Good Food = Good Health

Self Help Tip: 

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."
~Hippocrates

     It has been a long journey to cut out processed food from my family's diet, but these days we rarely give in to convenience foods. I find that if I keep plenty of healthy handy snacks available, it is easier to avoid grabbing just whatever! Making homemade granola snack bars is fast becoming a weekly activity for me. These bars make a great grab-and-go breakfast or snack. I especially love knowing exactly what is in them. I find that making food from scratch is empowering! Cutting out the processed, convience foods and making things from scratch with good quality food stuff is the best way to take charge of your healht.  Knowing what you are putting in your body is the first step. You truly are what you eat!

    Here is my granola snack bar recipe.The time involved in making these bars is minimal and does not require baking. It is a flexible enough recipe that you can adjust to suit your taste and diet requirements. Makes a thick dense snack bar that is filling and satisfying. Enjoy! 

Power Packed Snack Bars 
4 cups of "good stuff" (nuts, seeds, dried fruit, coconut, oats, grains, etc)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/3 - 1/2 cup honey or molasses or mixture
1/3 - 1/2 cup nut butter (sunflower, almond, peanut, cashew or sesame)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted nuts or seeds)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
(I also add some adaptogen and immune boosting powdered herbs 1/2 tsp) 

Mix nut butter, coconut oil, and honey in a pan. Warm on medium heat until melted. Add vanilla, cinnamon, salt, cinnamon and herbs. Stir until mixed well. Remove from heat and stir in the "good stuff" by the cupful and mix well. If using chocolate chips mix in at the end once the mixture cools a bit. Press into an 8" x 8" pan, lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into bars or squares. Store in the fridge. They will become softer at room temperature.
The "good stuff" in my most recent batch is dried apricots, dates, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, currants, pumpkin seeds, granola, coconut. Yum!

 "Health requires healthy food."
~Roger Williams

With an Attitude of Gratitude

Self Help Tip: 

With an Attitude of Gratitude

     
"If you don't like something change it;
if you can't change it,
change the way you think about it."
~Mary Engelbreit
 

As I woke up on Thanksgiving morning, I held my fingers, as I do most mornings,  and thought about the gifts that Jin Shin Jyutsu brings to my life and how easy it is to access those gifts by holding my fingers. In the practice of Jin Shin Jyutsu, we are taught that by holding our fingers we can harmonize the attitudes that dis-harmonize our bodies. Each finger harmonizes an attitude as well as the organs that are affected by that particular attitude. Hold your fingers not to suppress attitudes but to express or release them. Holding our fingers to harmonize limiting thoughts and attitudes is the simplest, most readily available tool we have to cope with whatever life throws at us. This simple act not only keeps us from getting stuck in those limiting attitudes, but brings us in touch with the limitless, positive and harmonious gifts that BALANCE brings to us! 

I wanted to find a way to emphasize these gifts and was inspired to created this Thanksgiving turkey hand as a way to show what we bring in as we harmonize those attitudes! At the same time giving me a chance to express my gratitude for each of these gift that my practice of Jin Shin Jyutsu brings to my life each day.

thumb - worry transforms to into harmony, a healthy sense of self, profound security
index - fear transforms into love, flow, perfect circulation
middle - anger transforms into peace and balance
ring - sadness and grief transform into joy and happiness
little - try-to's/effort and pretense transform into ease, laughter and BE-ing
palm - despondency transforms into equilibrium, balance, intuition and connection to Divine Source

HOLD each finger for about 5 minutes or until you can feel a gentle rhythmic pulsing, even and clear. Breath easily. Relax the shoulders and smile from the very heart of you.

Take charge of your ATTITUDES and bring GRATITUDE into your daily practice. Remember that the simple act of holding your fingers will balance all of your Attitudes and transform them into the positive emotions that we all thrive on. It really is that simple. We are in charge of our attitudes and nature has given each of us an easy and accessible way to do so.

"Could we change our attitude,
we should not only see life differently,
but life itself would come to be different."
~Katherine Mansfield

Happy Thanksgiving

As I woke up this morning and held my fingers, I thought about the gifts that Jin Shin Jyutsu brings to my life and how easy it is to access those gifts by holding my fingers. We often talk about how holding fingers harmonize the attitudes that dis-harmonize our bodies-thumb/worry, index/fear, middle/anger, ring/sadness, little/try-to's. So I drew this Thanksgiving turkey hand to show what we bring in as we harmonize those attitudes! Enjoy!

