Flows for Life

Self Help to Beat Fatigue and the Heat

By FlowsforLife on Sunday, July 18th, 2010 | Comments Off

Fatigue colours our world and affects how we feel, and Jin Shin Jyutsu is one of the most powerful ways to overcome fatigue.

Time after time, I have tried and tested these holds and it is absolutely amazing how my whole world can change in 20 minutes – purely because I have been able to energise myself. And if I can, you can do with this simple exercise.

The Spleen energy governs our energy levels and this exercise is very powerful for vitality and calm (one needs energy to stay calm, believe it or not!) – 20 minutes minimum every day.

The Spleen is the biggest lymphatic organ in the body and if kept happy, helps all the other organs.

In Jin Shin Jyutsu, a sequence of HOLDS is referred to as a FLOW. The following self-help flow can be used to revitalise and re-energise the whole system, and to be ‘happy and content where ever you are’. Use it to regulate the body’s temperature (to warm the body when it’s cold, to cool the body when it’s hot), and to balance the nervous system (to calm).

Hold each step for a few minutes or until you feel you want to move to the next position. Tip: put on a chill out CD and when the track changes, move the hands to the next position… The music can add a wonderful dimension to the session…

GENERAL ENERGY REVITALISING FLOW (Spleen Flow)
(Right energy pattern)
Step 1
Place Left hand on base of spine (coccyx)
Place Right hand on right inside of heel
Step 2
Move Right hand and place on left base of rib cage and hold
Step 3
Move Left hand and place on right above breast area
Step 4
Move Left hand and place on left center of collar bone

So to summarise: the Spleen flow helps beat fatigue, insomnia, headaches, anxiety and much more. It stimulates the immune system, helps the digestive system, helps regulate our body temperature (you can use it to warm and to cool the body – isn’t that great?) – this flow also helps the skin, helps beat the attitude of WORRY and well, it’s just a great general all round wonder flow – use it with HUMILITY AND GRATITUDE!

Self Help Holds vs. Medical Treatment

By FlowsforLife on Sunday, July 4th, 2010 | Comments Off

I am passionate about helping MYSELF. I am passionate about KNOWING where to put my hands on my body so that I stop pain FAST, boost my immune system FAST, HELP MYSELF FAST. The process of listening to my body’s signals has taken over 10 years, and the learning continues – especially as I get older and my body encounters different challenges.

I have not taken any pharmaceutical drugs for over ten years, not even aspirin. I look to natural remedies and self help holds to help my body heal itself, and this it has proved to me, intelligent that it is, to be able to do over and over again – given a chance.

There is another thing I am passionate about. And that’s showing others how to do the same. Hence, this website.

It is absolutely wonderful to get emails with questions from all over the world asking for help and advice. There are so many medical labels out there – and yes, it is scary to be given a label (often they are unpronounceable to boot).

However, I want to clarify that I in NO WAY encourage that these self help holds be used as a substitute for medical advice, treatment or diagnosis. That’s not to say that the self help holds can’t act as a day-to-day support.

For instance: studies in New York hospitals have concluded that people living with cancer got great relief from nausea by holding their thumb during the chemotherapy treatments (I would suggest holding it before and after as well!). And of course, I would suggest the Main Central exercise every day.

More on Stress Relief: How to Main Central

By FlowsforLife on Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 | Comments Off

In the previous post I talked about using the Main Central Source of Life exercise for stress relief. Because it helps everything on every level, it grounds us, calms us, balances us and most importantly: releases tensions on every level.

Many people who are new to all this energy work ask me: ‘So how do I best do these exercises?’ So here goes:

When I do the Main Central exercise, I like to lie down and prop my arms up with pillows (especially the right arm because the right hand is going to remain on top of the head for a while). I also like to put on a chill out CD so that I don’t have to look at the clock every time I need to move on to the next position. Every time the track changes, I move to the next position.

You might fall asleep in one position. Don’t worry about it. Enjoy it. Sometimes I get ’stuck’ in position 1 or 2 or 3 for a whole hour because it FEELS SO GOOD! So be it. That’s what you need at the time.

Sometimes, there will be involuntary jerking movements as the energy gets moving. Don’t worry about it. That’s normal. Sometimes there can be a shooting pain when you hold a position. That’s also normal – as long as it dissipates pretty quickly. If it doesn’t, stop what you’re doing and concentrate on some deep breathing for a few minutes.

Many times, the stomach will make rumbling sounds when the energy gets moving. For me, those sounds are music to my ears. There’s a great release of tension when that happens.

So please have fun with this powerful exercise. 40 minutes to an hour every day would be ideal, especially if there are any special stress projects.

