The Purpose of Pain

"Much of your pain is the bitter potion 

by which the physician within you 

heals your sick self." 

~Kahlil Gibran

When the life energy moves through us without obstruction, we are in perfect harmony.  If we have pain somewhere in the body, it is wise to pay attention to it, because it is a sign that something is out of balance. It warns us that something within the body isn't quite right. It's easy to lose sight of the fact that pain is there to serve you. If you only seek to alleviate pain by suppressing it, you have not addressed the fundamental cause of the pain. Pain is functional because of the signal it gives.

Pain is an indication of the presence of stagnation, a blockage of free movement of life energy through the body. When you feel those initial twinges of pain, it is wise to think of them as a signal from your body that there is a blockage and some attention is needed. I find that if I pay attention and I immediately seek help from my Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner or apply self-help, the pain melts away.

Most of us however ignore these initial twinges. We wait until we are sure that we are in pain and then we seek to suppress the pain with Over The Counter Medications. When these medications cease to "erase" the pain, we wait until the pain is constant and unbearable, then we finally pay attention to the signal and seek help.

Jin Shin Jyutsu helps us to be aware of the signal, and teaches us what to do to address the cause and to return to balance, harmony and wellness. Generally speaking, the longer we live with pain, the longer it will take to release it. With Jin Shin Jyutsu and Time, all things are possible. A return to balance is within your reach. Learn how to erase pain and improve your quality of life!

"Pain is such an uncomfortable feeling 

that even a tiny amount of it 
is enough to ruin every enjoyment." 

~Will Rogers

Time for a New Chapter

"Healing may not be so much about getting better,

as about letting go of everything that isn't you -

all of the expectations, all of the beliefs -

and becoming who you are."

~Rachel Naomi Remen

Happy New Year. Here we are at the start of a new year, the time for New Years resolutions, setting intentions and taking positive steps toward a path of  well-BEing and an empowered life.

One of the traditional Jin Shin Jyutsu ways of getting a fresh start-body, mind and spirit, is to schedule yourself a Week-long Healing Intensive.

This special accelerated healing process involves having three or more Jin Shin Jyutsu treatments in a week. Receiving a series of sessions close together brings harmony on a continued basis for the week and allows us to affect a change in patterns of disharmony, and the habits and attitudes that create imbalance.

Each session builds on the last since the healing process works in layers. As some parts of your body begin to heal, new underlying patterns become exposed and can also be addressed. Over a period of time, we clear more and more issues and learn how to operate in a new and healthy way.

You know that it takes awhile for us to get out of harmony. The amount of time it takes to heal depends on how long and how elaborately your energy system has been adjusting to the disharmonies in the energetic pathways of the body and how out of balance you are - body, mind and spirit. The goal of each healing session is to focus on the harmony and to return the body, mind, and spirit to a place of balance. By releasing the blockages of your flow of energy, the life-force energy in your body is increased. Each healing session allows us to find and release energies that you may have tied up in a specific project, such as health issues, relationships, emotions and attitudes or anything else you wish to work on to bring more joy and harmony into your life.  It is in this place of balance and free flowing energy that healing occurs.

Jin Shin Jyutsu is cumulative, so having several sessions in over a short period of time is a dynamic way to move energy, to clear out, deep clean, and harmonize our total BE-ing. This intensive treatment series can breathe new life and energy into our depleted physical being and bring about a reconnection with our essence. The goal is to bring about deep relaxation, to restore a sense of beauty and harmony into body, mind and spirit and to unleash the inner healer. When we find balance, we set into motion the power of our innate ability to heal which brings about profound changes to our vitality and sense of well-being

When more time is spent receiving healing, the healing patterns are set more strongly, so your body begins to heal faster. The effects of regularly returning your body to balance are cumulative and lead to deep and sustained changes in the your life. These effects can become long lasting with a program of regular Jin Shin Jyutsu sessions paired with daily self-help.