Write Yourself a Letter

       This afternoon my eleven year old daughter got to work on her own newsletter. I was so impressed with her article that I asked if she would be my guest writer this week. She agreed, so I have included her article here. I love her ritual of writing herself a letter and leaving it in her seasonal clothing box when it goes out to storage. Last year when David brought in her clothes he found a note she had written to herself - an note from the "past Rebecca" to the "future Rebecca". We didn't know that she had had this ritual for a while. We were so amazed by her letter and her ability to be tender with herself. I have included that letter at the end of her article. I hope that you will write your future self a letter. Seems like a great Thanksgiving Ritual! ~Beth 

Self Help Tip: 

Write Yourself a Letter
by Rebecca G.  Molaro

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” ~Aristotle

I was thinking about the things I should do this weekend and I saw a big box full of my summer clothes in the middle of my room. I had been putting off sending my clothing out to the storage shed because of a personal ritual have. I always write a little personal letter to myself and put it in the box for me to find the following season. I decided that I was done having this big box in the middle of my room and so I decided I should write the letter today. Then I got to thinking that it would be helpful to everyone if they wrote a letter to themselves each year or every season or so.

Writing letters to yourself is a great way to get in tune with your feelings and emotions. It helps you to understand yourself and what you were thinking about when you wrote the letter. You can also set goals for yourself and then see when you open the letter if you completed your goals. You can talk about your dreams and plans for life and how you want to go about things.

I encourage YOU to write a letter to yourself. If you have certain seasonal decorations that you get out each year, at the end of the season you can put your letter in with those things or you can put it in a box that you will find one day. It is so special when you forget about writing the letter and then find it. I hope you enjoy this ritual as much as I do! 

All the wonders you seek are within yourself. ~Sir Thomas Browne

No Regrets

"If we are to live together in peace,

we must come to know each other better."
~Lyndon Johnson

     Happy Veterans Day. Today as we honor and THANK all Veterans for dedicated and loyal service to our country, I want to tell you about a very special program that I volunteer with here in Asheville. Helios Warriors is dedicated to bringing high quality holistic therapies to all veterans in a safe and supportive environment for their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Read more about Helios Warriors here. 

    I am honored to get to know these heros and to be part of their healing stories. Helios Warriors has become a lovely community of Veterans, Healers, and others who care, making a difference in all of our lives. Each day we all get to embody this wisdom from the Dalai Lama, "We must each lead a way of life with self-awareness and compassion, to do as much as we can. Then, whatever happens we will have no regrets." Together we are changing lives, easing pain and bringing balance and hope. It is such a good thing. 
      Consider paying tribute to our Veterans by supporting Helios Warriors with a tax-deductible donation. Your donations enable Helios Warriors to provide services that continue to support, educate and heal our service men and women. Many of these veterans have limited or no income and do not have the funds to pay or the insurance to cover these therapies. Helios Warriors chooses not to turn anyone away and therefore depends on your generous support. You can make a donation via the Paypal and the Helios Warriors Website. 

    Helios Warriors is always in need of volunteer practitioners and helpers, as well as donations of money and things on the wishlist. Contact Helios Warriors to share yourself with this amazing program, I know that you too will have no regrets! 

Website:  http://helioswarriors.org

Email:  helioswarriorswnc@gmail.com

Phone:  (828) 299-0776

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Self Help Tips:

Expect to Be Well and Minimize Winter Woes

"Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions,the gates of the soul open."
~B.K.S. Iyengar 

Wow, it looks like Winter weather is coming to town this week! As I write tonight, the wind is whipping outside but we are snug and warm in our cozy home. As we make our way into winter, I encourage you to Expect to Be Well. I know people who not only expect to get sick all winter but they worry and fear that they will get sick and they do, often.  The attitudes of Fear and Worry dis-harmonize the body and dis-ease of one kind or another creeps in. So set the intention  to BE WELL, it will go a long way to keeping you in Balance.

We prepare our homes, gardens and vehicles for winter by doing regular preventive maintenance. If we are smart we will do the same thing with our bodies. Every Jin Shin Jyutsu session boosts your immune system and prepares your body for whatever life throws at you. Daily Self-Help and Regular Jin Shin Jyutsu sessions will also help you to heal faster if you do catch something and a session when you feel something coming on can often prevent a cold from taking hold. 

Here is a wonderful Daily Self-Help Flow to help you to stay healthy. It is especially helpful if you feel something "coming on." Don't explain the feeling away as tiredness, because chances are if you are tired, then you are more susceptible to whatever is "going around." This self-help is used to build or increase immunity for colds and flu.

Place your left hand on your right neck/shoulder area (the soft muscle area where your neck and shoulder meet). Place your right hand at the fold of your right leg at the groin. Hold until you feel a rhythmic pulse in both places. Then switch: place your right hand on your left neck/shoulder area. Place your left hand at the fold of your left leg at the groin. Breathe and Be Well. 

