Meet Jana Reynolds

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jana Reynolds a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jana, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I have to credit my body for starting me down the path to purpose. The word “path” may have you picturing “a fork in the road” or “a path less traveled,” neither of which are an accurate depiction of what I experienced. I simply turned around.

The body holds an innate wisdom we tend to dismiss. We operate so heavily on cognitive intelligence that we can overanalyze our way out of trusting our instincts. Part of the wisdom of the human body is that it naturally works toward obtaining balance. When imbalance is detected the body throws symptoms as feedback. If we ignore the feedback or try to treat the symptom versus the root cause of imbalance, the body knocks at the door louder, which is what happened to me.

It was a seemingly normal day. I noticed I was having trouble focusing but aside from that, nothing out of the ordinary. Until suddenly, my heart started pounding to the point I could actually hear it and feel it beating faster and faster. I started sweating profusely. My chest felt tight. My hands started shaking. My eyes filled with tears. What was happening to me? Was I having a heart attack? I felt like I couldn’t breathe. My mind was racing so fast that I couldn’t make sense of my own thoughts. I felt like I was being chased but I didn’t know by what, and I couldn’t gain enough control to do anything about it.

Tests showed no physical health concerns, thankfully, and the physician diagnosed the occurrence as a panic attack. What troubled me about this news was that I didn’t know what caused it which also meant I didn’t know how to prevent it from happening again. There wasn’t anything extraordinarily stressful going on in my life. Nothing triggered me at the time of the attack or at all earlier that day.

I now know the attack was my body’s way of getting my attention, because you see, I hadn’t been paying attention at all. I was operating at a level of stress that I was cognitively unaware of. The root cause was that I wasn’t living my life in alignment with my true self. In fact, I was living my life completely outside of myself – seeking reward from outside sources and striving to achieve goals that were never my own. Cultural conditioning and societal expectations had led me so far away from myself that I no longer knew who I was.

I did not find myself at a fork in the road or with an option to take the path less traveled. This was no longer a pursuit. This needed to be a return. This is where I simply turned around and started walking back to myself. There were lots of layers to peel back, beliefs to question, and experiences to process, but it has all been more than worth it.

My return began with practices of mindfulness and meditation. The effects were so profound that I felt as though I had been granted a second chance. Everything was different – the way I experienced life, the way I processed those experiences. Time slowed down and the beauty of life became more clear. The more connected I became to my true self, the more alive I felt. I was no longer trying to swim against the current. I was flowing with the natural cadence of life because I returned to the person I was put on this earth to be.

Everything I experienced on my return has made my purpose clear. I did not start this healing journey with the intention of guiding others, but I can’t not share it. I am now certified in mindfulness and meditation, Qigong (pronounced chee-gong), and primal movement, and am the founder of Haus of Being which is centered around returning to your true self through these practices. Witnessing and feeling others light up the way I did is truly the greatest gift. When you find the thing that you simply cannot contain, you have found your purpose.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Having an undeniable purpose fueled a level of creativity unlike anything I’d experienced. I pulled inspiration from pushing myself outside my comfort zone and everything that Haus of Being is today poured out of me. It was as if Haus of Being had always been there, lying dormant, waiting for me to come alive.

I landed on the name Haus of Being because of its reference to home (the true self) and its representation of balance. Haus (German for house), is symbolic of structure (i.e., the body, the earth, the formal practice of meditation), while Being is symbolic of flow (i.e., the spirit, the universe, the organic experience of mindfulness).

Through Haus of Being, I offer public and private events, one-on-one coaching, corporate seminars, and speaking engagements. Signature events include:

Homecoming – A mini retreat to reconnect with the person you were meant to be. Experience the unique sense of freedom that only comes from returning home to your true self.

Qigong – A gentle practice that pairs graceful movement with the natural rhythm of the breath, leaving you both completely calm and fully energized at the exact same time.

Ecdysis – The ultimate experience of self-expression and liberation. Lay down your armor and bust through those walls with primal movement.

The foundation of Haus of Being is deep-rooted and the branches will continue to grow as I myself evolve. This is the beautiful thing about turning around, the journey back to your true self offers a lifetime of growth and expansion. The more aware you become, the more there is to explore. In other words, stay tuned!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

When I realized I lost my identity to cultural conditioning and societal expectations, I knew my mission was to remember who I was before the world got its hands on me. Unfortunately, conditioning starts early on and most of us (including me) do not recall life beforehand. So instead, I thought about children I had been around during the first year or two of their lives, at the peak of authenticity. I tried to identify what they possessed that I lost along the way and the answer quickly became clear. In our purest form, we as human beings are curious, uninhibited, and easily fascinated, all of which I had unknowingly abandoned over time.

My advice to those beginning their journey is reincorporate what you loved as a child into your adult life. I have found these are the activities in which we most easily lose ourselves. In this sense I am referring to losing your ego, and inherently losing the things that hold you back, such as self-consciousness and the constraints of time. When we lose ourselves in this way, we are living in the moment, which is where we naturally return to being curious, uninhibited, and easily fascinated.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

Sometimes things come into your life at the exact moment you need them and The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz was certainly one of them. This book was gifted to me at the onset of my healing journey, and it provided a beautiful framework for me to start the return to my true self.

The Four Agreements is very accurately described as a book of Toltec wisdom that offers a practical guide to personal freedom. It helped me realize the rules I was living by weren’t necessarily rules I had chosen. The principles of this Toltec wisdom presented an opportunity for me to challenge my belief system and create a life aligned with the person I was meant to be.

One of the most impactful insights I have taken from this book is that forgiveness is not for the other person. Forgiveness is for you so you don’t have to continue paying for the injustice. The capacity for this depth of self love can only come from the heart of the true self. I remember feeling a connection that physically softened me the first time I took that in.

It is often said to live each day as though it was your last, and I do not disagree. I will, however, leave you with something more to consider – What if you chose to live each day as though it was your first? Completely open. Fully alive. As you were before the world got its hands on you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hausofbeing.com
• Instagram: hausofbeing
• Facebook: Haus of Being