11 Nov 2009
Obama be aware!! Chill out: Stress guru would like us all to take a deep breath
Chill out: Stress guru would like us all to take a deep breath by Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri
Washington Examiner 11/10/09 10:05 PM EST
We take on more than we can handle, our titles consume us and when asked how our day is going, we answer too quickly. Even with President Obama as our "commander in cool," stress guru Sister Jenna can point to these tensions in the overworked District. And she's not even saying D.C. is the worst: "I mean New York beats you a hundred times over," she said.
Jenna, who is director of Brahma Kumaris, unveiled her Meditation Museum this summer in Silver Spring. She said her clientele ranges from high-powered leaders to students to overwhelmed mothers. Specializing in D.C.-centric chaos, Jenna has extensive experience counseling politicians. "I find if a politician is very angered or afraid to speak of the truth, he lives in stress," she said.
But there is one politico whom Jenna deeply respects: the outspoken liberal Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio. "I've seen this politician who has been consistent in being honest and straightforward," she said. "Something special about him, again nobody else sees it."
As for Obama, "I am touched by the way he shows us that he doesn't look stressful at all," Jenna said. "So I would never see him come to the Meditation Museum." She warned that that people who always seem in control do not benefit from meditation. As an advocate for the practice, though, she said she plans to propose a bill to Congress for a meditation day.
As for health care reform, Jenna said she wants the bill to provide alternative means of healing. "Meditation, Yoga are things that ... shouldn't be expensed out of the pocket," Jenna said. "Because illnesses actually come from the soul first."