Maintaining a healthy energy system is the best preventive for keeping the body from being invaded by colds, flu and other illness. Jin Shin Jyutsu leads to better sleep, strengthened immune system, reduced aches & pains, reduced depression, minimized effects from stress, improved moods. The benefits of Jin Shin Jyutsu are cumulative. The more regularly you practice self-help and get sessions, the more benefit there is for you. Those aches and pains go away faster, stay away longer or go away entirely.

“Take care of your body.
It's the only place you have to live.”
~Jim Rohn

Our Right and Responsibility

Self Help Tip:

Our Right and Responsibility

“Although our interests as citizens vary, each one is an artery to the heart that pumps life through the body politic, and each is important to the health of democracy.”
~Bill Moyers

     I imagine that you are wondering why I have listed this piece about voting as a Self-Help Tip... well, voting is a participatory way of taking care of our interests and our well-being and is just as essential as daily self-help. Voting is important for a working democracy. Our democracy only works when we all participate. Our vote is our voice. It is our right AND our responsibility to vote. Countless men and women have fought hard to protect this fundamental right.
     American Novelist, David Foster Wallace, said, "In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some Diehard's vote."
     Be an active member of your community and take action this week. We all have a choice, but you lose that choice if you miss the opportunity to vote! So Inform yourself about the Issues and Get out and Vote on Tuesday. 

"Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting." 

~Franklin D. Roosevelt 

Self Help Tip:

Expect to Be Well and Minimize Winter Woes

"Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit.
When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions,the gates of the soul open."
~B.K.S. Iyengar 

Wow, it looks like Winter weather is coming to town this week! As I write tonight, the wind is whipping outside but we are snug and warm in our cozy home. As we make our way into winter, I encourage you to Expect to Be Well. I know people who not only expect to get sick all winter but they worry and fear that they will get sick and they do, often.  The attitudes of Fear and Worry dis-harmonize the body and dis-ease of one kind or another creeps in. So set the intention  to BE WELL, it will go a long way to keeping you in Balance.

We prepare our homes, gardens and vehicles for winter by doing regular preventive maintenance. If we are smart we will do the same thing with our bodies. Every Jin Shin Jyutsu session boosts your immune system and prepares your body for whatever life throws at you. Daily Self-Help and Regular Jin Shin Jyutsu sessions will also help you to heal faster if you do catch something and a session when you feel something coming on can often prevent a cold from taking hold. 

Here is a wonderful Daily Self-Help Flow to help you to stay healthy. It is especially helpful if you feel something "coming on." Don't explain the feeling away as tiredness, because chances are if you are tired, then you are more susceptible to whatever is "going around." This self-help is used to build or increase immunity for colds and flu.

Place your left hand on your right neck/shoulder area (the soft muscle area where your neck and shoulder meet). Place your right hand at the fold of your right leg at the groin. Hold until you feel a rhythmic pulse in both places. Then switch: place your right hand on your left neck/shoulder area. Place your left hand at the fold of your left leg at the groin. Breathe and Be Well. 

Maintaining a healthy energy system is the best preventive for keeping the body from being invaded by colds, flu and other illness. Jin Shin Jyutsu leads to better sleep, strengthened immune system, reduced aches & pains, reduced depression, minimized effects from stress, improved moods. The benefits of Jin Shin Jyutsu are cumulative. The more regularly you practice self-help and get sessions, the more benefit there is for you. Those aches and pains go away faster, stay away longer or go away entirely.

“Take care of your body.
It's the only place you have to live.”
~Jim Rohn

Support

“We're all just walking each other home.”
~Ram Dass

JSJ Centennial

JSJ Centennial

"There are two ways to live:
you can live as if nothing is a miracle,
or you can live as if everything
is a miracle."
~Albert Einstein

     100 years ago, on a mountain in Japan, Jiro Murai dropped to his knees and gave thanks for the calm, peace, and healing that infused his being. Master Murai pledged his life to the study of what he would later call Jin Shin Jyutsu.

     Jin Shin Jyutsu is a ancient art which restores an individual's balance-body, mind and spirit. Literally translated, it means "Art of the Creator through compassionate and knowing man." This simple, yet profound art was rediscovered in Japan in the beginning of the twentieth century by Jiro Murai, and brought to the west by Mary Iino Burmeister in the 1950's.

    Born into a long line of medical doctors, Jiro Murai chose to follow a different path and devoted himself to a search for the true meaning of life. He traveled far and wide until he became terminally ill with an ailment unknown to doctors of his time. When the treatment available to him failed to produce any result and death seemed inevitable, he asked to be taken to a solitary cabin in the mountains and be left alone for seven days. There, he meditated on all the teachings of the masters he had learned and began practicing the forgotten art of Jin Shin Jyutsu on himself.
    Each day, his body temperature dropped, as he moved in and out of consciousness. On the seventh day, he suddenly felt himself being lifted out of his semi-frozen state and exposed to an extreme amount of heat. When his fever subsided, he felt completely well and healed. He was so grateful that he fell to his knees and vowed he would spend the rest of his life researching this wonderful art.