The main thing is to experiment and ENJOY this wonderful exercise for STRESS RELIEF.

Self help holds for Fast Stress Relief

By FlowsforLife on Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 | Comments Off

Stress. We all have to deal with stresses every day, which impair the stability and balance of bodily functions. A little stress is good (gives us a little kick to get us going) but a lot of stress, or even worse, long term stress can cause tension on all levels: the physical, mental and emotional.

These self help holds that I talk about in Flows for Life help relieve the tensions of stress. It’s about managing stresses that cause long term discomforts and pains. Anxiety, worry, fatigue, and a compromised immune system are just some of the effects of our modern day stresses that can lead to big label illnesses and conditions over a period of time.

The list of stress symptoms is vast and there is a hold, or Jin Shin Jyutsu exercise to help alleviate each one of them. At this point, a good all around de- stressing exercise is the Main Central Source of Life

Pay special attention to the position where the right hand is on the top of the head and the left fingers are placed between the breasts on the sternum. This position deepens the breathing – and encourages the exhale breath to clean ‘dirt, dust, grease and grime’ as Master Mary Burmeister used to say.

Are you a Doctor?!?

By FlowsforLife on Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 | Comments Off

Most of us have suffered leg cramp at some point in our lives and we know how excruciating that pain is.

Well, imagine being up on stage in front of hundreds of people and you get severe cramp, not just in one leg but in both!

This actually happened to someone recently at a seminar I attended.

The poor guy had to get off the stage and sit down – he was in extreme pain and looked very distressed. Immediately, a whole lot of people gathered around him, trying to ‘help’.

I managed to cut through the group, quietly knelt down and put my fingers at the back of his knees and held on . Meanwhile it was complete chaos around him. All sorts of well meaning people asking if he was okay and offering all sorts of advice. At the same time, people shouting at me: ‘Are you a doctor? Are you a doctor?!?!?!’

I reply: ‘No, I’m a Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner.’ And kept holding the backs of his knees.

After a few minutes he calmed down, then I asked if the pain had gone. He said that yes, it had – so I quietly got up and left him. I don’t think he even realised what had happened. And that’s the way it should be – so quick, so easy, that you don’t even have time to wonder about it. It just IS – PAIN GONE.

Jin Shin Jyutsu: Your Innate Right

By FlowsforLife on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 | Comments Off

I often see people in a perfect Jin Shin Jyutsu self help position, even though they have probably never heard of this ancient healing art before in their lives. How can this be?

Jin Shin Jyutsu is an innate wisdom that we all tap into unkowingly and intuitively when we hear the body’s message: please help me!

By introducing Jin Shin Jyutsu, one awakens to the conscious application of the art, and therefore is empowered to do something about the discomfort, the pain, and the every day sufferings that we humans ‘endure’.

I say let’s not endure any more! Let’s not exist and be victims to all the slings and arrows that come our way, but let’s actively and consciously live a happier, healthier life. Jin Shin Jyutsu helps us do this, by knowing where to put our hands on the body.

What is Jin Shin Jyutsu?

By FlowsforLife on Monday, May 24th, 2010 | Comments Off

Jin Shin Jyutsu is an ancient Japanese healing art which uses the hands to harmonise and regenerate the whole being.

By knowing where to place the hands on the body you can manage pain, eliminate fatigue, stimulate your immune systemn and alleviate most conditions.

I often describe it as ‘acupuncture with the fingers’ and it is safe for every body from pregnant mothers to babies to the elderly or infirm. There are no contraindications either, so Jin Shin Jyutsu is a great support to the system, reducing the negative and harmful effects of drugs or invasive treatments like chemotherapy, for instance.

Every body is made up of the same physical parts and so it is that every body is made up of the same energy ‘flows’. The energy body is a complex and intelligent network that is just as much part of our make up as the physical body, and it can be accessed through a myriad ways (acupuncture, massage, reiki, reflexology, bowen, shiatsu, osteopathy and many others).

So every body can work with their energy for health and vitality to clear small ’stucknesses’ or large ’stucknesses’. A small stuckness could manifest as a headache or a cold, and a large stuckness could be cancer.

There are acute conditions like a muscle spasm in the leg for instance and chronic conditions that have developed over time like asthma and arthritis.

To introduce Jin Shin Jyutsu is simply to awaken the awareness of this innate wisdom that each and every one of us has at our disposal to use for a happy, healthy and fulfilled life: Free of stuckness in pain, fatigue, worry, FEAR, anger, grief and pretense.

Awaken your vitality, your health, your power, your wisdom, your potential – you can start, by holding one or more of your fingers. This is the power and the empowerment of Self Help Jin Shin Jyutsu.

