I really enjoyed the retreat on Saturday, thank you again for guiding us through it. I felt so calm after. I've been loving the course, it's been extremely helpful. I've been dealing with depression and anxiety for over 2 years now and have never felt better since started the course. So, thank you for that. I can't wait to take your MBSR course in the near future! - Anonymous
I found the MBSR program to be genuinely transformative, carefully curated to create layers of deep awareness and understanding. Having explored some of Jon Kabat-Zinn's writings and recordings over the last year, I was very excited to find out that the program was offered in Ottawa. I found Jennifer Innes to be a particularly gifted teacher. At our day retreat, one of the participants noted that Jennifer is able to beautifully 'hold the space' for everyone. It's so true. Throughout the entire program, Jennifer held our space with kindness, equanimity, wisdom and compassion. Her skillful and gentle inquiries during the group discussions always led to rich self-discovery and shared learnings. It's a lovely gift. Finally, I was enriched by sharing this experience with the other participants, and grateful for all they taught me. Very highly recommended program and teacher. — Debra L.
``Thank you for the wonderful MBSR workshop the second time around! I really enjoyed each and every class, as well as the day-long retreat. It’s interesting how I picked up completely different things this time and could go deeper from when I did it with you the first time around. You are an amazing teacher who is able to bring a lot of calm to the group, which is contagious - in all the right ways.” — Brigitte
``Wonderful course, wonderful teacher! It really opens your eyes to how much on autopilot I run. Now my eyes and heart are more open. Thank you so very much, Jennifer!!`` —Colleen Thompson
``Jennifer is an awesome instructor, super knowledgeable, with clear guidance. Her energy is so warm and supportive and I found her insights always timely and applicable to my life. I would strongly recommend her classes, and I look forward to others in the future.`` — Holly Gordon
``A very worthwhile program. Excellent content and practice. Jennifer is a very knowledgeable teacher with a gentle manner, who conveys difficult and at times ambiguous concepts in a non-rigid, complexity-filled manner that allows participants to connect to how it applies in their own life.`` —Jaquie Babchishin
“Thank you so much for all your insight, kindness, encouragement and wisdom, Jennifer. You were an inspiration to me and gave me further incentive to continue to practice mindfulness.“ — Christine F
“A calm, grounded teacher with lots of wisdom and experience to share with the group. Keeps up to date with updates to the model. Brought in knowledge and approaches from other current practices like mindful self-compassion. Based her teaching in science as well as meaningful personal self-disclosure. Offered very helpful and insightful between-session responses and reflections. Great, flexible adaptation to online environment.” — Anonymous
“I would definitely recommend this course `{`MBSR`}` to anyone looking to understand mindfulness and “practice the practice” in a genuine, authentic way. Jennifer is an excellent teacher of this and I really enjoyed being in that space with her and all the other students.” — Satinder Dhaliwal
”Jennifer created a welcoming environment where she taught the perfect balance of theory and practice. I highly recommend this `{`MBSR`}` course!” — Jamie
”I’ve benefited so much from this course, the consistent practices and theory discussions. I’m looking forward to carrying it forward and exploring the lessons learned independently…as well as joining silent retreats in the future!” — Joanna
“Jennifer is an amazing MBSR instructor. Her presence and awareness are inspirational. I recommend this course to anyone and everyone wanting to be more mindful, happy, and aware of the beauty in life. Thank you for bringing this wonderful practice into my life. It’s life-changing.” —Ashleigh McGuinty
“Jennifer’s MBSR course was extremely helpful to me in managing my anxiety and generally handling all of the things that come up in my life. I would recommend it to everyone.” —Clair Landin
“Going in I was skeptical, but I was pleasantly surprised at all I took away from this and the huge impact mindfulness can have.” —Karen Delorme
“I have experienced many ‘aha’ moments and can honestly say I leave this course with many tools to help me cope with my stress and anxiety. Jennifer was amazing and truly wonderful. She made this experience a very easy and positive one! Highly recommend!” —Karla Vanessa Guerrero Nunez