I invite you to experience this rejuvenating and refreshing treatment, that brings balance, harmony and clarity to the many layers of your life. A week-long healing intensive brings the opportunity for deep cleaning and gives you access to the benefits that come from having a number of appointments in close succession. When we have an opportunity to keep the body’s systems clear and balanced without the time in between to fall back into unhealthy patterns, we actually give ourselves a fresh start on a clear path, we bring to our BE-ing a mindful, go with the flow way of coping with whatever life brings.

Schedule your sessions Online, By Email or give me a call. Pay just $55/session when you schedule 3 or more sessions in one week and pay in full at the first appointment of the week. Repeat as often as you like through February 28th .

"Habitual recurrence to the harmony will increase your mastery of it".


~Marcus Aurelius

Open the Gates of the Soul

"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

Through its direct connection to Universal Source Energy and the energetic blueprint contained in the Main Central Flow, our very essence is manifested into our total being. The Main Central sets in motion the two Major Vertical Supervisor Harmonizing Energies that supervise the development of each respective side of the body. The next flow set in motion by the Main Central is the Diagonal Mediator Flow. The Diagonal Mediator is the weaving princess and ensures that all the flows within the body will cross at the Main Central so that they may constantly receive revitalizing life energy from the Source.

I will always remember my first 5-day Jin Shin Jyutsu seminar and my teacher's explanation of this trinity of flows. She was so animated as she explained how the Main Central was the ONE and it existed in peace at the center of everything. Then the Supervisors came into being, the TWO. And when there are two, disharmony becomes a possibility. With the existence of TWO there is then a need for the THREE and with three, mediation becomes not only possible but necessary.

I have begun to think of these three flows, as they relate to our personal three-fold nature of Body, Mind and Spirit. I see that the Main Central Flow is the Spirit flow, the source of our existence, the essence of our Being, the primordial fire. The Supervisor Flows are the Body flow, the reflection of each side becoming physical, the essence of duality with the responsiblilty for converting the unmanifest potential of the Main Central into the physical form. And finally the Diagonal Mediator Flows are of the Mind, the mental/emotional component of our being. The Diagonal Mediators give us the ability to connect, to move, to create action and are the birthplace of our emotions and attitudes.

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. 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. Attitudes keep us from freely being all that we have the potential to BE. Remember that divine feelings are love and disease feelings are attitudes.

The Diagonal Mediator Flow starts at the left and right shoulders and travels through both sides of the body, from back to front, side to side, and top to bottom, ending at the knee on the opposite side of where they started. This flow harmonizes the left and right Supervisor Flows with each other and with the Main Central Flow, and are important to our overall supply of energy. The Mediator Flow makes sure that all the flows in the body are revitalized by the Main Central and helps balance both sides of the body.

When out of order, the Mediator Flow is the main cause for malfunctions in the body energy circulation patterns. On the other hand, when it is in balance it mediates energy flow from one side of the body to the other and helps us to get out of our minds.  Mediator is great for frozen shoulders, finger numbness, nose bleeds, clearing arm and shoulder projects, elimination, respiratory projects, reproductive projects and reduces fatigue, tension and stress while eliminating the negative effects of our attitudes. The Mediator Flow is a great assistant to bringing our BEing into balance-body, mind and spirit.

Diagonal Mediator Flow:
The Self-help for the Mediator is simple and consists of doing the following three things together. Include this flow in your daily practice to balance and harmonize body, mind and spirit.

Right side:
1. Hold your right thumb over the right ring fingernail;
2. Hold your left hand over your right shoulder-where neck and shoulder come together;
3. Rest your left instep on the inside corner of the crease of the right knee or simply bring the knees together.

Left side:
1. Hold your left thumb over the left ring fingernail;
2. Hold your right hand over your left shoulder-where neck and shoulder come together;
3. Rest your right instep on the inside corner of the crease of the left knee or simply bring the knees together.

