We recently connected with Jennifer Gress and have shared our conversation below.

Jennifer , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

The first and most defining transformational experience in my life happened at the end of 6th grade and was because of the bold, brave and optimistic decision my parents made. It was 1987 in Pittsburgh, PA- my hometown. My father worked for HJ Heinz and was offered the opportunity to take a job at Heinz Australia. That meant moving our family of 5 to Melbourne, Australia for an uncertain period of time, It was a risk for him professionally, and personally to uproot our whole family and move halfway across the world. This was pre-internet and when you moved to Australia in 1987, even a phone call was a big deal! My parents always presented this move as an opportunity for each of us that our family was fortunate to have. They may have been stressed, scared or uncertain, but their confidence and faith that we could figure this out made an impression on me. I had never left the country, and once I landed in my new classroom in Melbourne, and saw the Australian version of the world map on the wall with Australia in the center and the US off to the right across a huge ocean- my world opened up. It just so happens that Pittsburgh is not the center of the universe. This was just the beginning of realizing the value of leaving familiar surroundings to experience more of the world. I made it a priority in my life going forward to travel and live abroad. I know my parent’s decision to take the opportunity and approach it with such positivity helped me to do the same and enrich my life and the lives of my children.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

After beginning my career in corporate America as a CPA and working in the finance field at multinational companies, then taking several years off to have children and move internationally- I was at a crossroads. I didn’t want to return to finance/ accounting and in the meantime had developed a love and respect for yoga. I completed several levels of certification and began teaching. What moved me the most was the aspect of mindfulness and the mental/spiritual elements of the practice. As someone who was a perfectionist and struggled at times with anxiety, the mental aspects of the practice helped me immensely. Learning more about meditation and mindfulness became a passion, and I saw an opportunity to present these topics to a corporate audience in a relatable way as someone who also knew that environment. Not everyone will walk into a yoga studio, but we all use our minds to filter and experience our lives, and make decisions. I took what was most helpful for me in learning about mindfulness to introduce the subject to clients and share real life examples and tools they can apply. I’m careful to always say that mindfulness practices don’t remove stress, challenges or the very real hardships in life, but I think we can navigate these inevitabilities better with mindfulness practices and perspectives.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think to succeed in both corporate speaking or teaching yoga- both places where you are communicating with a group of people; love, passion and experience with the subject are critical. I get fired up when I share about these topics because I know what a difference they can make in reality, and that brings energy to my delivery. Often, audiences are skeptical about the value of mindfulness or how these practices apply to ‘real life’. I love the opportunity to demystify this topic, because I also began with that same mindset.

At an even higher level, the reason I became a yoga teacher is because I always experienced as a practice of humanity, and that resonated deeply for me. It was universal – for all people, and the ultimate ‘goal’ if you will was peace and oneness. That ideal was very moving to me. I feel strongly about doing what I can to make a positive difference in the world, and with so much acrimony and divisiveness, these practices and conversations are more important than ever.

There is no way I could speak effectively about these subjects unless I had experienced the transformation that they brought to my own life. I’m still working on all of it and applying these lessons and perspectives ongoingly.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Almost 2 years ago my husband of 23 years, Alex, died while competing in an Ironman event. He had just turned 50 exactly one week before and was a returning competitor in top physical shape. I was there with our 3 children.

It’s hard for words to do this tragedy justice. Since that day, I haven’t had a choice but to be resilient because I’m responsible for carrying our family forward. Everything I had learned and practiced about yoga, spirituality, meditation and mindfulness was put to a test I could not have imagined. I thought I had been through stress before, I hadn’t. I thought I had difficult conversations before, they were not. I thought I had made tough decisions before, not really. I don’t say any of that to discount my ‘old’ perspective, because I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I didn’t know what trauma really was, until I did. And I didn’t appreciate the depth of the teachings of yoga and mindfulness until I was relying on them as a true anchoring force.

Truthfully, I am just now feeling ready to get back into speaking. I have been on a hiatus for some time with only a few engagements. I know that what I want to share now is different, because I am a different person, and I’m still getting clarity on that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jenniferdailygress.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferdailygress/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdailygress/
• Other: Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/ask-a-better-question/id1634725568

Image Credits

https://www.alexisbandera.com/
https://elariophotography.com/
@rickwarnephotography