I often describe Jin Shin Jyutsu as a form of ‘Acupuncture with the fingers’, but it involves no manipulation, pressure or massage, so it is safe for every body from 0-100+ years of age!

This ancient Art harmonises and balances the life energy in the body by using the fingers and hands (over clothing) to alleviate symptoms of discomfort and disharmony.

This ‘energy medicine’ is a gentle, yet effective and powerful tool for health and well-being which is simple to learn, and the beneficial effects are usually felt immediately.

You don’t have to create or believe anything for it to work.

By putting your hands on specific parts of the body, and connecting with the corresponding ‘energy sites’ you are working with your energy and activating and facilitating the flow of energy to help speed up the body’s natural ability to regenerate and heal itself.

Introducing the awareness of this Art engages one in self study and self help. Through the process of ‘Now Know (Help) MYSELF’ we recognise the wisdom of the body, and we learn to interpret the messages provided and utilize them to restore balance. Jin Shin Jyutsu can be applied by a practitioner, but it is also dynamic as self help.

I find it VERY cool that this powerful aid is ready and available to every single one of us. Just by knowing where to put your hands on your body you can manage your everyday stresses and pains, restore and maintain your energy levels, boost your immune system, and much more, to feel and look better every day!

Hold this energy site in emergencies to balance the nervous system.

It is also a great helper to alleviate anxiety and panic attacks; and you can use it as a smelling salt if you feel faint.

This energy site on the outside of the wrist is also fantastic instead of that Mars bar fix in the middle of the afternoon when you might need a quick energy boost – it’s a quick reviver!

Holding the outside of the wrist also helps with the development of intuition, and alleviates chest congestion.

In the case of panic attacks, I would also cross my arms and place my hands on the insides of the knees. The insides of the knees  is THE place to hold in emergencies – keeps you BREATHING, and helps ease nausea and vomiting.

If this hold is a bit awkward because you are in a public place for instance, then just grab your left little finger with your right hand and hold. I find holding the left little finger especially useful at the first sign of my heart racing a bit.

Jin Shin Jyutsu is an Ancient Art of harmonizing the life energy in the body by using the fingers and hands.

In the video below I explain some simple exercises to relieve Anxiety and Panic Attacks.

Take advantage of the fact that you have a right and left hemisphere of the brain. They affect you differently if you divide them. The left side is more critical and is a ‘judger’, it reacts negatively and is the side that says ‘no’. The right side of the brain is more positive, believing, trusting and says ‘yes’. So you have to provide two different statements for each side of the brain – the statement for the left side is worded negatively, and the statement for the right side is worded positively. Say the statement while you tap five times. Do the left side first with the negative statement and then the right side with the positive statement.

Do the Temporal Tap four or five times a day for at least a week, and Donna says that if the habit is deeply entrenched, then it might take up to 30 days to see results. If you don’t see any results quite quickly then choose a different statement!

This is Donna Eden at her best – she is awesome, and so lovely. Enjoy the video!

It is understandable that many people ask me: ‘How long should I hold this position (or that position) for’?

I have always said: ‘Until you feel relief!’

Sometimes relief is immediate, and sometimes it takes a bit of time to arrive.

In essence, by practicing Jin Shin Jyutsu we are facilitating the movement of energy, so the time it takes to move and harmonise the energy is different for every individual based on where their energy is at and what their energy is ‘doing’.

Below are some general guidelines as to when and for how long to apply a self help hold.

Generally, working on an empty stomach will ensure faster results.  In an acute situation, such as a breathing difficulty, or headache or pain, then it is wise to do the hold until there is relief. If there is no relief, after a few minutes, try a different hold – if you feel worse, stop! and go back to it at another time.

Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioners give treatments that last no more than an hour. When you work on yourself, there is no time limit per se, but I would say that if you are not feeling on top of the world then use holds that are most comfortable for you – remember to keep it simple!

Babies and the infirm require less time, so the guideline is to work no longer than 10-15 minutes on them.

When you place your hands on your body you will probably feel a pulsation in your fingers. Listen to the texture, the tone, the rhythm of that pulsation. Is it quiet, or booming? How does it change after a few minutes…does it calm down? Does it get stronger? Does it change? Do you ‘hear’ it in one hand? In both hands?

After a while, is the pulsation in both hands synchronised? If it is, then this is a sign that the body is starting to harmonise…

Jin Shin Jyutsu is about many things, but it is also about listening. When a new client comes to see me, they ask me: ‘How can you sit there so quietly not ‘DOING’ anything for a whole hour?’ Ah, but you see, I am listening to the symphony of the pulsations which are going through cycles, telling their ‘story’. And as the pulsations harmonise, time becomes timeless. It’s a beautiful experience for me (and I hope for my client as well!).

I call them pulsations for now, because listening to the pulses is a different exercise. When one listens to the pulses (in the wrists) one is listening to get a feeling of where the need is in the body, and from there, which FLOW to select to harmonise that need. That’s the lifelong study of Jin Shin Jyutsu.