“I certainly believe that 
being in contact with one's spirit
 

and nurturing one's spirit 

is as important as nurturing one's body and mind.


We are three dimensional beings: body, mind, spirit.”


~Laurence Fishburne

Peel Away The Layers

“Life is like an onion:

you peel it off one layer at a time,

and sometimes you weep”

~Carl Sandburg

Peeling the onion is a common metaphor for healing. Edgar Cayce taught that "we are like onions and each of our layers looks very much like the one before. But as we peel the onion, we get closer and closer to the center: to the heart of the matter, the core themes that are pervasive in our lives."

from the New World Encyclopedia: "The expression 'layers of the onion' is used to describe a situation in which it is possible to go deeper and deeper revealing seemingly similar layers until a central core is reached."

Lately, I've been thinking about this metaphor as I work with clients and as I work through my own healing process. Imagine the papery outer layers of the onion.. they peel off easily to reveal more layers. Each time we get through the next layer, we learn more about ourselves and become stronger. And we think, Ahhhhh, I've done it, gotten though, smooth sailing now! But since this process is like an onion, you pull off one layer, and there is yet another layer! Our work is to get to the innermost core, the deepest layer. But we must work our way thorough the outer layers first. We peel back one layer only to find a juicier one underneath. In my kitchen, I am reminded that occasionally there is a nasty yucky layer between two perfectly edible layers of onion and once I wash that messy part off, the rest of the onion is good to use.  

We must remember that each layer brings us closer to the center. And in that center, is the promise of growth, the potential for a new life. We must remember that, from the onion's perspective, those layers and layers are simply compost and fertilizer for its next stage of growth. It is the same for our healing process, all of those layers of life experiences and healing work are nourishment for the BE-ing that we are BE-coming.

the onion peels

the tears spill

the pond fills

the lotus unfolds

~ Reisha

Nurture Yourself to Nurture Others

“If you nurture your mind, body, and spirit,

your time will expand.

You will gain a new perspective

that will allow you to accomplish much more.”

~Brian Koslow 

Empowering people through self-help is one of my missions as a holistic practitioner. This empowerment enables us to NURTURE ourselves so that we have more to share with the world. It is the time one puts into self-help/self-reflection that strengthens the pathway for healing.

I find that the most effective self-help is self-help that is done with the least amount of effort. It can be as easy as holding a finger or doing a one-step "quickie". You can do an entire flow or just the steps that feel good to you. Whatever you do for yourself will be beneficial, it will nurture your body, mind and spirit.

The only time Jin Shin Jyutsu is not effective is when you are not using it. So pick something simple and do it every day. Make a daily goal of 10 minutes to start with and build up to more time eventually. The time spent with self-help need not be continuous, but can be 5 minutes here and 10 minutes there. Make it work for you however you can. Do not be discouraged. Remember that the results are not always immediate, nor do they always come in the form that you are looking for, but on some causal level they are working for you - nurturing your essence, peeling the deep layers and clearing the way for balance and healing.

“Be the one who nurtures and builds.

Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart

one who looks for the best in people.

Leave people better than you found them.”  

~Marvin J. Ashton

Designed to Heal

”There is deep wisdom within our very flesh, 

if we can only come to our senses and feel it.”  

~Elizabeth A. Behnke

Our bodies are designed to heal themselves, we need only find ways to bring the body back to harmony and balance so that healing can happen. For a session, the fully clothed client lies face up on a very comfortable treatment table. Jin Shin Jyutsu is gentle with hands placed over the client's clothes and does not involve manipulation, massage or rubbing.
    As the energy pathways are cleared and energy flows freely, the body will heal itself from everyday stress. It boosts our own profound healing capacities and thus promotes optimal health, well-being and vitality.
    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.
    Jin Shin Jyutsu is highly recommended both before and after surgical procedures. It can minimize bleeding and swelling during the procedure, and promotes rapid healing and detoxification of medications/anesthesia.
    A Jin Shin Jyutsu session generally lasts an hour although half-hour children's sessions and mini sessions for busy adults are available. Benefits extend well beyond hands-on sessions with the practitioner, as clients are taught the application of self help geared toward their individual needs.
   Let's get you back on the path to relaxation and wellness.Experience deep relaxation.Harmonize body, mind and spirit. Boost your immune system. Let go of Stress!

