Transform Anger, Bring Harmony

"Resentment, anger, frustration, worry,

disappointment—negative emotional states, justified or not,

take a toll on your heart, brain and body.

Don't let justified emotions rob your health and well-being."

~Doc Childre and Howard Martin

 
The attitude of ANGER is destructive to balance and harmony in the body. IT is the feeling of "I'm not getting my way and I don't like it!" ANGER is a force that can separate the soul from the body as it creates such an intense, destabilizing energy within.

According to a study of more than 1,000 people at a Western Electric factory in Chicago, over a 25-year period, those with anger management problems were at a high risk of dying from coronary problems, as well as cancer. Chronic anger is also linked with weakening of the immune system, leading to life-threatening illnesses. 
   
Anger affects the function of Liver and Gall Bladder Energy in the body as well as Blood Essence and can manifest in alcohol addiction. 
   
The opposite of ANGER is Harmony & Balance. To balance anger, HOLD the MIDDLE 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. 
   
As you hold the MIDDLE FINGER, the destructive feelings of anger begin to dissipate. The Middle Finger is the General Harmonizer of the body. It is powerful for the respiratory system and promotes good digestive function while releasing tension from the knees. As we come into balance, we increase our capacity for compassion and reinstate harmony. 
   
Hold your middle finger whenever you feel "out of balance". As Thomas Merton once wrote, "Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony." Holding the middle finger will remind you that balance is where you really want to live. Funny, isn't it, that often the middle finger is used to express Anger.. why not use it to balance and clear anger? Give it a try! Relax. 

 "Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured."  

~Mark Twain 

Awakening Our Inner Healer

“At the center of your being


you have the answer;


you know who you are


and you know what you want.”


~Lao Tzu

      When I found a holistic approach to wellness, it set me on the path to clearing long standing dis-ease in my body and restoring balance in ways that I never thought were possible. When I had my very first Jin Shin Jytusu session back in 1998, my inner healer woke up! Until that point in my life, I was unaware that I even had an inner healer. My inner healer was reminded that she had work to do, revealing to me the power that is within us.
      Because it is a common belief that we need a doctor to "fix" us, there are many among us that do not realize that we each have an innate ability to heal and that being whole is our birthright.
      Think about it, for our entire lives, we have healed cut fingers and skinned knees, mended broken bones, overcome colds and flu without even thinking about it. Healing occurs without conscious effort, as does every breath and heartbeat and body function. The Innate Intelligence of our bodies has the ability is to maintain the body, to take the food, sunshine, water, air and thoughts that we consume and turn it into what our bodies need to heal and become whole.
      Wholeness or "health" is our natural state of being.  Our Innate Intelligence provides us with all of the tools needed to heal ourselves. The assistance that we get from a practitioner or doctor merely provides support for our own bodies’ natural healing abilities. And when we attend to the cause of the disharmony, rather than masking the symptoms, our inner ability to heal is supported.
      With Jin Shin Jyutsu Energy Work, we seek to clear the energetic stagnation that produces dis-ease in our bodies. When the stress that is held in the body is removed, our inner healer is able to get to work returning balance and harmony. This enables us to tap into our natural ability to create the healing we need in our life, to help the body to fulfill its innate functions harmoniously, and to produce health and EASE.
     Awaken your inner healer by developing a daily self-help practice as simple as holding your fingers to transform the negative effects of our attitudes and regular Jin Shin Jyutsu sessions.

“You have within you right now,


everything you need to deal


with whatever the world can throw at you.”

~Brian Tracy

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

Stop the Swirl of Holiday Stress

"The time to relax is when you don't have time for it."

~Sydney J. Harris

     We forget sometimes that the time to take time for ourselves is when we seem to have no time at all! I love this quote and was reminded of it last week when I offered a session to a stressed-out friend. Her response was, "Oh, that sounds so nice. Maybe when things calm down, I will be able to take you up on your offer." I know that a session would have helped her to find some balance in her life, to calm things down for her.
     In my experience, when we come at things from a place of balance, everything calms down. We need to find ways to replenish our energy, so that we can continue to take care of our kids, spouse, job, family and friends. We know that we need to take time when we feel that we have nothing left to give to the things/people that we care about!
     So, when you find yourself caught up in the swirl of holiday stress, just stop. Hit the Pause Button. Remember your Breath. Take a moment in the peaceful center of the storm. Get yourself a session And then Go with the Flow.
    I encourage you to remember that peace and calm are indeed possible in the midst of the holiday season.

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

~Joan Borysenko

Developing an Attitude of Gratitude

"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, 

and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."

~G.K. Chesterton

     I created this Thanksgiving Turkey Hand several years ago on Thanksgiving Morning after holding my fingers, as I do most mornings, and thinking 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 gifts that my practice of Jin Shin Jyutsu brings to my life each day.  I have always known that cultivating an attitude of gratitude would bring good things into my life but in doing research for this article I found that while many emotions and personality traits are important to well-being, there is evidence that gratitude may be uniquely important.

     Gratitude enhances our sense of satisfaction while balancing the attitudes of greed and entitlement. Practicing gratitude is a workout for the soul: repeated awareness of the blessings in our lives helps us to dwell on the positive and wonderful in our lives. Our positive attitude helps us to master the change instead of being controlled by it.  When we choose to focus our attitudes on the good stuff we find that we indeed have more.

