Student Stories
Great Medicine For Me
I discovered Jennifer Reis a few years ago through a Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra session led by one of her students, who was visiting my home of Key West. Something deep opened up within me during that yoga nidra – I released a well of emotion - and later that day something quite wonderful and serendipitous occurred: I consciously reached out to my late father in my meditation. I acknowledged an apology he’d offered while still living, which at the time I had awkwardly brushed off, minimizing the cause behind the apology, and saying it was ‘unnecessary’. And now, in
My Life Improved With Five Element Yoga®
Eighteen months after being diagnosed with osteoarthritis, I had to undergo a total hip replacement. I tried everything possible to avoid surgery, but my quality of life kept deteriorating to the point that I could no longer take walks. I had to use a cane, when I walked anywhere, and eventually, even around the house. A lover of nature, instead of taking walks along Lake Ontario where I lived, I could only drink in the healing beauty by sitting on a large lake-side rock. And my yoga practice, which I had been practicing to some degree for decades, was limited
I Have Found Fresh + Bright Energy Within
Around nine years ago, I had a serious health scare, that left me with joint pain and neuropathy in my feet. Having been an athlete most of my life, I had to somehow make a shift in my daily living. I had a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, standing and walking. Yoga somehow found me, it was something I could do with my body, and I loved it! I wanted to learn more and to deepen my new practice. For my own depth of knowledge, I decided to do a 300hr Teacher Training. I had absolutely no intention of
Now I'm Proactive Instead of Reactive
I was diagnosed with breast cancer over 20 years ago during my thirties. Having never been ill before, I felt the wind knocked out of life as I knew it. A good friend gave me books to read on mind-body medicine, and introduced me to meditation and yoga. These were a welcome source of comfort and strength as I navigated the uncharted waters of a scary illness and treatments. I am happy to say that chapter ended successfully and also helped shape the person I’ve become. For one thing, it began my yoga journey! Over the years, I took a
My Ultimate Goal Is Meditation
Hearing the words “you have cancer” is devastating on all levels. I am a perfectionist, a hard worker, and I strive for excellence. These personality characteristics and the highly stressful jobs I held for forty-two years were not without cost, chiefly to my health. In 1990, I had surgery to remove a lung due to a rare, untreatable form of cancer. This was not only a physical blow, but it shook me emotionally and psychologically as well. I had complications which nearly cost me my life! But even though I finally recovered, I knew that if the cancer returned, there
First Online Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra Teacher Training A Success!
Two years ago at age 65, I decided to embark on a new career. Most people retire at that age. I wanted instead, to start a new adventure! I was born a teacher - my mother and her four sisters were all teachers, as well as my sister – it’s in my blood! I have taught many disciplines and in many environments throughout my lifetime including ballet, corporate training, and college web design professor. And now, my life is all yoga all the time! Thus, I began to teach a yoga nidra classes each week at our local studio. I
My Compassion Rejuvenated
In 2015 I came back from the Ebola response in West Africa if not actually broken, then with spiderweb cracks across my sense of ‘self’. As an infectious disease epidemiologist by training, I headed out to help understand this virus. Giving my heart, education and time in what turned out to be a shared global-control effort, felt to me like it was the entire point of my existence. All of the time and money spent on my education, research and ethics courses, and all of the global health work I’d done in other places, were my preparation to getting on
Perfect No Longer Matters
I spent many years of my life striving for perfection. I wanted the perfect house with the pristine yard, perfect car, perfect outfits, and the perfect job. I exhausted myself with making all things perfect. Everything was neat and orderly - there was a place for everything - and everything was in its place. My ‘A-type’ personality fed into that desire for perfection. I struggled for years to rest into greater ease and joy and drop the need to be perfect in all things. I questioned my purpose and passion in life. I often wondered if I would ever find
The Best Sleep in Eleven Years!
I practiced yoga on and off during my adult life, however never as a steady practice. In 2008 my husband died after eighteen months of terminal bone marrow cancer called multiple myeloma. We’d been married almost fifteen years, and I was left with four children, two grown and two still at home. Suddenly becoming an only parent and surviving on one income instead of two presented a host of challenges.   My older kids were a huge support to me, taking the younger two children out on "sibling days" to give them time together, and to give me time alone. I
Kid's Need Yoga Nidra Too!
I was introduced to yoga at a young age by my grandmother Cindy Yaple, who is a yoga teacher. I enjoyed taking the classes and sometimes got to go to her adult classes when I was three years old! (I would sit on her lap during the meditation). The breathing helped me to feel calm. Then I took yoga classes for children, participated in family yoga events, and also practiced yoga in elementary school. Even with the yoga, I still used to have difficulty falling asleep and then staying asleep. My mind was always thinking about things that would sometimes