“Give your stress wings and let it fly away.” 

~Terri Guillemets

Take a Break and Regenerate

Oh My! It is Spring Break for my daughter's school this week and it is such a welcome break for all of us. It has been an intense few weeks for her at school and she is SO in need of this break. I am again reminded of the absolute importance of regularly giving yourself a break! Running on Empty is no way to go through life. We must take the time and care to refuel. We'll function SO much better that way! But so often we tell ourselves that we don't have the time to take the time. Interesting, isn't it?! The bank won't allow us the overdraw our account without penalty, neither does our body allow us to keep going without a exacting price! This week's Self-Help Tip shows you how to quietly regenerate Everyday.

“There is more to life

than increasing its speed.”

~Gandhi 

The key to Quietly Regenerating is Safety Energy Lock #25. It is located at the sit bones. Anatomically part of your pelvis (the ischial tuberosity), the sit bones are quite literally the bones under the flesh of the butt that you sit on.

Holding the 25's will relieve bodily tensions, lower back tensions, knee and leg discomfort while helping you maintain alertness and memory. This flow filters out all toxins released during physical activities and removes tiredness from the body to enjoy the benefits of exercise. The 25's relieve mental tension, bring us an energetic mind and a sound body, and takes care of our overall sense of vitality.

It is said that holding the 25's for 20 minutes per day does the equivalent for maintaining the body and mind in good shape as an hour and a half hour jogging session! The 25's can be helpful in appetite balance, to support weight loss and will clear out the colon.

Simply Sit on your hands (with the palms up or down, which ever is most comfortable for you). I do this simple flow myself most nights while watching TV with my family. If it is too hard on your hands to sit on them, I find that doing this while lying in bed is pretty easy too! The longer you can sit on your hands/hold your 25's, the more grounded you'll feel.

“If you are renewed by grace, and were to meet your old self, I am sure you would be very anxious to get out of his company.” 

~Charles H. Spurgeon

Empowered Health and Well-BEing

"Begin doing what you want to do now.

We are not living in eternity.

We have only this moment,

sparkling like a star in our hand 
and melting like a snowflake."

~Marie Beynon Ray

Empowering people through self-help is one of my missions as a holistic practitioner. Each of my clients receive self-help routines to do on their own, tailored to their particular needs and abilities. This enables them to extend the benefits of the work that we do together by developing a personal daily practice. It is the time one puts into self-help/self-reflection that strengthens the pathway for healing.

I find that the most effective self-help is self-help that is done with the least amount of effort. It can be as easy as holding a finger or doing a one-step "quickie". You can do an entire flow or just the steps that feel good to you. Whatever you do for yourself will be beneficial. The results are not always immediate, nor do they always come in the form that you are looking for, but on some causal level they are working for you, peeling the deep layers and clearing the way for balance and healing.

Here are some tips to help you in your personal self-help practice:

• Relax- just be as you are.
• Use whatever position is most convenient, practical or comfortable for you.
• Ideally, apply each step or connection until a rhythmic pulsation can be felt. But if time is limited, hold for as much time as you have available.
• All sequences can be adjusted to suit you.
• Be comfortable. If you can not reach a step, you can skip it and go on to the next step that you can reach without straining.
• Jin Shin Jyutsu works effectively over clothing, bandage, brace or cast.
• Use your entire hand, one finger, or several fingers, your  palm or back of the hand whatever is easy, comfortable and convenient at the time.
• No strength is required. It is not necessary to apply pressure, to rub or massage.

