Take Charge

"The day always looks brighter from behind a smile."

-Unknown

Take charge of your ATTITUDES. 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. Refer to the image above for the finger to hold to balance each attitude. If you don't remember which finger to hold, I suggest that you take a quick inventory of your fingers... hold each finger for a second or two, as you go through each finger see which one REALLY wants to be HELD. Then go back and hold THAT one. 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 take charge.

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

Philosophy and Spirit

   “Living life becomes art, 

when the phenomenon we call man realizes he just appears 

to be an object in the phenomenal world, 

whereas in fact he is the Original Source, the Divine.” 

~Mieke Berger

       More than just a healing modality or style of bodywork, Jin Shin Jyutsu provides us with a philosophy for life. It gives us tools for living a balanced life and makes us more aware of our connection with Source and with our true nature. Often, it is the philosophy and spirit of the work that attracts clients and practitioners to Jin Shin Jyutsu rather than the technique.

       Jin Shin Jyutsu is the study of the life energy that pervades the universe and gives life to all things, our personal creation story. Through the study of Jin Shin Jyutsu and Self-Help we gain an awareness of the energy centers of our bodies, such that we can consciously utilize our breath and our hands to dissolve the blocks to the natural flows of our energy, and release stress and pain.

       Healing is the process of becoming WHOLE, a harmonizing of body, mind and spirit and a reconnection with Source. The word HEAL comes from the Greek word Holos; to make whole, entire, complete. This Source or power that brings us into being has the power to heal. It is this sense of balance and well being to the whole body-mind-spirit that Jin Shin Jyutsu emphasizes and that we experience as remembering wholeness.  

       Mary Burmeister called Jin Shin Jyutsu a "physio-philosophy". She believed the understanding of Jin Shin Jyutsu by many people would be facilitated by calling the art PHYSIO-PHILOSOPHY - KNOW MYSELF IT IS. (PHYSIO, meaning Nature, or Creator’s Art / One Order; PHILOSOPHY, meaning Effortless Reality, or Being the Non-being). She also referred to Jin Shin Jyutsu as the "Cosmic Artless Art to KNOW (Help) MYSELF", or “NATURE - THE EFFORTLESS REALITY, KNOW MYSELF IT IS”.

      The study of Jin Shin Jyutsu puts us on a path toward understanding ourselves and our relationship to the cosmos while giving us a deeper understanding of the energy that animates our being and brings us awareness of complete harmony within the self and the universe. Through both physiology and philosophy, Jin Shin Jyutsu teaches how to take the physical understanding and apply it to our circumstances.  Jin Shin Jyutsu teaches the wisdom of life, to know myself, to be in harmony. Our health and harmony depend upon the free and even distribution of this life energy throughout the body, mind and spirit. When we live in the moment with the breath of life, we have all the energy we need.

“For those of us addressing existing stress or health disharmonies, 

or for those wishing to participate actively 

in maintaining health, vitality and well-being, 

the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu is a simple powerful tool, available to all. ”

~Mary Burmeister

Take some "ME Time"

“Don’t sacrifice yourself too much, because if you sacrifice too much there’s nothing else you can give and nobody will care for you.” ~ Karl Lagerfeld

I say this all of the time, "If I don't take care of myself, how can I possibly take care of anyone else?" But HOW do you find the time to take some ME Time? It is so easy to allow the needs of our family, mate, jobs, clients, co-workers, and everything else to take the lead in our lives! But when we neglect ourselves, the result is additional stress and an empty well. For a lot of people, "me time" simply doesn't exist. It is often hard to see beyond the tasks on the to-do list each day. Randy Kamen Gredinger, psychologist and life coach specializing in women's issues, says "There's a tremendous amount of stress and pressure put on women: being parents, being daughters, mothers, wives, professionals. All of these roles combined leave many of us not taking adequate care of ourselves -- which is what sustains us and gives us the energy to take care of all these other responsibilities that we have." So then the question becomes, "How can I NOT take time for ME?" We MUST make ourselves a PRIORITY and make ME time a HABIT! Schedule some ME Time every day. Even if you only take 10 minutes a day to recharge, you will feel a difference. And if you start by taking 10 minutes a day, I bet you'll soon be able to find even more time for ME time as you get better at it! What exactly is ME Time? The Free Dictionary says that me time is "the time a person has to himself or herself, in which to do something for his or her own enjoyment." ME Time gives us the opportunity to caretake our inner world, to tune in to what feeds us and to reconnect with ourselves. When we take the time, we find that we are more productive and motivated throughout the rest of the day. How do you make ME time a habit? Here is what I am doing… Because it is my plan to make ME time a priority, I have begun to keep a ME Time Journal, similar to the idea of a gratitude journal, and often including the things I am grateful for in my life. Each day I write down 1-3 things that I did for ME. Sometimes it is as simple as "I asked for help in the kitchen." And sometimes it is that I had a JSJ Session or a Massage, took a walk, meditated or did some yoga! It is my goal to come up with 3 things each day that I did for ME. I have to admit that some days, it is really hard… but because I have this commitment to write it down each evening, I am working towards creating a Habit of taking time for ME. I encourage you to join me in keeping a ME Time Journal. Let's check in from time to time with each other and see how we are doing.

“There are days I drop words of comfort on myself like falling leaves and remember that it is enough to be taken care of by my self.” ~Brian Andreas