Inner Explorer Inc

Inner Explorer was founded as a 501(c)(3) organization in 2011 with the mission to unlock academic potential and foster lifelong well-being for millions of children and families. Inner Explorer intends to break the cycle of poverty, violence, and despair for every student through daily mindfulness practice.

We are committed to focusing on impactful programs that prepare all young people, regardless of race or ethnicity, for the robust future with early and consistent academic momentum. A recent Harvard study points out, “it is easier and less costly to form strong brain circuits during the early years than it is to intervene or 'fix' them later." That has always been our approach. Our program brings mindfulness into classrooms through a 5-10 minute a day series of audio guided practices that are easy to implement, require little training and have proven results.

Daily mindfulness practice can be foundational for students to learn and engage in education in a new and generative manner. The documented improvements in attention, creativity and resilience help to improve all education-focused initiatives by bolstering the entire system that supports and effects learning.

The distinguishing innovation of Inner Explorer's program is that it provides an automated method to deliver daily mindfulness practices into the classroom. The mindfulness "teacher" is the audio guided program. Research in mindfulness continues to show that for positive outcomes to be sustained a regular mindfulness practice is the key component. Yet this critical component is missing in most school based practices.

To alleviate this issue Inner Explorer's audio guided approach is available through streaming technology and an internet connection, allowing any teacher, anywhere in the world to easily run the program without intensive training. This is particularly salient with high teacher turnover rates in urban schools. Furthermore since each track is only 5-10 minutes long the program can fit into the school day without changing the curriculum or requiring scheduling shifts to accommodate an outside trainer. This delivery and implementation system also makes the program cost effective and highly sustainable year after year, proving continuity for students as they move through the four age appropriate modules from pre-k through high school. Lastly it gives students and teachers the chance to practice together, shifting the classroom dynamic towards a true community of learners. This is the only program we know of that benefits the teachers as much as student.

We aspire to provide our program to every student, in every classroom, every day. We want all schools everywhere to pilot this program.

Mindfulness Based Social Emotional Learning (MBSEL) programs are gaining momentum in education because they address the underlying issues associated with learning. However, there are several practical limitations that have prohibited wide scale adoption and sustainability of these programs in pre-k to 12 schools. They include the need for over 3 million teachers to be extensively trained and comfortable teaching mindfulness, for school curriculum to be changed to accommodate the program and for a daily practice to be integrated within each of the programs, since regular practice is the strongest predictor of successful outcomes.

Inner Explorer has developed, implemented and researched an MBSEL program (with 4 age appropriate levels from pre-k through high school) that not only resolves the above-mentioned limitations, but also enhances teaching effectiveness and classroom climate. The Inner Explorer program offers a simple method to practice mindfulness each day through an audio-guided platform. This web-enabled approach is infinitely scalable, allowing any teacher, including a substitute, to easily run the program without intensive training.

Every one of the over 3 million teachers in the U.S. could begin the program tomorrow with 20 minutes of web enabled training. Since each of the daily audio-guided tracks is only 5-10 minutes long, it can fit into the school day without changing the curriculum or requiring scheduling shifts to accommodate an outside trainer. This delivery and implementation system is uncomplicated and inexpensive, thus highly sustainable year after year. This design offers continuity and consistency as schools and districts educate students from pre-k through high school.

Inner Explorer helps both students and teachers to develop self-control, resilience and compassion, serving to inoculate them against the ravages of poverty and stress and allowing them to build a solid foundation for all other learning to take place. The program is research proven to improve mental concentration and academic performance while reducing stress and anxiety. It has been the subject of multiple studies, showing significant, scalable and sustainable results in as little as 8 weeks, with greater gains the longer the program runs. Inner Explorer programming improves grades by 15%, reduces disciplinary events by 60% and reduces teacher stress by 43%. The copyrighted program draws from evidence-based content on diverse yet complementary fields including; neurobiology, behavioral and cognitive psychology, emotional intelligence, guided imagery and epigenetics to create an optimized MBSEL system (that is now CASEL approved!)

In our first few years, much of our time was spent focused on program development and research. Although the audio content leveraged world renowned mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) programs, the delivery method was not conducive to partnership or rapid growth so we embarked on a technology platform strategy in order to reach millions of students.

Now our model removes several barriers to daily practice - including time, training and money - and is our best hope of providing mindfulness to every student. Our goal continues to be providing daily mindfulness to all students, in all classrooms. So we are consistently focusing on fundraising, sustainability and marketing. Grants encourage first time use of the program without increasing local budgets. Our experience shows that once the program is implemented with grant funding, schools continue the program by including the cost into the next budget cycle. We focus on sustainability to ensure students are receiving the best academic and life outcomes of the practice by maintaining a 3-5 day per week usage of the program. A focus on marketing through social media and testimonials supports a grass roots and cost effective method of growth. Ultimately, when every student and teacher in every classroom in the world practices mindfulness, we will see an incredible shift in human potential and collaboration.

Mindfulness programming through Inner Explorer helps kids develop self-awareness, emotional regulation and resilience all in the service of education equity, social justice and the expansion of human potential. Research suggests that if a generation of kids grows up practicing mindfulness every day they would process trauma in healthier ways, have fewer mental health and substance disorders, would be creative and discerning in the face of conflict and would be compassionate towards one another. With Inner Explorer, it's happening now.

“Parents keep calling and asking what we're doing. They say their kids are more helpful, more focused and even kinder to their siblings. We tell them it's mindfulness and it stretches beyond the school walls into the home!" (Elementary School Principal)