Mary Burmeister encourages us to "...Simply adjust the sequence to your own convenience and comfort. If for instance, a "step" feels most revitalizing to you, just get into the habit, in your art of LIVING, of utilizing that step as your own 'special' quickie revitalizing exercise. The art of LIVING is simple. You are the artist."

The only time Jin Shin Jyutsu is not effective is when you are not using it. So pick something simple and do it every day. Make a daily goal of 20 minutes to start with and build up to more time eventually. The time spent with self-help need not be continuous, but can be 5 minutes here and 10 minutes there. Make it work for you however you can. Do not be discouraged. Remember that the results are not always immediate, nor do they always come in the form that you are looking for, but on some causal level they are working for you, peeling the deep layers and clearing the way for balance and healing.

To help you on your healing path, consider taking a self-help class. The guidance and confidence that you gain by taking a class will help you to establish your personal habit of self-care.

"Your body is precious.

It is our vehicle for awakening.

Treat it with care."

~Buddha

Find Relaxation Every Day

"Taking time out each day to relax and renew is essential to living well."
~Judith Hanson Lasater

Nothing like a sunny vacation in the middle winter to illustrate the value of rest and relaxation! Instead of simply slipping back into our everyday routine, my goal is to remember to find relaxation in every day.
Many of us lead busy stressful lives filled with all sorts of demands on our time and energy. We run from one commitment to another, caught in the treadmill of work and family responsibilities. It becomes increasingly important that we remember how rest and relaxation help us to reduce stress and tension. When we hold stress and tension  in our bodies, we get more and more out of balance. And when we are out of balance,  regenerative healing does not occur.
But we are lucky! There are many ways to re-energize and ease stress without taking a vacation all of the time. Consider a daily walk, yoga practice, meditation and/or JSJ Self-Help routine. And on a weekly basis, consider bodywork or energy work.
For me, my weekly Jin Shin Jyutsu Session is like a mini-vacation on an island of balance and bliss. It is an opportunity to unplug and have some nourishing downtime. And as a caregiver, it is a great chance for me to simply RECEIVE! When I had my session this week after returning from the beach, I closed my eyes and imagined that I was on a sunny beach, breathed deeply the salty air and felt rejuvenated once more as my body, mind and spirit harmonized.

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

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

On The Healing Path

On The Healing Path 

"Habitual recurrence to the harmony
will increase your mastery of it".
~Marcus Aurelius

    Our bodies are designed to heal themselves, we need only find ways to bring the body back to harmony and balance so that healing can happen.
    A common question people have when they first set off on the healing path is, "How many sessions will this take?" Well, it varies depending on the nature of the your project and what you want to achieve. Each of us is unique, so consequently, there is no set number of required sessions that works for everyone.
    Know that the body wants to heal itself. The amount of time it takes to heal depends on how long and how elaborately your energy system has been adjusting to the disharmonies in the energetic pathways of the body and how out of balance you are - body, mind and spirit.  