“Jennifer created a warm and safe environment in the class that allowed me to freely explore my feelings and thoughts that were holding back my personal growth.” —Laura Oleson
“Overall, I really enjoyed Jennifer’s approach to the class and appreciated her patience, presence, and sensitivity to the individuals. She effectively balances lessons and techniques—a true guide to self-discovery and learning. Thank you, Jennifer!” —Anonymous
“Jennifer is an amazingly knowledgeable teacher. I would highly recommend taking the MBSR course with her.” —Michelle Lahey
“Really great course! It has deepened my practice of mindfulness quite a lot. Highly recommend!” —Robert Gervais
“A transformative experience! Jennifer, you are an inspiring teacher—thank you for all the nuggets you shared. My favourite: ‘What you resist, persists. What you feel heals.’” —Natalie
“I attended a day retreat with Jennifer, and she is excellent. Twice as relaxing and energizing as a day at the Nordic Spa!” —Brigitte
This was a challenging journey but one that I am truly grateful for. I have seen changes in my life and intend to continue to develop the practice. - A. Krauss.
I recently took an MBSR workshop with Jen and it has made a huge difference in my life, enabling me to feel more centred and able to focus on the present moment. I had tried meditation a few times before, not very successfully. With Jen’s open and down-to-earth approach, I was able to adopt techniques that helped me to establish a regular practice. It is obvious that Jen’s guidance is based on a combination of both solid training and personal experience, and she is very knowledgeable and passionate in her teaching. Through this experience, I have been able to glean the benefits of greater mindfulness and have achieved a new level of well-being. - Irina Goldenberg
I’ve noticed the shift in my ability to respond versus react. Using the breath as my anchor is becoming more natural and I’m excited to continue this journey. Your teaching, so calm and responsive, was valued by us all! - Chris Clapp
Jennifer is a skilled leader who obviously walks the walk. - Robert Henderson
I thoroughly enjoyed Jennifer’s three-hour introductory workshop! It was an excellent introduction to mindfulness meditation. I liked how she exposed us to five different meditations. It was helpful that the workshop was ‘hands-on’ and we got to experience doing the meditations. In addition, there were static meditations and ones involving movement. This mixed things up for the group and kept our interest. She followed each meditation with a request for feedback from the group, and it was through this feedback that she taught a lot of the concepts. This seemed very seamless and natural. This approach is in stark contrast to lecturing, which can often lose the student. Instead, she had rapt attention from the entire of the group. I also liked how she didn’t have a lecturer’s ‘loud, teacher voice,’ instead, she was calm and spoke in a normal volume. She was clearly very knowledgeable and experienced about the topic and is a great teacher! I would definitely recommend Jennifer’s workshop; in fact, I have already mentioned it to some of my patients and look forward to taking her eight-week MBSR workshop! - Richard
Jennifer is a soft-spoken individual, but also a very clear and thorough guide. She had very thoughtful and often helpful responses to individual concerns. - Jane Archibald
I recently completed the MBSR program under the instruction of Jennifer Innes. I found the program after reading Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn. During the course, we, as a group, learned about mindfulness and ways to use it to deal with stress and anxiety that affects us on a daily basis. I have found that mindfulness and the techniques that were taught at the course have been very helpful in dealing with my particular situation. Jennifer Innes, as an instructor, put us all at ease and made the weekly visits really enjoyable while, at the same time, extremely effective. Her calm nature was the perfect complement to the techniques we learned at each session. If you are currently dealing with stress and anxiety, I would absolutely recommend this course and instructor as tools to help you learn about and, hopefully, deal more effectively with the common affliction of stress and anxiety. - Dr. Jordan Pettigrew