    Master Murai found the earliest written records on the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu in the Kojiki, an ancient Japanese text, which indicated that Jin Shin Jyutsu was widely known and practiced before the birth of Gautama Buddha and Moses, and was passed from Master to apprentice by oral tradition. This simple procedure of placing hands on the body, according to the knowledge of bodily energy flows, dates back to the very beginning of time. But through the development of our civilization, its basic knowledge was lost as we explored more complex ways of healing.

    Self-Help is the cornerstone of Jin Shin Jyutsu and is the pathway to healing and continued balance. Jiro Murai's story is indeed a story of self-help and can serve as inspiration to us all that we hold the power to heal within our hands. 

"The more light you allow within you, the brighter the world you live in will be."
~Shakti Gawain

Sweet Dreams

Self-Help Tip: 
Sweet Dreams 

"Your life is a reflection of how you sleep, and how you sleep
is a reflection of your life."
~Dr. Rafael Pelayo

     My favorite Jin Shin Jyutsu flow to help with both sleep and hormone balance is a simple, one-step flow. In my house, no one is allowed to wake me in the middle of the night, unless they have tried the "Sleep Flow" first... it is rare that Rebecca wakes me up now, and when she does, after I get her settled, I use the "Sleep Flow" to get back to sleep myself. 
     There is a strong relationship between sleep and hormone balance. Sleep is essential to maintain proper hormone balance and health.  For adults a minimum of 6 hours of sleep each night allows the body to re-energize and replenish hormones. Some of the common symptoms of hormonal imbalance - night sweats, hot flashes and sleep apnea -  make getting enough sleep a challenge. So you can see that it can become a vicious circle. 
     Getting less sleep than you need affects at least 10 different hormones causing them to shift and disrupt appetite, fertility, mental health as well as cardiac health. 
     This "Sleep Flow" is also known as the "Hot Flash Flow" as it has the amazing ability to stop a hot flash pretty quickly! It is dynamic for acid balance and serves as a "Natural Tums." Use to fall asleep, and for hot flashes, hormone balance, heart palpitations, coughing and lung congestion, nose bleeding or clogging, snoring, throat discomfort and more. 

Here is the Flow:
Rebecca demonstrates how to do the left side of the sleep flow in the above photo. 
Left Side-With your left fingertips hold below the base of the left thumb on the palm, hang the right hand over the shoulder at the left side of the neck.
Right Side-With your right fingertips hold below the base of the right thumb on the palm, hang the left hand over the shoulder at the right side of the neck.

     When the energies of our body, mind and spirit circulate freely, we enjoy a life of longevity, happiness, and balance. 

“Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.”
~Thomas Dekker

On BE-ing Grounded

Self-Help Tip: 
On BE-ing Grounded

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."
~Kahlil Gibran

     What makes you feel grounded? Surely there are things you know that help you to feel connected to your center. "Ah yes, people say, there are things I do to feel good, to bring calm and ease to my life, BUT I never have the time to do them these days what with all the stresses in my life." Well, with all those stresses, it is imperative that we take the time!
     Just like the trees, we need to reach into the earth and up into the skies to nourish body, mind and spirit. We are at ease when we feel connected both upward and downward.   It is our strong roots, our groundedness that allows us to get out of our heads and gives us the freedom to go with the flow. 

     What makes you feel grounded? My idea is that you take a little time to really think about what makes you feel good, what helps you to cope better. Chances are there are a number of things you already know work for you.
     Here are a few suggestions to get you started: take a yoga class, get a jin shin jyutsu session or massage or other bodywork, meditate for 15 minutes, take 36 conscious exhalations, do the main central, go for a walk, lay in the grass, sit on a mountaintop, bake bread, take a bath or a shower, walk barefoot, lean our back against a tree, just stop and be still.
     Make a list of the things that help you. Write each item on a separate piece of paper or index card-put them in a jar or box. Each day, choose one to do and give yourself a grounding break. It need not take very long. Make this a daily ritual and priority and you will be well on you way to groundedness on no time at all! Being present and grounded will give you great resources of energy, improve your overall well-being and help you to feel connected in the big picture. 