    It takes awhile for us to get out of harmony. The goal of each healing session is to focus on the harmony and to return the body, mind, and spirit to a place of balance. By releasing the blockages of your flow of energy, the life-force energy in your body is increased. Each healing session allows us to find and release energies that you may have tied up in a specific project, such as health issues, relationships, emotions and attitudes or anything else you wish to work on to bring more joy and harmony into your life.  It is in this place of balance and free flowing energy that healing occurs.
    The process of change and transformation can happen quickly but it does not run on a fixed schedule. The rate of improvement is specific to you and may include a reduction in pain, deep relaxation, an increase in energy, or an improvement in overall health. If the condition is acute, it will usually resolve in fewer treatments, while chronic conditions may take longer. Your rate of healing is also dependent on how much energy or change that your body/being can withstand at any given time. Each session builds on the last since the healing process works in layers. As some parts of your body begin to heal, new underlying patterns become exposed and can also be addressed. Over a period of time, we clear more and more issues and learn how to operate in a new and healthy way.
    When more time is spent receiving healing, the healing patterns are set more strongly, so your body begins to heal faster. The effects of regularly returning your body to balance are cumulative and lead to deep and sustained changes in the your life. These effects can become long lasting with a maintenance program of regular Jin Shin Jyutsu sessions paired with daily self-help.
    You might even consider having an INTENSIVE series of treatments. An “intensive” consists of a series of several treatments over a short period of time...Your intensive can be tailor-made for your own situation/schedule/needs. It could be 2 sessions a day over a week, 2 sessions a day for a few days, 1 session a day for a week or 2, every other day for a week or 2, or any other combination that works for you.      
     Receiving a series of sessions close together brings harmony on a continued basis for the week and allows us to affect a change in patterns of disharmony, and the habits and attitudes that create imbalance.  This is a dynamic way to move energy, to clear out, deep clean, and harmonize our total BE-ing.
     An intensive treatment series can breathe new life and energy into our depleted physical being and bring about a reconnection with our essence. The goal is to bring about deep relaxation, to restore a sense of beauty and harmony into body, mind and spirit and to unleash the inner healer.
    When we have an opportunity to keep the body’s systems clear and balanced without the time in between to fall back into unhealthy patterns, we actually give ourselves a fresh start on a clear path, we bring to our BE-ing a mindful, go with the flow way coping with whatever life brings.

Send me an email or give me a call to schedule your Healing Intensive. 

"Healing may not be so much about getting better,as about letting go of everything that isn't you - all of the expectations, all of the beliefs - and becoming who you are."
~Rachel Naomi Remen

The Peace Mudra

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

On this day of remembering, I found myself focusing on the need for  peace in our world. This led me to think about the peace sign we make with our hands.

from Wikipedia

"It has various meanings, depending on the cultural context and how it is presented. It is most commonly used to represent the letter "V" as in "victory"; as a symbol of peace (usually with palm outward); as an offensive gesture (palm inward); and to represent the number 2. It was adopted by the 1960s counterculture movement as a sign for peace."

 As a Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner, I am always interested in anything that we do with our hands. I am especially fascinated by the tradition of healing mudras (hand gestures) and after my ponderings today, I have come to think of this peace gesture as the "peace mudra".

Think about it....This gesture involves all of the fingers of the hand, either holding them or extending them with intention. 

• The index finger balances the limiting attitude of FEAR and brings LOVE. 
• The middle finger balances ANGER and brings PEACE. 
• Holding the thumb to the ring finger opens the lungs and trades sadness for happiness while clearing our tendency to get stuck in worry-mode, which in turn allows us to be present. 
• And the little finger enables us to let go of pretense and be true to ourselves. 

I can't think of a better way to bring peace to our inner being while projecting a positive force in our world. So now as I perform my daily practice of holding  fingers to clear limiting attitudes, I do it with a new way to think about peace and harmony.  

"Each of us by our daily acts of peace and our commitment to building a better world can inspire others and help create a groundswell for peace too powerful to be turned aside."
~David Krieger

Restore and Regenerate

  As winter made one more blast this weekend, I found myself thinking of the promise of rebirth that is just around the corner. The regenerative cycle that is always at play, all year, everyday, just below the surface... 

"Life stands before me like an eternal spring with new and brilliant clothes." 

~Carl Friedrich Gauss

“Of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul
None is more gladdening or fruitful than to know
You can regenerate and make yourself what you will.”
~William James 

     How do you get back to your best self? What is it that recharges your battery? How do you restore and regenerate? It is important that we take the time to know what recharges/refuels us and that we find ways to enhance our well-being by always supporting ourselves and especially during times of stress. 

    The dictionary defines REGENERATE as
1. formed or created again
2. spiritually reborn or converted
3. restored to a better, higher, or more worthy state

     For me, it is all of the good things that I do for myself regularly that recharge my batteries-yoga, meditation, eating good healthy food, fresh air, mindful breathing, loving my family, reading uplifting and inspiring books, daily self-help, etc. And to really restore and regenerate, regular Jin Shin Jyutsu keeps me on the path to harmony and balance.    

