Oct 15 - Nov 19, 2026
After 3 sold out trainings, this is the last cohort of the year!
First, a little background on Lifeshop.
Lifeshop is a space to learn all the things that no one ever teaches us.
Because what's more useful: geometry, or how to communicate with someone you love?
Lifeshop is a school in New York for lifelong emotional learning, where we can come together and learn all the things that for some reason no one ever teaches us.
Our workshops are in-person, communal, experiential, practical, and make emotional growth (somehow) fun.
Our theory of emotional change
We believe that a highly effective way to work on ourselves is:
- In real life with other people
- In a group
- Through a combination of theory and applied practice
- In a not woo-woo way
…really works for people!
96% of our workshops have sold out (!), and 85% of people say that they definitely want to return.
Typically ~150 people come to Lifeshop every week, leaving feeling a little less alone and a little more inspired.
"When I sit on the subway on my way to Lifeshop, I feel sad for everyone else that they don't get to come to Lifeshop too."
"Being at Lifeshop was pure magic, I've never been to anything like it… Better than 100 therapy sessions."
"6 months later, I still think about what I learned at Lifeshop every day. I left and knew I wanted to come to every single one."
What makes Lifeshop different
Nothing like this exists. (We're also scratching our heads and can't figure out why…)
Lifeshop combines the best of multiple formats while avoiding their limitations.
More actionable + applied than podcasts / books
Embodied, rigorous, real-life practice — not just self-help theory consumed alone.
More interactive than events
All Lifeshops are immersive, personal, and experiential — not passive listening.
More real life than retreats
Lifeshop is embedded in New York: a low barrier to entry that is part of your real day to day life, not an escape from it.
More communal than online
Ongoing connection and belonging: we are in person, realizing that "it's not just me" (and no one needs another Zoom).
More theoretical than therapy
Not only learning frameworks and impactful, practical skills, but also practicing them — out loud — with others.
More inclusive than other 'community' spaces
Genuinely welcoming to everyone, not exclusive or elite.
More financially accessible than therapy / retreats
We believe that emotional learning shouldn't be a luxury, and should be accessible to everyone. High-quality experiences at a fraction of the cost.
New to Lifeshop?
Check out one of our upcoming Lifeshops taught by our founder, Alex Simon, for 50% off.
Use code FACILITATION at checkout.
Our founder,
Alex Simon
In March 2025, Alex founded Lifeshop. She personally teaches the whole LFT, and she also teaches 60% of Lifeshops herself. She has led over 180 workshops in the last 2.5 years.
Alex has taught applied emotional intelligence at Yale since she was 27. She teaches a class she designed, on all the life skills she wishes she learned in college. It is one of the most popular undergraduate courses at Yale.
Alex has a podcast series with Simon Sinek, called Feelings at Work, and she also collaborates with Alain de Botton (she leads The School of Life North America).
She has taken hundreds of hours of facilitation courses (300 hour Mindfulness Teacher Training to teach mindfulness in prisons, Integral Facilitation, Conscious Facilitation Mastery), and pulls the creme de la creme from all of them for the LFT.
She is a speaker at conferences and festivals, and leads corporate trainings, including for venture capital firms, scientists, CEOs and founders.
She is based in New York.
That's Lifeshop. And now, we're sharing the magic.
A 5 week-long intensive on the art of transformational facilitation
For facilitators who want to grow their practice, people who want to start facilitating for the first time, or people who feel generally curious and looking for inspiration, here you can finally learn everything we know about facilitation.
Much like every Lifeshop itself, we will learn not only theoretically (through frameworks, strategies, and helpful tips), but also experientially — through hands-on practice, reps, and refinement.
By the end, you will be able to design and lead powerful workshops with clarity, confidence, warmth, and depth.
You will leave with:
- A fully designed workshop of your own, that you can immediately start leading
- The complete Lifeshop methodology and structure
- Facilitation frameworks and best practices
- Real-life facilitation hours under your belt
- A Lifeshop-Certified Facilitator certification
- Deep confidence in your ability to hold a group
- A cohort of peers / community of facilitators you can continue practicing with
- A path toward paid teaching roles — both at Lifeshop and beyond it
Who this is for:
Current facilitators
Facilitators, speakers, educators, and coaches who want to refine, deepen, level up their craft, or expand their style.