Listening to the pulses is taught in Part 2 of the Jin Shin Jyutsu 5 Day Basic Seminar.

Top Cancer Fighting Foods (click on the image to go to the video):

Martha Stewart with Dr William Li of the Angiogenesis Foundation

1. Make sure you’re hydrated. Drink enough natural spring water (at least 8 glasses a day)
2. Cut down or cut out the sugar and caffeine  – The more you eat sugar the more you’ll crave it – substitute that Mars bar at 4 pm with a handful of nuts or a high protein snack
3. Sit on your hands for 20 minutes a day! Place your right palm face up under your right sitting bone, and your left palm face up under your left sitting bone. This self help hold helps the body stay toned and fit (and if you’re not fit it’ll help!)
4. Use some lovely aromatherapy oils to help you along the way. There’s a whole lot of great information on how to suppress appetite for instance, in this article: Aromatherapy for Weight Loss
5. Don’t skip breakfast and don’t let more than 3-4 hours pass without eating something. Eat more often, but less, and don’t eat late at night (except for a little high protein snack before bed – no point going to bed hungry!)
6. Hold your cheekbones! Place your left hand on your left cheekbone and your right hand on your right cheekbone! Do 20 minutes every day or more while watching TV!
7. Go for an energising walk around the block every so often
8. Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry!

However, there are ways of relieving the intensity of the tinnitus, and here I share some personal tips with you. Some of them might surprise you! I certainly found out some interesting information while I was doing my research.

So, 10 Tips For  Tinnitus Relief:

1. It would seem obvious, but avoid loud noises!
2. Minimize the use of headphones, ipods, etc (sorry!)
3. Minimize or eliminate the use of cell (mobile) phones and DECT cordless phones in the home and office (avoid carrying phones or pagers on your body)
4. Get rid of phones and electric clock radios next to your head at night, especially if they’re cordless!
5. Minimize, if you can, exposure to electromagnetic radiation, including WI-FI (turn it off at night!), communication towers, transformers, power lines and electrical appliances (like hair dryers) – if you can’t minimize exposure then there are ways to protect yourself (contact me for more info)
6. Avoid sinus and nose congestion – so keep the passages open and free as much as possible  (the build up of mucus can affect the whole nose, throat, ear area!)
7. Keep your energy levels up and your immune system strong (do Main Central Exercise and the Immune Booster Hold)
8. Reduce or eliminate coffee and caffeine from your diet. Surprisingly, caffeine has been shown to worsen the symptoms of tinnitus (that was a new one for me!)
9. TMJ syndrome can exacerbate tinnitus. TMJ stands for Temporomandibular joint and it’s located near the ear – I have found that easing the tension in this area with some massage is quite useful
10. An all around remedy for ears is to put one drop of Lavender essential oil (use the variety Lavandula Angustifolia) on some cotton wool and place it in the ear overnight. I find that this helps soothe the ears, especially if there is any pain or discomfort. Lavender is one of the safest oils, but of course, do not take the oil  internally. And remember, with essential oils, less is always better.

Of course, I find great comfort for the ears and relief from tinnitus by using some finger positions (‘mudras’) and some self help holds. I got one of the holds from a dear friend in India.

In this video, Tinnitus Self Help Holds, I show you some exercises:

We often don’t realise that eating and drinking certain things over and over can have an adverse effect on our health and wellbeing – the symptoms can be quite insidious – after all, doctors themselves have a hard time pinpointing what exactly causes anxiety, fatigue, allergies, depression and goodness knows what else – often just treating the symptoms, and not actually tackling the causes of these labels.

It makes sense though to look at the diet: caffeine, alcohol, sugar, (bad) fats, as well as drugs and tobacco are just not very useful for the body over the long run. While the body is very intelligent and cells will turn almost anything we eat and drink into fuel for the body, not all fuel is created equal.

A few changes in the diet can make a big difference, as well as including some regular exercise, sun and laughter in your life.

Here’s a website that says it all: Top Five Foods for Beating Depression

In terms of the holds, start by placing your hands on the neck. So place the right hand on the right side of the neck and the left hand on the left side of the neck. Feel how tight that is? Do this for a few minutes, and then become aware if your neck has softened up at all.

Then, if you can, find the place where you feel the source of the pain is (sometimes where you feel the pain is not where the center of the pain is – to find the source, gently dig a little into the area (could be in the hip, the buttock, the back of the leg, but for me, it’s usually in the sacrum area – if the pain is on the right side, then use the right hand to hold. With the other hand, go to the outside of the heel just under the ankle bone. If it’s the right side that hurts, hold the right heel for a while. Become aware how it feels after a few minutes. Has the pain subsided? If not, move your hand from one outside heel to the other and hold that for a few minutes.

Play with this hold – you can vary it.Don’t get too caught up with what hand goes where.The main thig is that you place one hand on where it hurts and the other hand on the outside of the heel. The energy site on the outside of the heel has a wonderful function: it TRANSFORMS. So I have used it to transform, or release tension and pain very effectively. I have used it for hip, back and leg pain.

Hope this helps, and let me know if it works for you!