Jin Shin Jyutsu Comments and Questions

By FlowsforLife on Sunday, May 23rd, 2010 | Comments Off

I have been receiving a lot of SPAM since I moved to this website and so I’ve decided to turn the Comments section off. If you would like to comment on a Jin Shin Jyutsu post or ask me a question please do so! I would love to hear from you.

Please send an email to flows@flowsforlife.com

Self Help for FAST relief of Leg Cramps

By FlowsforLife on Sunday, May 9th, 2010 | Comments Off

Ooohhhh the pain. Ooohhh the agony. Most of us have woken up at some time or other with cramp in the leg. A few nights ago it was my right calf muscle that seized up. Thank goodness I knew what to do. I immediately dug my fingers into the backs of my knees and held on for dear life. Within 10 to 15 seconds, I promise you, no more than that, the cramp eased and disappeared. It was a pretty bad one, so my lower leg felt sore for a while but I could go back to sleep.

Remember this GEM of a Jin Shin Jyutsu Self Help Hold when you have cramp in the leg, or muscle cramp anywhere in the body for that matter! It WORKS!

What are your stress symptoms?

By FlowsforLife on Thursday, May 6th, 2010 | Comments Off

Stress is probably the largest reason for dis-ease and pain, and this is why it’s so important to have tools at hand (excuse the pun) to deal with every day stresses so that they don’t become every day stucknesses.

We all have different stress symptoms – some of us get headaches and or fatigue, and or pain, and or allergies and the list goes on and on.

Because stress management is such a large subject, I would like to ask you: ‘What are YOUR stress symptoms?’ A stress can be physical, emotional and mental. Sometimes we experience all three at the same time.

I would love to hear from you! Just send your comment to flows(at)flowsforlife(dot)com (use @ and . instead of the words please!). All identities are kept confidential and no information will be divulged to anyone else under any circumstances.

Q&A: Jin Shin Jyutsu Hold for Adrenals?

By FlowsforLife on Sunday, May 2nd, 2010 | Comments Off

Question: Which jin shin points should I hold please.I think I have stressed my adrenals as I have a tendency to low adrenal function.

Answer: The adrenals are helped by holding the energy site number 23 on the (small of the) back. There is a number 23 energy site on either side and they are at elbow level when you bend the elbows. Hold them as you are lying down or sitting comfortably, for at least 20 minutes and I’m sure you’ll notice the difference. Also hold the energy site 26 – the outer edge of the shoulderblade under the armpit – with the opposite fingers: so with right hand hold the left 26 and with the left fingers place your left thumb over your left little finger and then over your ring finger. That’ll also help calm every thing down, as well as revitalising your system! And remember the Main Central Exercise…!!

Self Help that works: As Easy as Holding a Finger

By FlowsforLife on Sunday, April 25th, 2010 | Comments Off

The hands and the fingers are the keys to self help in Jin Shin Jyutsu. Master Jiro Murai practised only a few finger positions for seven days when he was labelled ‘terminally ill’ and made a full recovery.

He also fasted and meditated which I’m sure fast tracked things considerably – but I wouldn’t advise anyone doing this without medical supervision, especially if any condition has already been diagnosed.

However, holding the fingers every day, whenever your hands are free to do so, is a good way to clean, harmonise and revitalise all our 144,000 energy functions.

The good news is that the effects over time are cumulative, so the more you hold your fingers, the more you’ll feel the effects (you’ll feel calmer, think straighter, have more energy etc).

See the links below for how to hold the thumb and each finger and harmonise each corresponding emotion (or ATTITUDE as they’re called in Jin Shin Jyutsu) as well as helping many other things:

Hold the thumb for WORRY (and insomnia)
Hold the index finger for FEAR or ANXIETY
Hold the middle finger for ANGER
Hold the ring finger for GRIEF (and tinnitus)
Hold the little finger for PRETENSE or TRYING TO (too hard)

How to Lose Weight with Jin Shin Jyutsu

By FlowsforLife on Saturday, April 24th, 2010 | Comments Off

Now that Spring is here, many of us are looking to shed a few winter pounds…and I know that we need all the help we can get.

The good news is that there are two energy sites on the body (four if you count the right and left sides) that help with weight loss.

The first one is right under the cheeckbone on the face (energy site number 21). Hold the RIGHT side of the face just under the cheeckbone (near the nose) for weight LOSS, hold the LEFT side of face on the cheeckbone for weight GAIN. If you forget which side is which, hold both sides and the body will adjust itself to what it needs. It will! The body is very clever that way.

