How holding your fingers can cause healing in your body. Jin Shin Jyutsu: What it is and why it’s so lovable.

I fell in love with the healing practice of Jin Shin Jyutsu (JSJ) over a decade ago.

At the time I had been going to a chiropractor for months.  Things got better, but it always felt like they shifted for a time, but never really fully healed.  Enter Jin Shin Jyutsu, and I left my chiropractor appointments for good.

Why, because where chiropractor techniques shift the actual insides– in an attempt to realign them, Jin Shin Jyutsu actually clears the blocks in your body that are causing your bones, muscles, etc to move into that position in the first place.

It’s a healing treatment that is ancient and rare in terms of the amount of practitioners, but oh so effective.  And natural.  You can even do it on yourself, and in fact you probably already are.  It’s been dubbed or translated as “The Art of getting to know (help) myself” and “The Art of Self-Healing.”

So what is it?

The essence of it, in my words, is that there are 26 “safety energy locks” in the body, these spots on the body correlate to different body energy circuits, organs, and emotions.  Your hands are like “jumper cables” in terms of the energy within them.  When you place your hands on different spots on your body, your body wants to connect the circuit.  When it does this it removes whatever blockages you may have accumulated between the two spots.

For example, if you have a stomach ache, you could place your hands on the top and lower portions of your abdomen.  This will create a circuit and help relieve and alleviate whatever is going on there.

Of course that is the imprecise version, but it still works.  JSJ actually has very specific points that would be even more effective for a stomach ache if you knew what they were, but if you don’t the other will work too.

As I said, it’s natural.  You’re probably doing it all the time without knowing.  The way I notice it happening most unconsciously or naturally in my life is in the positions my hands rest on my body while falling asleep.  When I learned JSJ I realized I was naturally and intuitively addressing specific issues during this time.  My hands instinctively gravitated to certain positions, which change all the time.

You can even treat yourself simply by holding your fingers.  Each one correlates to different organs and emotions.  (See the chart, and click on it for even more detailed info.) Karen Searls (creator of that chart) also has a whole lot of other good charts and information on her website.  The thumb for example (often sucked by babies) is good for helping with digestive issues, and also for worry.  Next time you find yourself in a worry rut– hold your thumb for a bit.

I’ve used JSJ to heal major things on myself like hip misalignment.  And I’ve used it to alleviate headaches, stomach aches, colds, acute pain, to refresh myself when I’m exhausted, you name it.  (I’ve used it on my kids to calm them or to help them through periods of bad dreams.) For myself, I find it easiest to fit in when I am laying in bed in the morning just waking up, or when I’m going to sleep at night.  It’s also more effective on an empty stomach– because your body isn’t extending a lot of energy to digest.
If you want to know the specifics for doing it yourself, (which I highly recommend), this book, Touch of Healing, will tell you how.

But there’s nothing like going to a practitioner.  I would do it regularly if there was one on my island.  It’s like the difference between getting a few minute foot massage from a friend while sitting on the living room floor, and being on a masseuse’s table.  One is absolutely superior.

Recently I went to one in Seattle.  Colleen Foye Bollen.

Her practice is called Flowing Stillness.  Under her hands you experience that she has a real love and knowledge of this art.  She’s been instrumental in getting articles published to help get get JSJ out into the public, (like this one in the Seattle PI).  She also teaches classes on it from time to time.  Check her website for details on the classes she teaches from time to time too.

The book, Touch of Healing, is also full of potent stories of how practitioners have used it during different times.

If you want to find a practitioner in your area, you can check this website.  It’s how I found Colleen.

Or do it yourself at home.

Colleen also turned me on to this JSY book for kids… which I haven’t actually seen yet, but I hope too!

Happy touching! Hahaha!  Healing touching that is.

Love,

Aimée