 "In your lifetime the most sacred space you will ever need to create is the space within yourself – the place deep within your soul where you go to find peace and serenity."
~Nancy Santo Pietro

Touch Therapy Benefits Cancer Patients

Jin Shin Jyutsu in the News:

“The best and most efficient pharmacy is within your own system.”
~Robert C. Peale

Last week, I shared Jin Shin Jyutsu at a local center that provides hospice and palliative care. The CAM Fair was an opportunity for the health professionals at the center to experience a variety of modalities for themselves as self-care, but also to get an idea of what was available to help their patients. In preparing for this fair, I looked over medical studies that consider how touch therapies can support healing and transitions.
One of the newest of these studies was published earlier this year from the UK Markey Cancer Center in Lexington, KY, where they have a Jin Shin Jyutsu Practitioner on-site. This study, included 159 patients currently undergoing cancer treatment. Before and after each session, they were asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 10 their symptoms of nausea, pain, and stress. The patients experienced significant improvement in their symptoms, even after just one session of Jin Shin Jyutsu. The average decreases recorded were three points for stress and two points for both nausea and pain.
"I was pleased to see quantitatively the improvements that patients noted in these primary areas of discomfort. It was interesting to note that regardless of age, sex or diagnosis, cancer patients received a statistically significant improvement in the side effects from treatment. It is encouraging to note that Jin Shin Jyutsu made improvements in these areas without adding additional unwanted effects that so often occur with medication interventions."  ~Jennifer Bradley 
The Jin Shin Jyutsu Institute Website has a listing of this study and well as other medical studies that look at the effects of Jin Shin Jyutsu.

 Natural forces within us
are the true healers of disease.
~Hippocrates

The Virtue of Persistence

Food for Thought:

“As long as we are persistent in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, 

we will continue to grow.
We cannot choose the day or time
when we will fully bloom.
It happens in its own time.”
~Denis Waitley 

Boost Your Resistance to Stress

Self-Help Tip:
Boost Your Resistance to Stress 

"Every day brings a choice:
to practice stress or to practice peace."

~Joan Borysenko 

Stress is something that we all experience to some degree everyday. While stress can help motivate us to get things done, too much stress can take a toll on our bodies and our emotional well-being. The brain reacts to stress and danger by generating hormones that temporarily shut down the body’s non-emergency functions to help us respond. When we get caught in chronic stress patterns that constant hormonal response degrades our health. It is important to realize that even low-grade stress and anxiety can damage the body’s ability to defend itself against viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. It is of vital importance that we find ways to boost our resistance to stress in our lives.

"The key to success is often the ability to adapt.” ~Unknown 

This Spring, I began studying herbal medicine and was introduced to the class of herbs called Adaptogens. The term adaptogen is used by herbalists to refer to an herb that increases the body’s resistance to stress, trauma, anxiety and fatigue. Some common adaptogenic herbs are the Ginsengs (Asian, American, Siberian), Ashwaganda, Astragalus, Holy Basil, Licorice Root, Schisandra, Reishi, shiitake and maitake mushrooms. You can read more about these herbs and their actions on the internet. 

These incredible herbs are used to improve the general adaptability of your body by stimulating the body's own self-regeneration process. They are recognized for their ability to increase resistance to a variety of stressors - chemical, physical, and emotional. They also help the body recover from physical stress like lack of sleep, recovery from surgery, heavy manual labor, running long distances, and even high-altitude sickness. To qualify as an adaptogen, it must be completely safe and non-toxic, it must have broad uses for health, and it must specifically reduce stress, both mental and physical.

As I learned about the wonders of Adaptogen herbs, I realized that regular Jin Shin Jyutsu also has an adaptogenic action on the body as it has the same ability to stimulate the body's self-regenerations and self-healing abilities.

One of my regular clients recently said, "I know that my weekly sessions are helping me with my health challenges, but more importantly, these session hare helping me to cope better with the stresses of my busy life!" She has discovered for herself the adaptogenic action of Jin Shin Jyutsu! When we give our bodies the support that they need to deal with stress, we enable them to heal themselves. The combination of daily self-help and weekly sessions can help you to adapt with ease to whatever life throws your way. 

 "I vow to let go of all worries and anxiety
in order to be light and free."
~Thich Nhat Hanh

Get Out in the Woods

Self-Help Tip:
Get Out in the Woods 

“In every walk with nature
one receives far more than he seeks.”

~John Muir 

         Now that Summer's heat is receding, a walk in the woods in definitely in order. I love to walk in the woods in any season, but for me there is something primal about walking as the season changes. Being a witness to the changing season inspires me to get out of my head and go with the flow.
       The following is by an unknown author, from New York Times editorial, "The Walk," 25 October 1967, “How can you explain that you need to know that the trees are still there, and the hills and the sky?  Anyone knows they are.  How can you say it is time your pulse responded to another rhythm, the rhythm of the day and the season instead of the hour and the minute?  No, you cannot explain.  So you walk.”   

      From the Mayo Clinic website: "Walking is a form of exercise accessible to just about everybody. It's safe, simple and doesn't require practice. And the health benefits are many." 