First-time facilitators
Those who have something they want to share, and/or feel curious about making a facilitation a new part of their work.
People who want to teach at Lifeshop
This is the first step (and a required one) for those who want to apply to teach a Lifeshop — whether just one workshop, or to become Lifeshop Faculty long term.
People who want to build an AI-proof skill
The ability to move a room, build trust, navigate emotion, and create meaningful human connection will only become more valuable.
Anyone who wants to learn for their own personal development
Like a yoga teacher training, you can join just out of curiosity, for your own personal enrichment.
Leaders who want to refine how they hold groups
Any team leaders, creatives, entrepreneurs who want to learn how to lead better, and create alive, emotionally intelligent group experiences.
Why this training exists
Over years of practice, we’ve discovered a reliable method to make magic — a way of crafting group experiences that genuinely help people connect and transform. And now, we want to pass it on.
Alex couldn't find anything like this when she was learning how to facilitate, so here's the Facilitation Training she wishes she had.
This intensive is:
- Content-rich and practical — rigorous, filled to the brim with actually useful content, frameworks, and tools
- Experiential — interactive and engaging, modeling what we are studying (experiential learning)
- A cohort experience — deep, relational, and accountability-building. We grow faster when we learn in a group that is practicing, giving feedback, experimenting, and supporting each other.
- Emotionally intelligent — personally enriching, designed for EQ-specific subject matter
- Not too woo-woo but also not corporate
- Actually teaching you how to hold a room, and take your facilitation to the next level
You’ll learn everything from the big picture architecture to the micro-skills that make Lifeshops powerful and special.
And a bunch of frameworks and skills that are applicable to any workshop, meeting, retreat, or group experience you want to build.
Program structure
10 live classes
and 4 office hours
10 sessions (2 hrs each) and 4 hrs/wk of (optional) additional office hours + extra practice time
October 15 - November 19
5 weeks,
twice a week
Interactive
and live
This is a lab, not a lecture!
We learn by doing, watching, trying, playing, and refining all together.
Mondays and Thursdays
Mondays and Thursdays, 3 - 5 PM EDT
Completely
online
All online, so you can join from anywhere! But don't worry, it will keep you engaged.
What you'll learn
The big picture
- How to hold a group with both warmth and authority
- How to build trust quickly
- How to design and execute experiences that unlock life-changing insight
- How to structure the overarching flow of a workshop
- How to teach experientially, and why it changes everything
- How to be yourself as you are facilitating / teaching
- How to facilitate with excellence
The 'small,' important moves that create the magic
- How to craft and execute impactful activities
- How to avoid fluff and deliver rich content
- How to frame and structure questions
- How to give instructions that are clear, simple, and specific
- How to model vulnerability without centering yourself
- How to respond live to people's shares and questions
Many different skills and tools
- Intro circle + impact circle
- Roleplay
- Visualization
- Shame-busting
- Eye contact techniques
- Debriefs
- Harvest
- Reflect & expand
You’ll be equipped to run powerful, standout workshops anywhere — not just at Lifeshop.
If this appeals to you, you can book a 15-minute call with Alex here.
This training is the first step to facilitating at Lifeshop
If you want to facilitate at Lifeshop, the Facilitator Training is the required first step.
After completing the program, you can apply to:
- Teach a one-off Lifeshop (paid)
- Be a part of the ongoing Lifeshop Faculty (paid)
Please note that these are highly selective roles! Completing the LFT does not guarantee that you will be able to teach at Lifeshop.
LFT Graduates will be the first in line as Lifeshop grows.
Pricing: LFT for as little as $2,200
LFT is offered on a sliding scale: $2,400 – $4,400
The Facilitation Training Program costs $4,400.
And, because we care about making it financially accessible, we offer it on a sliding scale:
- $2,400: Supported Rate
- I’m navigating financial constraints at the moment (e.g., unstable income, limited benefits, or ongoing debt.)
- $3,400: Standard Rate
- My needs are met and I have steady income (though this investment requires intention + planning.)
- $4,400: Sustainer Rate
- I’m financially abundant and am able to pay for the full cost of the training.
We trust participants to choose the tier that reflects their situation. No documentation or explanation is required.
