The Embodied Jewish Woman with Rena Reiser

By Rena ReiserHealth & Fitness Mental Health Religion & Spirituality Judaism

The Embodied Jewish Woman with Rena Reiser episodes

November 26, 2023 154 - Somatic Mindfulness Practice 11 26 2023
New Breathing Technique + Body Awareness Meditation Rena led a demonstration of a new breathing technique. She instructed participants to inhale through their noses, close their mouths as if their lips were wrapped around a straw, and exhale through their mouths for a count of eight. They were then told to close their mouths and exhale through their noses for a count of two, followed by three regular breaths. This process was repeated for three rounds. Participants were encouraged to stop if they felt the first round was sufficient, or to repeat if they wanted to continue. Rena then guided a body awareness meditation. She encouraged attentiveness to the physical sensations, emotions, and overall state of the body. She then asked participants to visualize these sensations as if they were a person and to greet them with compassion. She suggested asking this 'person' about their heart's desire and feelings, and to offer help achieving their desires. Rena emphasized the importance of providing internal support and returning to this practice as needed.
10 min
November 23, 2023 153 - Somatic Mindfulness Practice 11 23 2023
Guided Meditation: Joyful Body Scan Rena led a guided meditation focusing on breathing techniques and body awareness. She instructed participants to focus on their breath moving through their heart space, and then guided them through a full body scan to notice and relax each part of their body. She then invited participants to notice the overall emotion that was present in their body, and noticing where and how they feel it. She then invited them to recall a joyful memory, noting how it felt in their body. She suggested going back and forth between the original emotion and the joyful one, and then staying with the feeling of joy for as long as it was comfortable.
11 min
November 22, 2023 152 - Somatic Mindfulness Practice 11 22 2023
Neshama Support Exercise Rena guided the participants through a breathing exercise, and then introduced the concept of how the Neshama is the mother of the Nefesh and can provide emotional support. She invited the participants to connect with their bodies, paying attention to their feelings and needs. She then suggested imagining the Neshama as a loving mother, and invited the participants to let their felt sense express its feelings without judgment, trusting that their needs could be met in this way. The exercise was open-ended, allowing participants to stay in this supported state for as long as they needed.
10 min
November 21, 2023 151 - Somatic Mindfulness Practice 11 21 2023
Mindfulness Exercise: Breathing and Orienting Rena guided the group through a mindfulness exercise focused on breathing, nervous system awareness, and orienting. The exercise began with mindful breathing and noticing the nervous system state. Participants were then asked to observe their hands as if for the first time, noticing details such as color and size, and the sensations of air touching their hand. The exercise progressed to looking around the room, then back to the hand, and finally to observing the whole space around the body. The practice ended with a return to mindful breathing and noticing any changes in the nervous system state.
10 min
November 20, 2023 150 - Somatic Mindfulness Practice 11 20 2023
Meditation Exercise on Thoughts and Breathing Rena guided the group through a meditation exercise focused on thoughts. She started by instructing the participants to use the physiological sigh. Rena then invited the participants to shift to noticing the thoughts that were prominent in their minds, with emphasizing that these thoughts are from Hashem. She then asked the participants to bring these thoughts into their bodies, observe their physical response, and compare it to the response when thinking an opposite thought. The exercise ended with a deep breath and a reflection on the effect this had on their bodies and minds.
10 min
November 19, 2023 149 - Somatic Mindfulness Practice 11 19 2023
Meditation and Emotion Dialogue Rena led a meditation session where she guided participants to focus on their physical and emotional states, identify their dominant emotion, and converse with it with compassion. She suggested asking the emotion what it likes or dislikes, what it needs, and how to help.
10 min
November 16, 2023 148 - Somatic Mindfulness Practice 11 16 2023
Meditation Exercise for Joy and Nervous System Regulation Rena guided a meditation exercise designed to help the participants shift their nervous system state and find a sense of joy. She first asked the participants to focus on their breath and bodily sensations. Then, she instructed them to bring to mind a memory, image, person, place, or thing that brings them a sense of joy. They were asked to imagine this and notice how it felt inside their body, shifting their focus back and forth from the initial sensation to the feeling of joy. Finally, they were guided to stay with the sense of joy, inviting it to spread throughout their bodies, and observe how their state had shifted after spending time with the feeling of joy.
10 min
November 15, 2023 147 - Somatic Mindfulness Practice 11 15 2023
Rena guided the participants through a meditation exercise to connect with their bodies and minds. She encouraged deep breathing and awareness of the surrounding environment. The aim was to recreate the felt sense of a memory of feeling Hashem's support in the present, focusing on the physical sensations and emotions it invoked. Rena reminded the participants that they could return to this place of peace and comfort at any time they needed additional support.
10 min
November 14, 2023 146 - Somatic Mindfulness Practice 11 14 2023
Rena guided a meditation starting with focusing on breathing and then shifting one's attention between something directly in front and then to the surrounding space, expanding it to the whole world. She then guided the attention inward, focusing on an object or emotion inside the body, and then to the space all throughout the body. Finally, she suggested that they find a word to describe their experience to integrate it into their whole body and take it into their day.
10 min
November 13, 2023 145 - Somatic Mindfulness Practice 11 13 2023
Rena guided the participants through a meditation exercise to help them become more aware of their thoughts and emotions. She encouraged them to focus on a primary thought that had been preoccupying them, to question how it aligned with their values, and its corresponding emotional sensation. She then led them through an exercise to explore the opposite of this thought, to question how it aligned with their values, and its corresponding emotional sensation. Then moving back and forth between the two thoughts, the participants deepened their felt experience of each thought, leading them to further integration of their values.
10 min