In the summer of 2018, I took the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course with Jennifer and Kathy. The course exceeded my expectations in every way. We were fortunate enough to have fantastic and caring facilitators (Jennifer and Kathy), as well as an open, supportive cohort whose members treated each other with respect, empathy, and understanding. I can honestly say that I have seen a significant shift in my mindset over eight short weeks, and an improvement in the way that I perceive and handle the stress in my life. Now to keep practicing! Thank you again, and I look forward to joining you for the ‘Day of Mindfulness’ in the future. - Rebekka Bond
Working with Jennifer during the six week mindfulness workshop was truly an eye-opening experience... Truly a great experience, and very important for high school students as it does relieve a lot of unnecessary stress! - Thom Haghighat, grade 12 student, Ashbury College
Thanks Jennifer. Congratulations. Your website is another wonderful resource for me. I am using your tapes from the course ‘religiously’ and finding the journey less difficult. I have warm, positive memories of the group and our work together in the Spring. A life long journey, I think. — Nancy Villeneuve
The three-hour workshop was a great introduction to meditation and to the importance of mindfulness and awareness — Ulkikke Ornholt
I have learned so much on this course. In particular, I better understand how to manage my thoughts and emotions and put space between an activity or emotion and my reaction. This makes me want to learn and practice mindfulness and meditation more. Thank you, Jennifer! — C. Morris
This was my first mindful yoga and meditation course and it has inspired me to pursue self-study and other mindfulness classes. Jennifer exudes a strong sense of “presence” that caused the entire class to participate fully. — C. Laidlaw
I really enjoyed this MBSR course. Jennifer was excellent a guiding our group and provided meaningful responses and personal examples. I had a sense that she was 100% present and very committed to supporting and guiding us on introducing mindfulness in our lives. Thank you! — Allison Black
Jennifer was a wonderful guide and teacher of this process. The class was clear, and it was easy to integrate into my life. I would recommend this class and instructor very highly. — Marie-Claude Lambert
I came to MBSR looking for new life skills with an open mind. I learned to pause in the moment and begin to change habitual behaviours. I leave with: gratitude toward Jennifer and fellow participants; a curiosity to continue; meditation and mindful-yoga skills; and a taste for Egyptian-licorice tea! Thank you, Jennifer—you really made a difference. — Patrick (Nov. 2019)
Really helpful for me, it definitely gave me tools to be able to be more calm, happier and non-judgemental over my emotions, accepting what is now and bring good energies, thank you very much. — Sonia Turpin
I really appreciated Jen’s presence in this course. She was always so attentive and really took the time to go deeper into our questions and the stories we shared, always without judgment. So looking forward to experiencing another course with her. — Stephanie Palma
I learned more about myself than I thought I would. Everyone should experience this course at least once. — K. Holt
Jennifer led the course very compassionately. She was approachable, caring, and knowledgeable. She sent emails on information the class may find helpful, which I greatly appreciated. Thank you! — Surraya Aziz
We often go through each day without giving ourselves a moment to focus on the impact that neglecting ourselves has on our health. This course is simple yet produces powerful results. Even if we offer ourselves a micro moment of reflection, the benefits are worth it. — Jennifer Gillespie
This course has been helpful to me and has opened my mind and my life a great deal. I wholeheartedly recommend the `{`MBSR`}` course to anyone seeking help through life’s challenges. Jen’s wealth of knowledge, loving teaching style, sensitivity, and beautiful voice will provide you with a learning experience of immense value. — Sandy Freeman
I want to tell you how much the MBSR workshop I attended is helpful in dealing with the Covid-19 situation. I am doing daily home practice and it’s helping me a lot to manage my anxiety and making the necessary changes in my habits with awareness. To this end, the homework of doing something different (with presence) every day for a week has prepared me well for the current challenges we are all facing. Thank again for all the teachings. — Robert
“Mindfulness, Meditation & Everything In Between” Here’s a snippet of the hour-long podcast. Mindfulness, Meditation, Mindfulness Meditation… How does one even approach the subject of ...