The other two energy sites are on the right and left sitting bones (number 25). Sit on your hands (with the palms up) at least 20 minutes a day to stay fit, to take lactic acid out of the muscles after exercising, and to lose volume from the hip and thigh area. It also tones the body.

Both these exercises can be done in front of the TV, or for a more meditative experience, sit or lie quietly with your eyes closed.

Q&A: Any Jin Shin Jyutsu Holds for the Legs

By FlowsforLife on Friday, April 23rd, 2010 | Comments Off

Question: I am having trouble with my right leg. It goes numb and tingles. It starts from my toes now its all the way up to my leg. This only happens when I sit down on my bed. Awaiting your response. This is a great concern of mine. I would be very grateful if you can help me.

Answer: Numbness in the feet – yes, i sometimes have that too when I’ve been sitting too long at the computer!

Reflexology would be a wonderful way to release the tension, not only in the feet but also in the rest of the body, or you might want to have a session with an Osteopath or a Mctimoney Chiropractor to release the tension, which I think might be coming from the sacrum or the lower back…

However, in terms of JSJ holds, there are a couple of things you can do.
To help the feet, with left hand, hold right little toe, while you place your right fingers on the outside of the right heel just below the ankle bone. This is the the energy site number 16. Reverse the hands for the other side.

See the link for all the 26 Safety Energy Locks

Another helpful Jin Shin Jyutsu hold for the feet is: hold right 16 with left fingers, and place right hand/fingers on the outside of the right calf muscle on the bone about 2 inches down from the knee – hold until you feel a pulse then hold until the pulse settles down, then hold again for a while (at least 20 minutes)

Also do Main Central Exercise every day if you can; especially the last position where you hold the pubic bone and the coccyx

Letter: The Miracle of Horses and Jin Shin Jyutsu

By FlowsforLife on Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 | Comments Off

Original Artwork by Astrid (c)

Note: I received this lovely letter about Jin Shin Jyutsu a while back and have published it with Helen’s permission..

Hello Astrid

I have been studying and using JSJ off and on for the past few years and I just wanted to tell you about one of my most amazing experiences.

I have or have had (?) an ongoing problem with my spine. One of the discs in my mid to lower back used to become displaced through damage and wear. At its worst I could not straighten, used to cry out in pain getting in and out of a car, and could not walk, sit or lie down without constant pain. I had chiropractic treatment, Bowen, osteopathy and consulted a sports injury specialist. I used to go to a therapist to have poisonous fluid drained and the disc put back, every 3 months or so. The more fluid, the more pain. This particular therapist told me the area was very delicate and worn and would only get worse. He said that I would need to have this treatment or something similar probably for the rest of my life to try to manage it as best we could.

Aged 51 after discovering horses for the first time in my life 12 months earlier, I went to Portugal and was chosen by my Lusitano Tui. A then young 5 year old stallion, largely unhandled, he had only just begun his training as a riding horse. I had no experience of handling horses and only a small amount of riding experience during the 12 months prior to buying him, and each time I would endure excruciating pain in my right hip and my back. Yet I was driven to become involved with horses and brought him home as a gelding.

One day whilst walking my dogs in the woods behind my house, I was accidently knocked to the ground by one of them. After struggling back to my feet, I found I couldn’t straighten, could hardly walk and the pain was really bad. I knew from all my past experiences that the disc has been displaced.

I don’t know how I managed to get back home and I then went through 48 hours of terrible pain. I was determined this time to sort it out for myself and began by giving myself Reiki (I am a Reiki Master). It was comforting but that’s all and by this time I was high from pain and lack of sleep. I tried to manipulate appropriate acupressure points but it was too painful. Then I remembered JSJ. I looked through my book The Touch of Healing and decided that the Main Central was the movement to try.

I worked with this move all through the night. In the early hours of the morning I found that I was shaking all over, had the worst headache ever and a high fever; it felt like I had a good dose of the flu. I knew it had worked though and that this was my healing crisis. After having some blessed sleep, I woke to no pain!

That was almost 4 years ago. I have not been back to my therapist and my horse and I enjoy riding bareback and bitless down the country roads and lanes where I live. I do not have any problem with hips, neck, hands feet or back after riding or handling my wonderful horse and I walk on average 2 to 3 miles a day either with my dogs or horse or both!

It remains to be seen whether my disc has actually mended itself. My therapist certainly believed that the disc was worn and damaged and was not something that would improve. And, he was genuinely horrified when I bought my horse! He is skilled therapist and a lovely, caring man and he helped me alot and for this I am truly grateful.

However, I am even more grateful to my Higher Self for guiding me to horses and JSJ!

Thank you for your wonderful website!

Kind regards
Helen

See the link to the Main Central Source of Life Exercise

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