About Jaene

My vibe…

Taken by the wonder of the exquisite Unfolding…

Certified meditation and yoga teacher, Stanford Compassionaut ’22, low-key tomboy, (5 brothers!) admirer of trees and flowers (5 sisters!), fuzzerlover, including fuzzers with feathers.

Also a writer and an editor, working on completing my historical fiction. To boot, an actor and solo performer and I’ve studied in New York City, and performed there, St. Louis, San Francisco, Kansas City and Maui.  

There’s Neuroscience backing the benefits of meditation now, folks! Who woulda thought?!

An exciting part of this journey in mindfulness practices is witnessing the merging of science with contemplative practices thousands of years old.  The strands started to rope braid together in 1992, with a simple question posed by the Dalai Lama to neuroscientist Richard Davidson, at a meeting of the two in Dharamsala, India:

‘You’ve been using the tools of modern neuroscience to study depression, and anxiety, and fear. Why can’t you use those same tools to study kindness and compassion?’

Davidson admitted he didn’t have an answer to this question, and this intrigued him. What followed was an ushering in a new era of neuroscience —studying contemplative practices and the effect they have on the brain and body.

While creating a class for veterans in my Yoga 200-level certification with Integrative Yoga Therapy (IYT) in the mid-aughts, I happened upon the work of Dr. Richard Miller, who had then recently created —with Walter Reed Army Medical Center— a trauma-informed yoga nidra protocol called Integrative Restoration (iRest®), targeting the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury in returning active-duty military combat personnel.

Initial research proved so promising that iRest® received an endorsement by the U.S. Army Surgeon General and designated a Tier-1 intervention for managing pain. iRest Yoga Nidra was also recognized by the Defense Centers of Excellence as a Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) approach to address Psychological Health. Since that time (nearly 20 years ago), countless research studies continue expand the proof of its efficacy. 

In finding a meditation protocol that most closely resembled napping, I felt like I’d won the lottery. Within my first couple of classes, I fell into a deep relaxation, and awoke refreshed, alert, and curious to learn more. I’d found my jam. In 2011, I received my iRest Level 1 teacher training, and in 2013, I received my Level 2.

In 2014, spurred on by the devastating 22+ a day suicide findings, I became a founding partner in a peer-led veterans’ support and meditation group focusing on Harm Reduction and Mental Wellness. Co-Founder, facilitator, and former Marine Ryan Miller went on to grow the endeavor to become OperationEVAC, which met several days each month in locations throughout the Bay Area. 

In March, 2020, to address heightened veterans’ needs during the COVID-19 lockdown, OperationEVAC expanded our reach by going virtual, meeting on Zoom. These 3x/week meetings have continued to the present, and now include active duty service members from around the country, as well as active- and retired-duty military service members from other countries.

In 2023, OperationEVAC began its journey toward non-profit status, rebranding to the fitting Compassionate Veterans. A seamless continuation of support now also includes an invitation to supported veterans to pay-it-forward and participate in community service together. I was named (it’s a bit tongue-in-cheek), Chief Meditation Officer.

Other iRest® classes/workshops led include HelloMD’s inaugural Mindful Haven San Francisco event,  Magnolia Berkeley’s series on brain health with Barbara Blaser, R.N., and Lounge offerings/regular  classes at The Harvest Shops in San Francisco.

In June of 2023, I was honored to lead iRest for Women’s Veterans Day at Life on Earth Art in Petaluma.

In September 2023, I was hired as a consultant to design and record a grief-informed Gentle Centering practice for Life on Earth Art’s worldwide community art exhibit slated to run at the Museum of Sonoma County through November, 2023. This profound and lovely Día de los Muertos project honors lost military and civilian folks, opening up the shared language of art to help process grief and suffering, and — no less important — to celebrate and commemorate treasured moments with loved ones gone on.