About Jason Bender

In my youth, it was those wild, beautiful places that began to draw me in; the place where the path disappears into the landscape - the high mountain landscape of pine and river and snow; the ancient gardens of stone collared in sagebrush; the hidden stand of curley oak isolated in the grassy meadow.

As I grew into adulthood, a different kind of wilderness began to lure me in - a place that can, at once, be terrifying and joy filled. Out of both necessity and curiosity, I was drawn into this inner landscape of imagination, emotion and the felt-sense. The pull toward it was unrelenting. We all have this inner space; yet most of us try our best to avoid it. Mine could not be avoided. It was far too loud. So, again, I found myself moving toward the mysterious, urged into the place where the path is often indistinguishable from the landscape, a place where more often there is no path at all, just wilderness. 

For more than two-decades, I have navigated this terrain using meditation, movement and self-inquiry. What I’ve learned is this: Life always presents itself according to exactly what is needed, even though it may not be liked or feel good. The process of transformation and waking up is therefore not about trying to change our life circumstances. Rather, it is about learning how to orient toward life in a way that is welcoming - learning to say yes. And, while this seems like a very simple move, it doesn’t mean that it’s easy. Having a friend that has gone through the territory, pointing out the dead-ends and pitfalls, can have a tremendous impact on the speed at which the process unfolds. You could think of me as that friend. 

It is without exception that I see my clients’ unique life circumstances as the primary and indispensable curriculum for whatever it is that needs to be learned.

It might sound strange, but the largest part of my work as a coach is to help people live more completely into the perfection that they already are. That is not metaphorical or idealistic. In the most real sense, we are already whole, complete, lacking nothing - no exceptions - we have just forgotten how to look for it and where to look. 

So, I don’t see anyone as needing to be fixed, and our approach, together, is not about fixing the broken parts. I also know, from decades of personal experience, that the self-improvement project never delivers on its promise. So our time together will not be about making you a “better you” - at least on the surface. Our time together is about exploring depth. And finding depth in oneself is about learning to be authentic, befriending difficult feelings, connecting with others honestly, seeing life as profoundly playful and, above all, it is about feeling into presence - learning to locate yourself in it and waking up to it.   

We begin to find this depth by gently poking holes in our tendencies toward getting stuck, feeling limited and suffering. All of this is done with the aim of gradually revealing greater amounts of one's core Essence - which is peace and happiness itself. I use many different coaching tools during this process - mindfulness and meditation, somatics and movement, emotional literacy and releasing, breathwork, self-inquiry and dialogue. 

I am committed to staying unconditionally present to my clients as they uncover and orient toward what is actually real. I ask powerful, pointed questions that can unravel patterns of suffering, making integration possible. Above all, I love supporting others as they discover they already have everything they seek, a revelation that is truly priceless.

My clients have come from all walks of life. As the Director of Spiritual Development at the Unitarian Society in Philadelphia, I counseled medical, legal and financial professionals; advocates and organizers of nonprofits; artists; parents; adolescents and young adults. My primary focus today is in the field of education. I believe education and educators have a major role to play in laying the groundwork for the systems our world needs; and I am convinced that our evolution will happen one relationship at a time, starting with each of us creating a new inner world, within ourselves, that is not based on fear or ego. 

I am committed to bringing the cutting edge of coaching into the field of education, where both emotional pain and internal agency are safely explored. My role is to move with clients through suppressed emotional drama and trauma (often called shadow work), staying unconditionally and absolutely present. Together, we create a space allowing you to develop more internal capacity that can handle increasing flows of positive emotional energy. This might sound like work, but in truth it is all very playful. I am committed to providing a space where we practice staying present to what is; we connect deeply; and we simply play with whatever surfaces.   

I have coached educators from Roong Aroon School and Ruamrudee International School in Thailand; Seoul Foreign School, in South Korea; as well as Arcadia University and Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. I’ve also worked as an 11th grade teacher at Roong Aroon, and as Youth Programs Coordinator at the Unitarian Church in Devon, Pennsylvania. I hold a Masters degree in Holistic Education and Human Development from Antioch University.

I currently live in Seoul, South Korea with my wife Lindsay.