ABOUT THE MINDFUL DESIGN
The organization
The Mindful Design is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 41-3044531). Its mission is to make practical mindfulness education available to everyone — supported by donations, not tuition.
Mission Driven
- We are dedicated to accessibility, ensuring finances are never a barrier to high-quality mindfulness training and personal development.
The Academy is its primary program: short, scenario-based lessons that rehearse real moments, not a library of guided meditations to half-listen to.
Mindful Learning Reimagined
Practice Together
We move away from passive listening toward active practice, ensuring every lesson translates directly into your daily life and challenges.
Join our community for weekly sessions guided by Matthew, focusing on real-world application of mindfulness techniques.
Rooted in Tradition
Our methods are grounded in the teachings of Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield, blended with modern instructional design principles.
Educational Design
Feedback
This work continues to evolve through the people who practice with it. If you've taken a lesson, joined a meditation, or worked with me one-on-one, I'd love to hear what was useful, what could be clearer, and what you'd like to explore next.
The people behind this
One teacher. One small nonprofit. Here’s the story.
The Mindful Teacher
Matthew Grunewald
Matthew founded The Mindful Design and built every lesson in the Academy himself. He's a certified mindfulness teacher through the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP) — developed by Sounds True and led by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield — with over a decade of daily personal practice.
He also spent years designing corporate and educational e-learning, which is part of why these lessons look the way they do: short, scenario-based, built to rehearse a real moment rather than explain a concept. He hosts the Academy's donation-supported weekly group meditation and leads one-on-one live sessions personally.
A Personal Approach
Every lesson is crafted by a human teacher with deep personal practice and professional design experience.
Community First
Beyond the app, we foster connection through live meditation and direct teacher interaction.
Have questions or want to collaborate? Email Matthew.Grunewald@themindfuldesign.org to start a conversation about your practice.
For other teachers
Want to lead sessions too? If you're a mindfulness or meditation teacher and this resonates, reach out — I'd love to talk about what that could look like.
The Mindful Design Academy