• Lower your blood pressure
• Reduce your risk of or manage type 2 diabetes
• Manage your weight
• Improve your mood
• Stay strong and fit

 I can't think of a more enjoyable way to get some exercise, improve your health, and reconnect with nature. Go take a hike! 

“The longest journey begins with a single step, not with a turn of the ignition key. 
That's the best thing about a walking, the journey itself.
It doesn't much matter whether you get where you're going or not. 
You'll get there anyway.
Every good hike brings you eventually back home.
Right were you started.”


~Edward Abbey 

Take Time

Self-Help Tip:
Take Time 

“In order to keep the lamp burning,
you have to keep putting oil in it.”
~Mother Teresa  

      Wholeness or "health" is our natural state of being.  But many of us spend our lives burning the candle at both ends. We allow ourselves to get worn out and run down, and then we wonder WHY nothing is working with ease. We give, give, give without refilling our tank and then wonder why we struggle with burnout. Just like our cell phones and other devices, we need to pause and recharge to ensure that we maintain a healthy balance for personal well-being and harmony. 

    My regular clients find that their sessions are more than a frivolous indulgence. The treatment calms the body and helps relax the mind which in turn helps to reduce stress, recharge energy stores and return to harmony and balance.

    There are many ways to recharge your battery, to refill you lamp. Take time for you. Take time to relax, to enjoy life, to interact with your community. Take time to take care of yourself with self-help and with regular Jin Shin Jyutsu sessions. Take time to get outside, to get some exercise and to smell the flowers. If you don't take the time to take care of yourself, how can you take care of anyone else? This is always the question I ask myself. I know that when we are working with a "full charge", we receive what we need from the universe with ease and we can achieve our own true potential.

"Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths."
~Etty Hillesum

Take a Break

Take a Break

"Every day brings a choice:
to practice stress or to practice peace."
~Joan Borysenko

Take a Break! When we cultivate activities in our day-to-day lives that have the ability to leave us feeling nourished and renewed, we go through life with a sense of ease and contentment. 

This can be as simple as taking a 15 minute meditation break, a walk around the block, a few rounds of yoga sun salutations... really anything that gets you away from your desk and gives your mind and body a break. 

Spending a few minutes each day focusing on our breath is a great tool to take control of the stresses in our lives. We need to learn to manage stress and this sort of internal retreat or mini-vacation is therapeutic, providing a restorative break from the challenges of work and every day life - just the ticket to bring us to a peaceful mindset and a more productive day.  

One of my favorite Jin Shin Jyutsu practices is the 36 Conscious Exhalations.  What a great way to take a break and to establish a practice of mindful breathing! Begin by counting each exhalation. Allow your breath to unfold naturally. If you lose count, just begin again. This exercise can be done all at once, or broken into 4 session of 9 breaths each. In time, your breathing will automatically become deeper and more rhythmic. As you EXHALE, unload the stresses that are held in your body. Exhale from head to toes. Receive each breath with awareness and appreciation. Inhale from toes to head. RECEIVE the Cosmic Energy of Abundance. Connect to the Cosmic Energy Force.

Consider how many studies show us that stress can lead to serious problems like heart attacks, strokes, depression, sleeplessness, decreased immunity, and substance abuse. It is increasingly important that we find ways to relax!

"He who lives in harmony with himself
lives in harmony with the world."
~Marcus Aurelius

Just stay in the NOW

 

"Just stay in the now and BE in the Center.
All will follow."
~Mary Iino Burmeister

    Jin Shin Jyutsu considers harmony to be our original state. The Main Central is a valuable self-help tool and the source of our life energy. Harmonizing the Main Central Flow is the bridge on our journey to get our egos and attitudes out of the way so that we can reconnect with Source and find clarity and balance in our total being. This pathway runs down the center of the front of the body and back up the spine. I love to do this flow in the morning before I get out of bed and at night before falling asleep. When I am abusing my body (gardening, dancing, painting, computer work, etc) during the day, I will take a break and do this flow. It brings me back to balance.

     Follow the steps in the picture. Start with Right hand on top of head and Left hand between eyes, Left hand moves down the body through each step, then at the end, Right hand moves to tailbone.
     Harmonizing the Main Central regularly helps you to feel centered and ensures that you will have plenty of energy. Some people find it calming and use it to fall asleep, while others like to use it to clear away the cobwebs upon awakening. By working with The Main Central Flow daily, we find ourselves remembering that harmony is our birthright.

