Guest Instructors

Cindy Grand
Assistant MBSR Instructor

Cindy Grand is a physiotherapist with 17 years clinical experience, now working as a Senior Consultant in health system change. She has been an assistant facilitator of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program with Hannah Marsh since 2021, and has been leading meditation practices since 2017, and mindfulness meditation since 2020.

Practicing and living mindfully has brought a richness to her personal and professional life, and inspired her to want to walk with others on their mindfulness journeys. She is pursuing her MBSR facilitator training with the Centre for Mindfulness Studies and completed the MBSR Teacher Training Intensive with Patricia Rockman in April 2022. Cindy has been mentored over the past 2 years by Priscilla Koop and Hannah Marsh, as she has led practices and developed weekly drop-in mindfulness sessions for healthcare providers. 

Cindy’s own meditation practice journey began with her training in medical acupuncture, which introduced her to medical Qi Gong. She completed level 1 & 2 Qi Gong training with Dr. Steven Aung in 2002 and has sat two 3-day Qi Gong retreats. She then completed her foundational meditation instructor certification training through Life Style Meditation in 2017. Cindy also has a background and training in Cognitive Coaching and facilitation, and completed her Cognitive CoachingSM foundations training in 2019 with John Clarke. This research-based model of teaching takes an approach of discovery and inquiry which has complemented Cindy's mindfulness training, contributing to her skill in mindfulness-based inquiry and her personal approach of being mindful in her own life and with others. 

Through practicing different types of meditation, she found the 8-week MBSR program in 2020, and through it found her love of the practical, accessible, and evidence-based nature of mindfulness practice. She is honoured to facilitate and assist others on their journeys to discovering how practicing and living mindfully may enrich their own life experiences.

Cindy has a MPH in Health Promotion from the University of Alberta.