If finances are an issue but you really want to be a part of the training, please email us (ASAP) at [email protected] and we are happy to speak with you about it!
Early bird pricing: Apply before Sun, Oct 4th for $200 off → bringing it down to $2,200
If you apply to LFT before the Early Bird cutoff (Sunday Oct 4th at 11:59 PM), you can access an additional $200 off.
This would mean a sliding scale of $2,200 to $4,200.
(Which comes out to just $88-$168 per class hour.)
Payment plans are also available
If this is still financially a stretch, we have flexible payment plans available for those in need.
Please reach out to [email protected] to discuss!
If you feel like you have wisdom you want to share with others but aren’t sure whether you “are a facilitator,” or are holding back from doing this training because of financial constraints, we explicitly invite you.
Let’s get on a 15-minute call and meet each other! Book a call with Alex here.
What's included
- 20 hours of live training with Alex Simon
- 1 hour a week of office hours for Q&A (optional)
- Practice time outside of / in additional to class time (3 hours a week, also optional)
- Unlimited free Lifeshops with Alex during the training (in person in New York)
- During the 5 weeks of LFT, you can come to unlimited Lifeshops taught by Alex for free
- You may also come to all other Lifeshops for 50% off (not taught by Alex)
- This offers additional value of up to $600
- Lifeshop-Certified Facilitator Certificate
- A high-caliber cohort — a unique peer group of facilitators learning together
- Ongoing facilitator community — WhatsApp group for questions & practice, both during the 5 weeks and after it
- Recordings of every session
- A future path into paid work as a facilitator — both at Lifeshop and beyond
Some things worth noting
This training moves FAST! Alex speaks fast, we learn a lot quite quickly, and practice a lot too. If you prefer something that moves more slowly, full warning — this might not be the best fit!!!
This 5-week intensive is a real commitment! In addition to 4 hours of class time most weeks, we will have homework, 1 hour of office hours (optional), and additional (optional) practice meetings with a small group outside of class.
What you get out of this training is what you put into it, as you can imagine. We highly recommend only participating if you feel genuine desire to improve at facilitation, and if your heart will authentically be in it!
Exact dates
All classes are 3 - 5 PM EDT.
In addition to our 10 live class sessions, every week we will also offer optional office hours (1 hour/week, with Alex) and additional optional group practice time (3 hours/week).
- Thursday October 15
- Monday October 19
- No class on Thursday October 22
- Monday October 26
- Thursday October 29
- Monday November 2
- Thursday November 5
- Monday November 9
- Thursday November 12
- Monday November 16
- Thursday November 19
Where to go from here
Apply by October 11th!
LFT is a selective cohort with a limited number of spots. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis up until October 11th at 11:59pm, so the sooner you apply, the more likely you are to get a spot!
You can either apply directly, or you can meet with Alex for a 15 minute intro call to learn a bit more about the training before applying.
Don't overthink your application! It's mostly logistics, and a couple of questions about why you want to be a part of this.
FAQ
Can I take the LFT if I do not live in New York?
Yes! This is a fully online program. We have had people from all over the world — England, Spain, Bermuda, Canada, Scotland, Mexico, etc.
What happens if I miss a class?
Because these are experiential mini-workshops (not lectures), it's required to be live / synchronous!
If you have an unmissable conflict, you can watch the recording before the next class.
You may only miss up to 2 of the 10 classes live to be considered an LFT Graduate.
Will this LFT be offered again?
This will for sure be our last cohort for the year. Perhaps we will do one more in Spring 2027, but we cannot guarantee it will be offered again. So if you really want to be a part of it, this is the only sure bet!
Will I learn everything about facilitation in just 5 weeks?
We wish! But sadly this is simply impossible. But you will certainly get every single best practice we know of :) And a lot of practice time. These 5 weeks are just a start.
Do I need prior facilitation experience?
No! You do not need to already have facilitation experience in order to do the LFT. It is designed for all levels.
Is there homework?
Yes! We will have coursework to do in between classes, including developing our own workshops.
Application is here.
Thank you!
If your interest is piqued but you are not sure, if you have any questions, or if you want to meet Alex to get a sense of her vibe/style, you can meet with Alex one-on-one and see if this is a good fit for you!
Book a call here.
Lifeshop Facilitation Training