Certifications
From the first mindful breath underwater to training the next generation of instructors, the Mindful Diving™ pathway grows with you — always inside the standards of your own diving agency.
The Water Gallery
The descent
Already PADI, SSI, CMAS or RAID certified? See how MD-1 layers onto your certification.
Not certified yet? Start with the scuba diving guide or how to choose your diving course.
Specialty — optional, at any level
Not a level: the levels remain MD-1 to MD-5, and they do not change.
World Happiness Academy
No prerequisites. Certified divers and complete beginners are equally welcome. Dive Into Presence is the World Happiness Academy's open practice program — the first breath of the pathway, before any credential.
Ask the Institute about current dates, delivery format and entry requirements.
Join Dive Into Presence →Ready to certify? Begin with MD-1.
The entry credential. A practical pre-dive routine, emotional awareness, buddy communication, attention underwater and a structured post-dive review.
Open Water Diver (any recognized agency), or taken in parallel
≈ 2–3 h online (practical core) · 2 supervised water sessions, arranged separately
A QR-verifiable digital credential, individually addressable and revalidated every three years.
Deeper practice: emotional regulation under load, buoyancy as meditation, ocean-connection ethics and mindful buddy communication.
Mindful Diver™ + 20 logged dives
≈ 8–10 h online · 4 supervised water sessions + portfolio
A QR-verifiable digital credential, individually addressable and revalidated every three years.
For divemasters and guides who lead people, not only dives. Facilitating briefings, debriefs and the state of a group.
Divemaster equivalent + Advanced Mindful Diver™
≈ 10–12 h online · 4 supervised leadership dives (practicum)
A QR-verifiable digital credential, individually addressable and revalidated every three years.
Licence to teach the Mindful Diving™ curriculum inside your own center, with annual quality review and mentoring.
Active instructor rating (any recognized agency) + Mindful Dive Leader™
≈ 12–14 h online · 4 supervised teaching dives (practicum) + assessment
A QR-verifiable digital credential, individually addressable and revalidated every three years.
The faculty credential. Trains and evaluates new instructors and supports the Institute's on-site center audits.
Mindful Dive Instructor™ + 2 years teaching the standard
≈ 14–16 h online · supervised MD-4 cohort + viva & panel
MD-5 requires certified MD-4, at least one year teaching that level, an agency instructor-trainer or course-director rating, and an invitation from the Standards Council. Online access is not authorization.
A QR-verifiable digital credential, individually addressable and revalidated every three years.
Mindful Diving™ is taught as specialty programming inside your existing agency framework. You keep your SSI, PADI, CMAS or RAID path exactly as it is — Mindful Diving™ adds the wellbeing layer on top. It is complementary, never a replacement.
Every certification is issued as a QR-verifiable digital credential — individually addressable, easy to check at a glance, and revalidated every three years to keep the standard current.
Verify a credentialThe standard, published
Everything each level requires — knowledge, water, assessment, and the non-compensability of safety — is written down in the open.
Read the Mindful Diving Standard v1.0 →
Five levels. One practice.
Mindful Diving Institute
Choose what you want to practise next. Everything here is optional; you can also revisit your course or use a free practice.
Prices cover online learning. Agree water sessions, practical assessment and professional affiliation costs separately before enrolling.
MB-D
Explore breathing awareness and build a reflective practice through the 21 Breaths cycle.
€88
Mindful Breath Diver: €66 for eligible MD credential holders; eligibility is checked at checkout.
Course details and prerequisitesDM-F
Explore fear and doubt, rehearse a conversation and write your own dive-day plan.
€55
Course details and prerequisitesLO-F
This free companion carries MDI’s connection between technical learning, emotional awareness and connection into life between dives. Here you can explore being yourself, receiving support and connecting with the living ocean through land-based reflection. No diving experience or water entry is required.
Free
Course details and prerequisitesPrices cover online learning. Agree water sessions, practical assessment and professional affiliation costs separately before enrolling.