MAIN CENTRAL VERTICAL FLOW
Step 1: Place the fingers of the right hand on the top of the head (where they will remain until step 6). Place the fingers of the left hand on your forehead between your eyebrows. Hold for 2 to 5 minutes or until the pulses you feel at your fingertips synchronize with each other.
Step 2: Now move the left fingertips to the tip of the nose. Hold them there for 2 to 5 minutes, or until the pulses synchronize.
Step 2a: Move left fingers to mouth area... hold one finger above mouth, other fingers below mouth on chin. (optional step/not pictured-clears jaw tension, supports mental clarity)
Step 2b: Move left fingers to hollow space in middle of collarbone. (optional step/not pictured-supports thyroid balance)
Step 3: Move the left fingertips to your sternum (center of your chest between your breasts). Stay there for 2 to 5 minutes or until the pulses synchronize.
Step 4: Move your fingers to the base of your sternum (center of where your ribs start, above the stomach). Hold them there for 2 to 5 minutes, or until the pulses synchronize.
Step 5: Move your fingers to the top of your pubic bone. Stay there for 2 to 5 minutes, or until the pulses synchronize.
Step 6: Keep your left fingertips in place and move your right fingertips to cover your coccyx (tailbone). Hold for 2 to 5 minutes or until the pulses you feel at your fingertips synchronize with each other.
Note: The right hand remains on the top of the head while the left hand moves down the body until the final step.

"If we think we are tired or ill,
it is only because we have done something to unbalance the bodily conductivity
of the universal electric current which motivates it."
~Walter Russell

Your Absolute Splendor

"Everything is created from moment to moment,
always new.
Like fireworks, this universe is a celebration
and you are the spectator contemplating the eternal Fourth of July of your absolute splendor."
~Francis Lucille

BE the Joy-seeker

"When you take the problems of the world on your shoulders, your body doesn't feel good. It's just that simple. Leave the problems of the world to the individual problem-makers of the world, and you be the joy-seeker that you are."
~Abraham

Don't you just love how the perfect quote or statement seems to come along at just the right moment!? Wednesday morning, as I was planning for my evening class, this Abraham quote popped into my in-box. One of the flows for the class that night was the 11/15 and 11/25 Flows to support the Supervisor Energy Flows. To me this quote brings home the importance of keeping this energy pathway clear and flowing.

Safety Energy Lock 11 is located at the shoulder where it meets the neck. This energy center's wisdom/gift is to enable us to "Unload Excess Baggage, BE free of Worthless Antiques, Turn our Problems into Projects, and to Clear Our Clutter." SEL 11 harmonizes the shoulders and the neck and benefits the arms - elbows, wrists, hands, and fingers.

Safety Energy Lock 15 is located and the fold of the leg at the groin. This energy center's wisdom/gift is to "Wash our Hearts with Joy and Laughter." By opening the SEL 15s we are able to bring more joy and laughter into our BE-ing, helping us to take ourselves and situations less seriously.  SEL 15 harmonizes the abdomen, legs, knees, ankles, and feet, Alleviates bloat and aids the heart. 

Safety Energy Lock 25 is located at the sit-bones. This energy center's wisdom/gift is to "Quietly Regenerate." It cam be used to calm, sooth and quietly regenerate all of the body's functions. SEL 25 increases alertness, energy and mental clarity, builds the memory and clears toxins from our muscles after physical activity. 

Here is the simple flow for you:
Drape your right hand over your left shoulder where it meets the neck (SEL 11) and hold the fold of your leg at the groin (SEL 15) on the left side with your left hand. After a few minutes, or when you feel the pulses in each place come into harmony, move your left hand to hold your left sit-bone (SEL 25). Reverse for other side. This simple flow clears our attachment to problems and things while bringing joy and laughter along with energy and clarity to our lives. Add this sequence to your daily practice to clear the entire body and harmonize body, mind and spirit. Give it a try today!

"Drop the idea that you are Atlas carrying the world on your shoulders.
The world would go on even without you.
Don't take yourself so seriously."
~Norman Vincent Peale

The Art of Longevity

"While scientists have to date largely focused on the biology of longevity, the secrets of living to an exceptional age lie more in our personalities, attitudes, support systems and life experiences than our genes." ~Leonard W. Poon  

     When Master Jiro Murai revived the ancient art of Jin Shin Jyutsu around 1920, one of the terms that he used to described Jin Shin Jyutsu was the Art of Longevity: Live fully, experience each breath fully.

     Most of us are raised to believe that growing older means a progressive decline in health, wellness, mental and physical ability. However, that need not be the case. 

    Regular Jin Shin Jyutsu sessions and self-help provides a valuable support system as it is aids in restoring the body's energy systems to a balanced, efficient, functioning state. It's practice helps us to take charge of our negative, limiting attitudes and to change the self-defeating belief of inevitable aging. It teaches us to master the art of living and to seeing aging as an opportunity for greater peace of mind, wisdom, creativity and happiness. Jin Shin Jyutsu brings to us a new awareness of our limitless life energy and of our ability to partake of the effortless reality, which is our birthright. Jin Shin Jyutsu brings to us a new awareness of our limitless life energy and of our ability to partake of the effortless reality, which is our birthright. We can then expect the best results by learning and practicing good health habits for staying healthy and reducing stress. Ultimately, Jin Shin Jyutsu will restore you to a knowledge of yourself and of your long dormant innate ability to improve the quality of your life. 
 