   The following Self-Help Tip is a great way to Quietly Regenerate Body, Mind and Spirit.The key to Quietly Regenerating is Safety Energy Lock #25. It is located at the sit bones. Anatomically part of your pelvis (the ischial tuberosity), the sit bones are quite literally the bones under the flesh of the butt that you sit on.

Holding the 25's will relieve bodily tensions, lower back tensions, knee and leg discomfort while helping you maintain alertness and memory. This flow filters out all toxins released during physical activities and removes tiredness from the body to enjoy the benefits of exercise. The 25's relieve mental tension, bring us an energetic mind and a sound body, and takes care of our overall sense of vitality.

It is said that holding the 25's for 20 minutes per day does the equivalent for maintaining the body and mind in good shape as an hour and a half hour jogging session! The 25's can be helpful in appetite balance, to support weight loss and will clear out the colon. 

Simply Sit on your hands (with the palms up or down, which ever is most comfortable for you). I do this simple flow myself most nights while watching TV with my family. If it is too hard on your hands to sit on them, I find that doing this while lying in bed is pretty easy too! The longer you can sit on your hands/hold your 25's, the more grounded you'll feel.

"Be gentle first with yourself if you wish to be gentle with others."
~Lama Yeshe

Empowered Kids

Empowered Kids

"You are very powerful,
provided you know how powerful you are."
~Yogi Bhajan

     Last week, I got a phone message from my 11 year old daughter. She was as at school and  having a belly ache. She had been having a belly ache before school, so I had given her some self-help to do. When I saw that there was a message from the school, I thought... oh no.. she needs to come home. But her message said, "Mom, I don't need you to come get me, I just wondered if you had something else you could suggest for me to do so that I can stay at school, my belly is really hurting..."
     Wow, I was amazed! It was one of those proud mama moments. One of my goals (both as a parent and as a holistic practitioner) is to empower people to take charge of their own health through Jin Shin Jyutsu Self-Help! and here was my dear one asking for ideas on what she could do to help herself! Pretty cool, eh?!
     Mary Burmeister wrote a children's self-help book called Fun with Happy Hands, which offers a delightful introduction to the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu and helps children of all ages learn simple and FUN ways to help themselves. My daughter, Rebecca, has owned this book since she was pretty little and has been actively learning Jin Shin Jyutsu Self-Help from me and this book most of her young life.
     I think that it is important that while we are teaching our children self care skills like potty training, tying shoes, making healthy food choices, how to get dressed, and so many others, that we also empower them to actively participate in their own care and well-being. Teaching your child independent skills can be easier said then done, especially if they are accustomed to having things done for them. But if we give them the tools that they need to self-soothe and help themselves, they become empowered with good coping skills and a confidence in their body's ability to heal.
     I  like to think that from an early age that I taught Rebecca about her ability to balance attitudes by simply holding her fingers. But in actuality, she taught me a lot about them! I would watch her at a few months old choosing which finger or toe to suck. Confidently and consciously choosing! It was amazing to watch and taught me so much about the innate nature of Jin Shin Jyutsu. We are all working towards helping ourselves all of the time. The practice of Jin Shin Jyutsu brings awareness to what we are doing and allows us to have a different relationship with our BE-ing.  We literally hold BALANCE in our own hands!

Self-Help Tip:

We can teach our children how to cope with emotionally difficult situations like worry, fear, anger, sadness and the challenges of being true to ourselves (pretense/trying to). If we are always trying to do it all and being burned out, stressed out and overwhelmed, the lesson that we gift our children with is how to be stressed. However when we use these same self-help techniques to enhance your own coping skills, we teach them how to cope and BE. Simple! 

"Happiness is not a matter of intensity 

but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony." 

~Thomas Merton 

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

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

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

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

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