Discover how Jin Shin Jyutsu works with the body’s natural energy to promote cellular health, reduce stress, and promote a more harmonious ageing process.
Key Points to Help The Body Age with Ease
- Ageing is a natural process, but how we experience it can be supported through energy balance and lifestyle
- The body contains trillions of cells that rely on energy for repair, regeneration, and overall vitality
- Low cellular energy is linked to slower repair processes, reduced resilience, and visible signs of ageing
- Jin Shin Jyutsu is a universal art of harmonising that helps restore the body’s natural energy flow
- Supporting energy flow improves wellbeing, reduces stress, and promotes healthier ageing
- Emotional stress, such as worry, fear, and anger, can disrupt energy flow and impact the body over time
- Simple self-help like holding the fingers can harmonise emotional states and promote relaxation
- Regular practice encourages better coordination between the body’s systems and encourages natural healing processes
- Creating a balanced internal environment allows the body to focus on maintenance, repair, and regeneration
- Jin Shin Jyutsu offers a simple, accessible way to support healthy ageing naturally, anytime and anywhere
What does it mean to age gracefully?
I’ve often heard the expression to ‘age gracefully’, and as I get older, I find myself reflecting on what that really means. Ageing can be challenging. “Old age is not for the faint-hearted”, as the saying goes. Yet at some point, we have to recognise that ageing is natural and not something to resist, but something to work with, adapting to the body as it changes.
At the same time, I want to remain energised, strong, and as free from pain and emotional stress as possible. This is where Jin Shin Jyutsu can offer real support, helping us navigate the ageing process with greater ease.
Watch the video: Jin Shin Jyutsu is Anti Ageing
Our cells: trillions of powerhouses
When I embarked on my journey as a complementary therapist in 1997, I started by studying the body. I quickly realised that for me, the most fascinating aspect of our body are the cells. They are truly amazing.
Early on in my anatomy and physiology studies, I expected to be drawn to the heart or the lungs, but I kept coming back to the cell. The body is an extraordinary biological, chemical, and energetic system, but the cell is where it all happens.
The human body is made up of around 28 to 36 trillion cells, depending on whether it is male or female. The extraordinary thing is that each cell is a complete, functioning unit. Every cell takes in fuel, water, and oxygen, produces energy, carries out repair, and removes waste. They are trillions of tiny powerhouses that sustain life.
Every process in the body, that is to say, the repair, renewal, immunity, and vitality, depends on the health of these cells. When cells have sufficient energy and are functioning well, the body is better able to maintain itself. When they do not, systems begin to slow down, and over time this can contribute to ageing and disease.
The great news is that Jin Shin Jyutsu offers a practical way to promote cellular health by restoring energy flow and harmonising the whole being, on every level.
Our natural state of harmony
Jin Shin Jyutsu works with the understanding that the body is an interconnected energy system. The 144,000 energy functions nourish organs, tissues, and cells. When the flow through these energy pathways is smooth, the body is in a state of balance. When it is blocked, depleted or overloaded, symptoms can arise.
In the practice of this Art, we use light touch by placing our hands on specific energy sites on the body. This helps to restore the flow of energy. These sites are known as Safety Energy Locks (SELS), and they are like access areas to the body’s energy network.
Why the body ages
The body ages because over time, its ability to maintain, repair, and regenerate itself gradually declines. This isn’t due to a single cause, but a combination of interconnected biological processes. Lifestyle plays an important role in this. Mary Burmeister, a foremost teacher of Jin Shin Jyutsu says that our ‘perfect harmony may be interrupted by daily eating habits, working habits, hereditary characteristics, too dry or too damp a living environment, weather conditions, mental and emotional anxieties, or accidents causing bodily injuries’, for instance.
Furthermore, modern science is increasingly highlighting the importance of cellular energy in ageing. Cells rely on energy to carry out essential functions such as repairing DNA, producing proteins, and maintaining internal balance. When energy is low, these processes become less efficient. Over time, this can lead to the accumulation of damage, reduced resilience, and visible signs of ageing.
The good news is that when we practice Jin Shin Jyutsu, we can provide energy to the cells.
This does not mean that ageing stops, but it does mean that the body can age in a more balanced and supported way.
Harmonising ATTITUDES and their impact
A key aspect of Jin Shin Jyutsu is also the understanding of ATTITUDES. These are fixed emotional states such as WORRY, FEAR, ANGER, GRIEF and EFFORT (TRYING TOs). They are part of being human, but when they become persistent, or ‘stuck’ as I like to describe them, they can affect the flow of energy in the body.
Holding the fingers is fundamental to Jin Shin Jyutsu. Each finger is related to an attitude. By holding our thumbs and fingers for a few minutes each day, we can help harmonise ALL 144,000 energy functions. And again, the effects are cumulative, so the more we practise, the better we tend to feel.
This also has a direct effect on all our trillions of cells. Because with less stress and more available energy, the body can prioritise repair and regeneration.
When everything works together
Fundamentally, health depends on how well everything in the body is working together. The body is not made up of separate parts. It is a connected whole, where everything is in constant relationship.
When this natural coordination is disrupted, the body has to work harder. Energy is used to compensate and manage tension, and over time this can lead to disharmony and and array of symptoms.
But when there is harmony, something changes. The body becomes more efficient, as there is less stress.
Through regular Jin Shin Jyutsu practice, we support this natural cooperation. Energy begins to flow more freely, tension and stress ‘melt away’, and the body can redirect energy towards maintenance, repair, and regeneration.
This is where the idea of ‘disease falling away’ can be understood. When the underlying imbalance is addressed, symptoms can begin to ease.
Simple practice, profound effects
One of the strengths of Jin Shin Jyutsu, especially in supporting the ageing process, is its simplicity. The practice of holding a finger or placing the hands on the body can be done anywhere, and at any time. These consistent actions support a steady flow of energy, a calmer nervous system, greater awareness of our self, and a more balanced internal environment. All within which cells can truly thrive.
Bringing it all together
When we look at ageing through the lens of Jin Shin Jyutsu, we see a clear connection:
- Energy flow supports cellular function
- Harmonised ATTITUDES reduce stress on the whole being
- Whole-body balance creates the conditions for repair
Together, these contribute to a body that is better able to maintain itself over time. It is about supporting the body so that it can function as well as possible, for as long as possible.
In that sense, Jin Shin Jyutsu offers a practical and grounded approach to healthy ageing. Again, it begins with something very simple: holding each thumb and finger or placing your hands on your body and allowing energy to flow.
This is something we can return to again and again. Supporting the flow of energy. Trusting our innate wisdom and the intelligence of the body. And giving it the space it needs to do what it is designed to do.
Because when that flow is there, everything else can follow. We can BE the best we can be, no matter what our age.
Feel the benefits of a regular Jin Shin Jyutsu practice!
If you’d like to practice Jin Shin Jyutsu on a regular basis, I offer weekly group sessions where we get together from all over the world to practice different sequences or flows. They’re online, deeply supportive, surprisingly powerful, and a lot of fun.
You don’t have to be experienced in Jin Shin Jyutsu to join or benefit from this group practice.
For more info see my Weekly Group Practice