The Embodied Jewish Woman with Rena Reiser

Self-comfort and Joy Meditation

Rena led a meditation session to help the group explore their emotions and cultivate self-comfort. The exercise began with a series of deep breaths and gentle self-touch, followed by a body scan to identify physical sensations. Participants were encouraged to name their feelings without judgment. The meditation then shifted focus to a joyful future event, visualizing the positive emotions that might arise from this event. The group was instructed to switch between their current emotion and the joyful future visualization, and finish off the meditation by giving themselves a big hug.

Meditation on Hashem's Support Rena led a guided meditation focusing on Hashem's support. She guided participants through a series of deep breaths and physically grounding themselves, and then asked them to bring to mind a minor challenge they were facing. The aim was to help them feel Hashem's support through this challenge and to cultivate the ability to rely on His support in other areas of their lives. Participants were encouraged to find a word, phrase, or image that captured the sense of Hashem's support, which they could return to at any point during the day.

Meditation on Breath Awareness Rena guided the group through a meditation focused on breath awareness. She invited the participants to observe the temperature and fullness of their breath, follow its path in and out of the body, and then broaden their focus to the surrounding room and the overall environment. Rena emphasized the gift of life that the breath is, noting that it nourishes the body and offers opportunities for choice and growth, provided for each individual in every moment by Hashem. She ended the session with a final deep breath, encouraging participants to recognize that they can return to this practice throughout the day for relaxation and calm.

Breathing and Body Awareness Meditation Rena led a guided meditation focused on breathing and body awareness. She invited the participants to focus on the audibility of their exhales, to notice the surface that they're on supporting them, and to describe their bodily sensations to themselves. Rena then invited participants to consider the opposite of their current feelings, imagining what it would feel like if anything was possible. The exercise involved switching between the original emotion and its opposite, noticing the new aspects that emerged, and then finally attempting to be with both feelings simultaneously.

Body Awareness Session Rena led a practice on body awareness. She guided the participants through a series of exercises designed to increase awareness of their bodies and emotions. These exercises involved deep breathing, sensory awareness, and visualization to understand and connect with the body's needs and emotions. Rena concluded the session by suggesting that participants stay with their bodies for as long as they need and then transition back to their surroundings when ready.

Future Visualization of Joy

Rena led a practice focused on mindfulness and visualization techniques. She guided participants through a series of exercises designed to help them connect with their bodies, focus on their breath, and visualize future moments of joy. She also encouraged participants to observe their current emotional state and practice first going back and forth between the joy and their present feelings, and then practice holding both their anticipated joy and their present feelings in their bodies simultaneously. The practice concluded with a reflection on how their breathing had changed throughout the exercise.

Meditation on Hashem's Support Rena led a meditation session focused on the theme of support from Hashem. She guided participants through a body scan exercise to become aware of their physical selves and the support they receive from their surroundings, all sent from Hashem for them. The session also included a focus on the felt experience of support.

Guided Meditation for Nervous System Regulation Rena led a guided meditation focused on regulating the nervous system. She encouraged the participants to focus on their breath moving in and out of their heart space, and then notice the state of their nervous system. She also guided them to explore the boundaries of their sensations and the spaces around those sensations. At the end, participants were asked to compare their current nervous system state to the one at the beginning, noting any changes in regulation or dysregulation.

Relaxation and Stress Reduction Meditation Rena led a guided meditation focusing on relaxation and stress reduction. She invited the participants to take deep breaths, allowing the exhale to be slightly longer than the inhale, and to focus on relaxing common tension points. She then guided the participants to bring their attention inside their bodies, noticing their overall mood and emotion. Rena suggested allowing the felt senses to be as they are, not trying to change them, and trusting that they will transform. She also suggested shifting attention to the opposite of the current feeling, and then shifting back and forth between the two. At the end of the meditation, Rena encouraged the participants to invite an image or phrase to help integrate the experience.

Emotional Awareness Meditation Rena guided the group through a meditation focused on mindfulness and emotional awareness. She encouraged participants to breathe deeply and notice their body's sensations, and asked them to describe their feelings. She then instructed them to ask their felt sense a series of questions to understand it better, with the aim of offering support and compassion, and without any agenda to change the felt sense. The practice was designed to help participants gain insight into their emotional states and learn how to provide for themselves in those moments.