Jin Shin Jyutsu is available to everyone
Jin Shin Jyutsu is a universal Art we can use to boost energy and balance emotions. By using the fingers and hands we can harmonise the energy in the body. In this way we not only boost energy levels; we can also calm the mind, manage and clear pain or discomfort, and support our overall wellbeing.
We use this Jyutsu (Art) all the time!
What is fascinating is that we use this Art in our daily lives to help ourselves all the time. All we need to do is watch people on television: politicians, and celebrities on chat shows for instance, to see that they are all (unknowingly) practising Jin Shin Jyutsu to help themselves stay calm and energised. They hold certain fingers, or place their hands on specific places on their body.
The art becomes even more powerful when we’re aware of what we’re doing. And the effects are cumulative, which means the more often we practise, the better we tend to feel.
Video: Jin Shin Jyutsu to boost energy and balance emotions
Jin Shin Jyutsu is ancient
The principles behind Jin Shin Jyutsu are as old as humanity itself. Long ago, people naturally understood how to maintain balance and harmony within themselves and others. Over many generations, that understanding gradually faded and was almost lost. In the early part of the twentieth century, a man called Jiro Murai in Japan began to uncover this art again through his own deep exploration of the body and its energies. He went on to devote his life to understanding how balance can be restored.
From there, he began to observe how energy moves through the body and what happens when that movement becomes disturbed. Through years of careful study and personal experience, he came to understand that discomfort and imbalance arise when energy is no longer flowing as it should.
By working with the body, he found ways to help energy return to its natural flow, allowing balance to be restored rather than forced. From this understanding, the art of Jin Shin Jyutsu took shape – an art rooted in compassion, awareness, and the body’s own innate ability to harmonise itself.
Master Jiro Murai, as he later became known, learned how to adjust and correct energy when it became compromised – when it wasn’t functioning optimally. That compromise might show up as stagnation, where energy gets stuck, as energy flowing in reverse, or as energy mixing with other energies when it shouldn’t. Sometimes there’s too much energy, sometimes too little, and often there’s a combination of these.
Our hands act as ‘jumper cables’
As practitioners and students of Jin Shin Jyutsu, we don’t try to force the body to change. Instead, we facilitate the body’s own innate ability to bring itself back into balance. This is very similar to what acupuncturists and others working with subtle energies aim to do. We use our hands like jumper cables, helping to recharge our own internal batteries.
This image of using our hands as jumper cables was one that Mary Burmeister, one of Master Murai’s most dedicated students, often used to explain how Jin Shin Jyutsu works. She was born in Seattle in the United States to Japanese parents, and in the early 1950s she introduced Jin Shin Jyutsu to the West. Mary practised the art, taught it to others, and made it accessible as a form of self help for everyday life.
Two ways to experience Jin Shin Jyutsu
In essence, there are two main ways we experience Jin Shin Jyutsu. One is by receiving a session from another person, usually a practitioner. The other, and this is what makes it so special, is that we can give ourselves a session through self help. No matter our age, we can use this art to support ourselves.
Children actually know this instinctively. When a child sucks their thumb, they’re naturally helping to balance their energy and calm their whole being. I once worked with a young woman who was extremely stressed about her exams. As a child, she had sucked her thumb and had never fully grown out of it. Even as an adult, she found comfort in doing that when she felt overwhelmed.
I suggested she try something slightly different: instead of sucking her thumb, she could simply hold either thumb gently with the opposite hand for a few minutes. She was amazed at how grounding and calming it felt, and how something so simple could make such a noticeable difference.
Hands-on self help
That brings us neatly to the heart of Jin Shin Jyutsu self help. At its core, Jin Shin Jyutsu is about restoring ease and flow of energy within the body, rather than trying to fix or force anything.
It never ceases to amaze me that by holding our thumbs and fingers for a few minutes each day, we can help harmonise ALL 144,000 of our energy functions. And again, the effects are cumulative, so the more we practise, the better we tend to feel.
People often ask how long they should hold each finger. There aren’t any strict rules. Mary Burmeister used to say, “for a few minutes, more or less.” If you like having a guideline, you could hold each finger for about five minutes. Holding all the fingers on one hand would take around twenty-five minutes. Doing all ten fingers would take about fifty minutes, which makes for a very thorough self help session for the whole being.
If you close your eyes while you’re holding, you may notice your stresses starting to “melt away’ (that’s also one of Mary’s beautiful expressions). As you become more attuned to your body, you’ll naturally know when it’s time to move on – you’ll hold each finger for as long as feels right for you.
Jin Shin Jyutsu self help often begins with the fingers. Each finger relates to certain emotional patterns and physical functions, and you can hold whichever hand feels more comfortable.
Jin Shin Jyutsu Self Help starts with the fingers
Below are the basic self help finger holds with some explanation of what ‘issues’ holding each finger can help. Hold whichever side feels most comfortable.
Hold Thumb for WORRY
It also helps:
- Insomnia
- Digestion (tummy ache – great for kids)
- Headaches (especially base of thumb)
- Stress and nerves
- To ground, calm and nurture
- Skin surface
- Stomach and Spleen energy
- When have to SIT a lot (sitting creates bloat conditions)
Hold INDEX finger for FEAR
It also helps:
- Teeth and gums
- Backaches
- Digestion, constipation
- Self criticism, shyness
- Muscle tension
- Kidney and bladder energy
- When have to STAND a lot (be on your feet)
Hold MIDDLE finger for ANGER
It also helps:
- Blood pressure
- General fatigue
- Eyes, vision
- Irritability
- Balance emotions
- Liver and gallbladder energy
- When have to READ a lot
Hold RING finger for GRIEF
It also helps:
- Ringing in the ear (Tinnitus)
- Respiratory functions
- Excessive mucus
- Skin conditions
- Lung and large intestine energy|
- When have to RECLINE a lot (e.g. convalescence)
Hold LITTLE finger for ‘EFFORT’ or ‘TRYING TOs’
It also helps:
- Heart discomforts (e.g. palpitations)
- Bloating
- Trying too hard (at anything)
- Insecurity, nervousness
- Heart and small intestine energy
- When need to WALK a lot
Hold CENTER of PALM for FATIGUE and DESPONDENCY
About Astrid
Astrid embarked on her journey in Complementary Therapies in 1997, after a successful career at a large advertising agency in London, England.
She qualified as an Aromatherapist with the Tisserand Institute in 1999 (TIDHA) and has studied several healing modalities, but is particularly fascinated with energy work. In 1998 she discovered Jin Shin Jyutsu when she used some simple self help exercises to clear her migraines.
Astrid is a fully trained and accredited Practitioner and Authorised Self Help Instructor of Jin Shin Jyutsu. She has shared her love and knowledge of this Art via individual treatments, talks, self-help classes and online since 2001.
You may also like:
Introduction to Jin Shin Jyutsu: Self help mini ecourse
Online Self Help Jin Shin Jyutsu Classes with Astrid
Recommended reading:
The Touch of Healing by Alice Burmeister
IMPORTANT: This information is not meant as a substitute for medical attention. If symptoms persist always consult your physician.