

If you’re ready to bring mindfulness where it’s most needed, Insight on the Inside would love to welcome you.

Please visit our website and fill out a volunteer interest form: https://insightontheinside.org/volunteer-interest-form