Is Jin Shin Jyutsu a Religion?
People sometimes ask me whether Jin Shin Jyutsu is a religion. My simple answer is: no, Jin Shin Jyutsu is not a religion. It does not require a belief in God, or in any faith or doctrine. There is no worship, conversion or set of beliefs that you have to accept before you can practise it. Jin Shin Jyutsu can be used by anyone, whatever their religion, background or belief.
But then I ask myself: “Why does the question come up in the first place?” Perhaps one reason is that some of the language we use in Jin Shin Jyutsu can sound spiritual. We talk about energy, harmony, the Creator, spirit, and the many different levels on which we experience life. But that does not make Jin Shin Jyutsu a religious practice.
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A practical Art of Living…
At its heart, Jin Shin Jyutsu self-help is a very practical Art of Living. You place your hands on the body or hold a finger, then become aware of what happens. You might use it because you have a headache, you cannot sleep, you feel anxious, you are tired or you just want to feel more balanced. The nice thing is that you don’t need to understand how or why it works in order to practise it and feel relief.
While many people become interested in Jin Shin Jyutsu as a way of helping them alleviate symptoms, it can also become a deeper study of the self: a lifelong journey from practical self-help to self-realisation.
As we practise, we may begin to notice what is happening in our body, how we feel and how we respond to life. We become more aware of emotions such as worry, fear, anger, grief and effort, and in the process we begin to understand ourselves more clearly.
Jin Shin Jyutsu can be as simple or as deep as we want it to be. We can begin exactly where we are, with no need to understand everything (or anything, really) from the start
…yet, profound.
Mary Burmeister described Jin Shin Jyutsu as a physio-philosophy, a physio-psychology and a physio-physiology. These three aspects point to the breadth and profoundness of the Art, and to the fact that Jin Shin Jyutsu is concerned with the whole person, not just the physical body.
Physio-philosophy is the awareness of myself, physio-psychology is the understanding of myself, and physio-physiology is the method I use to help myself. So Jin Shin Jyutsu is not only about what we do with our hands. It is also about becoming more aware of ourselves and understanding ourselves more deeply. The practical method and the self-study go hand in hand (excuse the pun).
Something we already do naturally
One of the fascinating things about Jin Shin Jyutsu is that it feels so natural and familiar to us. Not surprising, really, as we all ‘practise’ Jin Shin Jyutsu from the moment we’re born. A baby sucks its thumb instinctively. Someone who is worried may hold their hands together, someone who feels overwhelmed may place a hand on their forehead, and someone with discomfort in the body will often instinctively place a hand over that area.
We naturally use our hands to soothe and help ourselves. Jin Shin Jyutsu brings awareness to what we already do. Once we know what we’re doing, we can use these holds deliberately rather than instinctively, and do more of what helps us.
Is Jin Shin Jyutsu spiritual?
This question is a little harder to answer. In Jin Shin Jyutsu we look at the whole person, and we don’t separate the physical, mental and emotional aspects of ourselves, or the deeper aspect some people call spiritual. But I don’t mean spiritual in a religious sense. Rather, spiritual in the sense of having a deeper awareness of ourselves.
Either way, you don’t need to think of Jin Shin Jyutsu as a spiritual practice in order to use it. Equally, someone who experiences a deeper spiritual dimension or connection through the practice is not ‘wrong’ either. Jin Shin Jyutsu does not impose a spiritual belief; it leaves plenty of room for individual experience.
Mary Burmeister called it a Universal Art
Mary Burmeister referred to Jin Shin Jyutsu as a Universal Art, and I think that description matters. Although Jin Shin Jyutsu has a Japanese name, and Master Jiro Murai rediscovered and developed the Art in Japan in the early twentieth century, its principles are not limited to a particular culture or belief system. They relate to the human being.
Literally translated from the Japanese, Jin Shin Jyutsu means “The Art of the Creator through the person of knowing and compassion.” The word Creator may sound religious to some people, but it does not require a religious interpretation. A person may understand it in religious terms, philosophical terms, energetic terms or simply as the Source of Life energy. Jin Shin Jyutsu does not dictate which interpretation we must choose.
My own introduction to Jin Shin Jyutsu
When I first came across Jin Shin Jyutsu in 1998, I knew nothing about its philosophy. At the time, I suffered from migraine headaches. Someone I knew suggested I try Jin Shin Jyutsu, so I looked up the holds in a book and practised them. I was amazed that within a few minutes all the symptoms of the headache just disappeared!
That’s what made me curious to learn more. Not because of a belief system, but because something had definitely happened. I had so many questions: Why did this help? What else could I do? How could these simple holds affect the body in such a way? Why doesn’t everybody know about this? That was the beginning, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Jin Shin Jyutsu: A practice, not a belief
So for me, this is the simplest way to answer the original question. Jin Shin Jyutsu is not a religion. It is an Art of self-help and self-study that can be approached physically, psychologically, philosophically (what does it mean to be human?) and, if someone chooses, spiritually (what is my experience of being human?).
The important thing to remember is that none of these aspects is forced on anyone. You can begin with something as simple as holding your thumb and perhaps notice that you feel calmer. Or, over time, you may begin to notice yourself in a completely different way. That is part of the beauty of Jin Shin Jyutsu: it can meet you exactly where you are.
Want to practice Jin Shin Jyutsu regularly?
If you’d like to deepen your Jin Shin Jyutsu practice, I offer weekly group sessions where people from around the world come together to explore harmonising exercises in a supportive space. Each week brings a new focus and a shared sense of calm.
Learn more here: Jin Shin Jyutsu Weekly Group Practice