Recently I noticed my knee was quite painful. I reached for a point on the inside of my hipbone with one hand and held another point on the arch of my foot with the other hand. I relaxed my shoulders and breathed deeply. Within about a minute, the pain simply dissolved, disappeared, gone! I was using the art of Jin Shin Jyutsu.
The morning after doing some heavy lifting, my lower back was sore. I held a place at the center of my chest-3rd rib down with one hand and placed my other hand at the base of my spine. Again, I dropped my shoulders, took a deep breath and felt for the pulsing in both points to smooth out and synchronize. Then I moved up the spine vertebra by vertebra relaxing and breathing at each step. The low back tension and pain released in minutes. Again I was using Jin Shin Jyutsu on myself.
Jin Shin Jyutsu is an ancient art and is, quite frankly, the most astonishingly easy and effective way of restoring health and well-being simply by using our hands. It is a way to release the deep tension that is interfering with our body’s ability to heal itself.
Once this deep tension is released, life force energy (or “chi”) can move freely thus supporting our entire system; body, mind and spirit. Jin Shin Jyutsu also balances and strengthens our chi.
Einstein taught us that all matter is energy. Therefore our bodies are energy. In Jin Shin we learn that we are a network of energetic patterns and these patterns move in very specific ways supporting all of our life functions. Whenever we experience trauma on any level: physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually, our bodies protect us from a sort of overload by locking up certain key points. Problems begin if these points (known as ‘safety energy locks”) fail to unlock and re-establish the free flow of energy (chi).
When we know where these safety energy locks are on our own bodies and how to utilize them, we can affect our own health in a positive way. What used to be our problems become our projects. We learn in an experiential way that we do not have to be victims of ill health but that we have some power and ability to support ourselves.
Not long ago I was on the phone with one of my students. She was 76 years old and a recent graduate of my Self-Help Class. She has been in pain a great deal and in this conversation we were addressing her chronic shoulder pain. I began telling her how to hold the point where her neck and shoulder meet (#11-all the points are known by a number) and a place on her upper arm (high #19) on the same side as her painful shoulder. While we were talking, she held these two points, relaxed her shoulders and breathed deeply. We continued discussing other matters when, about 8 minutes later she exclaimed, “My shoulder isn’t hurting anymore!” This woman now knows forevermore that she can do something to help herself! She is no longer a victim of age and pain. She has reclaimed her ability to heal herself!