Popular Shows by Rena Reiser Rena Reiser

Rena recently read about how to communicate with "Earth types" - people who are highly sensitive and need to be spoken to with extra care and consideration. As she read through all the rules for how to talk to Earth types, she kept thinking - shouldn't we just talk to everyone this way? In this conversation, Rabbi Yonasan and Rena Reiser explore personality types (Earth, Air, Water, Fire) and why Earth types are considered more sensitive. They discuss how Earth types rely heavily on external validation and can be quickly hurt by how people relate to them. But a deeper question emerges: if these communication principles come from nonviolent communication - which helps us see the tzelem Elokim in every person - then why are we only applying them to "sensitive" people? Don't all human beings deserve dignity, validation, and to be truly heard? They explore what it means to be the "canary in the coal mine," why reflecting back what someone says can help move conversations forward (instead of talking in circles until 3am), and the power of recognizing that every person you're talking to is a human being with their own rich inner world. This Episode Is For You If: - You've been told you're "too sensitive" your whole life - You're wondering if you need to walk on eggshells around certain people - You have late-night conversations that go in circles for hours - You say "yes, yes, I hear you" but the other person doesn't feel heard - You're curious about nonviolent communication - You want to understand why some people seem to react more strongly than others - You believe everyone deserves to be treated with dignity but struggle with how to actually do that - You're an Earth type and want to understand your sensitivity as a strength

Have you ever repeated a positive affirmation you were supposed to say, but realized deep down that your body didn't believe a single word of it? We tend to look at our bodies from the outside in by judging what we see in the mirror, criticizing our "imperfections", and treating our struggles with body image or intimacy like separate, frustrating problems to solve. It's exhausting, and honestly, it leaves a lot of us feeling incredibly lonely. But if you've ever felt like your body shuts down or goes into overdrive when you just want to connect, you aren't alone. This is your nervous system simply trying to protect you. Real healing doesn't happen by forcing yourself to repeat affirmations you don't actually believe. It happens when we step out of our heads and learn to listen to what our bodies are telling us from the inside out. When we feel safe, our entire physiology shifts, moving us away from shame and anxiety and opening us up to true, deep connection. This podcast is a gentle space to explore somatic healing, nervous system regulation, and emotional truth. Together, we'll move past the isolation, look at the hidden pain beneath the surface, and learn how to build a richer, kinder, and safer relationship with our bodies and ourselves.

Why You Can't Think Your Way Out of Anxiety Is your mind a meaning-making machine that just won't stop spinning? When a wave of worry or dread hits, our minds immediately look for a story to explain the discomfort. But what if the story isn't the source? Long before your brain catches up, your nervous system has already answered its core question: Am I safe or in danger? In this  episode, we challenge the traditional approach of reframing anxious thoughts and dive into what is actually happening below the surface. We explore where anxiety truly lives, the hidden purpose of the somatic alarm inside our bodies, and how this universal human struggle is secretly a roadmap guiding us toward our ultimate, deepest connection. Tune in to discover how to stop looking outward for logic, and how to finally answer the alarm from the inside out.

When my husband and I were first married, I suffered from chronic migraines, back pain, and other physical symptoms. What I've come to understand since then is that my body was doing the only thing it knew how to do: expressing through pain what I wasn't letting myself express. In this episode, we talk about the connection between self-expression and physical and emotional wellbeing — and specifically, about journaling as a tool for regulation, healing, and bringing out what's inside you. We get into:  - why the brain creates physical pain to distract us from emotional pain (Dr. Sarno's work) - the one thing that finally helped me feel safe enough to journal - non-dominant hand writing and what it does to the brain - how I journal in a focusing way - the two different types of expression I use - the balance between expression and silence - the Torah idea that each of us has something completely unique to bring into the world

We're back! After almost two months away - because life here has been a lot - I'm so glad to be back with a new episode, and as always, joined by my husband Rabbi Yonasan Reiser. This week we're talking about being honest with ourselves. The kind of honesty that requires us to look underneath the surface - at the beliefs, the feelings, the needs, the thoughts that are quietly running the show whether we acknowledge them or not. We talk about why we avoid this kind of honesty, what happens when we don't feel our feelings (including a powerful Torah insight about anger and hatred), and what it actually means to embody something. We also get into shame, compassion, the language of the body, and why focusing is so powerful as a gentle path to self-discovery - one hair at a time.

It's been a week. In this episode, my husband Rabbi Yonasan Reiser and I sit down to talk about something that's been very alive right now: coping mechanisms in a real, honest, this-is-what-our-nervous-systems-actually-do way. We talk about what coping mechanisms actually are, why we can't just decide to stop doing them, and why the self-deprecation that comes after — the memes, the jokes, the haha-I-ate-everything — is actually just another coping mechanism sitting on top of the first one. I share what my own coping has looked like during this war. My husband shares his. We get into soldiers and dissociation and bitachon. And we close with the idea that during times of intense pressure, the small steps we manage to take — the tiny bits of awareness, the moments of trying — carry exponential weight. Neurologically and spiritually. The olive doesn't reveal its light until it's pressed. This one's for anyone who's been a little hard on themselves lately for how they're coping. Which is probably most of us.

Purim is over. Your nervous system might not know that yet. The body doesn't reset the moment the seuda ends. It takes time to unwind from noise, from running, from giving, from holding everything together — or from not quite managing to. The activation lingers. The tension stays tucked into places you might not even notice until you slow down enough to feel them. This week's practice is a somatic tracking exercise — moving through the body with curiosity, resting wherever your attention is drawn, noticing what each part is still holding, and letting it know you're there. There's a line from the practice I want to offer you before you listen: "You might feel like you're not doing very much. But you're doing so much for your system." That's the paradox of this kind of work. Presence — just being with what's there — is not passive. It's how stuck energy begins to move. What is your body most ready to put down after this week? Listen here.

This practice uses the physical boundary between your body and the surface supporting you as a way to sense into relational boundaries — where you end and another person begins. When to use this practice: Before a conversation where you need to set a boundary When you're not sure if you're taking on someone else's emotions After listening to "His Reaction Is Not Your Responsibility" When you know you need to say no but feel guilty about it Anytime you're struggling to distinguish between what's yours and what's theirs What you'll need: 10-15 minutes of quiet A comfortable place to sit or lie down A boundary situation that has some charge, but isn't your most intense one (around 3/10) Note: Boundaries aren't meant to control the other person's reaction. They're for you — to know what's yours to hold and what isn't.