"Controlling mental and physical stress
is the key to a long,
healthy and happy life."
~Nicholas Perricone, M.D.

BE the River

BE the River

"Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water.
Now you put water into a cup,
it becomes the cup,
you put water into a bottle,
it becomes the bottle,
you put it in a teapot,
it becomes the teapot.
Now water can flow or it can crash.
Be water, my friend.”
~Bruce Lee

     Nothing like sitting next to a waterfall on the river to help you to feel the importance of flow. The importance of letting go of our attachments and control.
     One of my personal mantras in life is "BE the RIVER not the ROCK." It helps me to remember to Go With The Flow.
     Holding the index finger harmonizes FEAR and increases our ability to FLOW and ALLOW. I encourage you to take time to sit by moving water as a reminder of the power of FLOW and to hold your INDEX finger.   

“Relaxation means releasing all concern and tension and letting the natural order of life flow through one's being”
~Donald Curtis

Attitude Changes Everything!

Attitude Changes Everything!

"The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes."
~William James

     Attitude is the way you mentally look at the world around you. It is how you view your environment and your future. It is the focus you develop toward life itself.
     In Jin Shin Jyutsu, we know that the body is affected by the air, food, activities, thoughts and stresses that we experience each moment of living. Our attitudes dis-harmonize the flow of life energy in our bodies and disrupt the pathways which deliver the limitless supply of life energy to every part of our physical being.  Attitudes keep us from freely being all that we have the potential to BE.
    MY DESTINY IS IN MY OWN HANDS: One of the simplest ways to utilize Jin Shin Jyutsu on ourselves is to hold each of our fingers, one at a time. To reverse the affect that attitudes have on our bodies and our lives, we simply need to HOLD our fingers. 

    Each finger harmonizes an attitude as well as the organs that are affected by that particular attitude. Hold your fingers not to suppress attitudes but to express or release them. HOLD each finger for about 5 minutes or until you can feel a gentle rhythmic pulsing, even and clear. Breath easily. Relax the shoulders and smile from the very heart of you.
     Take charge of your attitudes. It will make such a big difference in your life and in the amount of stress that you allow to accumulate in your being. Holding your fingers to harmonize limiting thoughts and attitudes is the simplest, most readily available tool you have to cope with whatever life throws at you.

“We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play
on the one string we have,
and that is our attitude.
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.
And so it is with you-
WE are in charge of our Attitudes.” 
~Charles R. Swindoll

Love!

Love!

This is the piece that my beautiful daughter, Rebecca Molaro, wrote for our ceremony.  

Two gears in one man's workshop. Used in many clocks and projects but never together. And one day, the two gears were put in a box, the same box, same row. They were driven down the road and left in the grass for a new project...together. The man was surprised how wonderfully his project worked. Each groove in each gear fit together like the sun and the moon, the fire and the flame. 

These two people are much like those gears. Why they had to wait was only for their own knowledge of life and how it turns. Round and round, and round and round. Never ending, only making new beginnings. The beginning of a family, the beginning of a song. A forever going song. An always continuing song, a song so short it's over in a blink. ~Rebecca Molaro 

Choose Love

Choose Love

Hold your index finger to clear the chains of fear and to bring flow and love into your very BE-ing!

When we feel connected to others, the negative aspects of fear have no place to hook in to our BE-ing. Fear is a paralyzing force that hinders the body's natural-motion principles. Fear includes feelings of mental confusion, frustration, depression, timidity, perfectionism, and criticism. Fear is also associated with drug addiction. Fear brings disharmony to the muscular system and affects both bladder and kidney function energy which together are responsible for the regulation of the movement of water throughout the body. Fear limits the body's ability to move freely and translates into back discomfort and stress, and affects the functions that revitalize bones and bone marrow.

The INDEX finger is the key to FLOW and LOVE. When you are in the FLOW, you are in HARMONY. There are no obstacles, no limitations, no feelings of lack, no judgment. There is perfect circulation and balance. To balance Fear, HOLD your INDEX finger for 5 minutes or until you can feel a gentle rhythmic pulsing. Even and clear. Breath easily. Relax the shoulders and smile from the very heart of you. As you hold the index finger, you ease back tension/stress and facilitate the flow of life energy throughout the body. All fears begin to melt away. Assimilation and elimination functions begin to improve. Toothaches and teething issues are eased and healthy circulation is restored. Exhale. Smile. Relax.