     When we are in balance, we experience deep trust and the ability to let go of emotions and experiences that are holding us back. It is indeed up to us how we choose to look at life. My hero, Joseph Campbell, reminds us to "Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy."  Yes, the choice is up to us. Happiness isn't something that just happens to you, but rather, something you can choose at any time, in any situation. Our happiness is dependent on our ability to feel gratitude for our many blessings.

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

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

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

Deep at the Center of Your BE-ing

"I want you to be everything that's you,


deep at the center of your being."


~Confucius

The Source of Life Force Energy for our bodies is known, in Jin Shin Jyutsu, as the Main Central Vertical Universal Harmonizing Energy Flow or the Main Central. It is the primary harmonizer for all body functions and is responsible for renewing, maintaining and sustaining our manifested form on all levels-physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. This energy pathway runs down the center of the front of the body and back up the spine.

The Main Central can be compared to a sensitive antenna as it connects us directly to Universal Source Energy, maintains our connection to Source and serves as the energetic blueprint for our total being. It is the energy flow that created and sustains us, setting our other energy flows in motion and becoming a strong regular force for our bodies when it is allowed to flow freely down the front and up the back.

When energy circulates easily and abundantly, body, mind, and spirit are all nourished. But when the flow becomes blocked, constricted or stagnant, disharmony results.


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 use it to clear their minds upon waking. All of our body energies connect with this main source of energy in the body, returning to the Main Central to connect back to Source and to recharge. By following the simple directions each day, we can strengthen this flow in ourselves and bring about an increased state of well-being.



The Main Central Flow:
Follow the steps in the above picture.
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)

Step 2b: Move left fingers to hollow space in middle of collarbone. (optional step/not pictured)
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.



For me, the Main Central is my primary self-help tool. It has become my daily basic energy tune-up.  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 re-centers me and takes the kinks out of my body.

“At the center of your being
you have the answer;


you know who you are
and you know what you want.”


~Lao Tzu

Recharge and Rejuvenate

 “When was the last time you spent a quiet moment just doing nothing, 

just sitting and looking at the sea, or watching the wind blowing the tree limbs,

or waves rippling on a pond, a flickering candle

or children playing in the park?”

~Ralph Marston 

     Wholeness or "health" is our natural state of being, our birthright. 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 a recharge 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.
    Jennifer Louden, a life coach,  is quoted as saying, “Self-care is not selfish or self-indulgent. We cannot nurture others from a dry well. We need to take care of our own needs first, then we can give from our surplus, our abundance.” My regular clients find that their sessions are an important part of recharging and maintaining their well-being. 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.
     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 supporting ourselves during times of stress. It will make everything you do so much easier.
     For me, it is all of the good things that I do for myself regularly that recharge my batteries-yoga, daily meditation, eating good healthy food, fresh air, mindful breathing, loving my family, reading uplifting and inspiring books, daily self-help, etc. And to really recharge my batteries, regular Jin Shin Jyutsu gives me a jump start back to harmony and balance. I love that I have so many ways at my fingertips to bring balance to my BE-ing.
  A Jin Shin Jyutsu session is likened to a pair of jumper cables applied to a dead battery. To restore the natural flow of energy and release the safety energy locks, our hands are used as jumper cables. The battery comes to life when the “jumper cables” are attached, and our engine can run once again.
    There are many ways to recharge your battery.
    •    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.

“When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another-and ourselves.”

~Jack Kornfield

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

Managing Chronic Pain and Fibromyalgia

"Wisdom is nothing more than healed pain." 

~Robert Gary Lee

Several years ago, I received a letter from a reader asking for Self-Help recommendations to manage a label of Fibromyalgia. At that point I didn't know much about Fibromyalgia, so I did a search and learned what I could about this mysterious label. 

Fibromyalgia Quick Facts

• Affects 3 to 5 percent of the general population

• Occurs in people of all ages, even children

• Men develop fibromyalgia too, although more women are diagnosed with it

• Symptoms are chronic but may fluctuate throughout the day

• Roughly one-quarter of people with fibromyalgia are work-disabled

• Three drugs are FDA-approved for fibromyalgia treatment

What I found most interesting is that one of the criteria for diagnosing Fibromyalgia is tenderness or pain in at least 11 of the 18 specified tender points when pressure is applied. The 18 tender points associated with fibromyalgia are found in symmetrical pairs on the body. When I looked at the Tender Points Chart, I immediately thought of our Jin Shin Jyutsu Safety Energy Lock Chart! The "tender points" used to diagnose Fibromyalgia are all located on or near safety energy locks! 

Here is a tender-points chart side by side with a Safety Energy Lock Chart!

In Jin Shin Jyutsu we work with 26 pairs of energy centers in our bodies, referred to as Safety Energy Locks. These areas are much more than fixed points and encompass and area approximately the size of our hand. Each one of them has a specific meaning that is expressed through its number and is closely related to its placement on the body. They act like the circuit breakers on the electrical system in our homes and lock when the flow of energy in a pathway is too much, too little or stagnant-to warn and protect us from further disharmony.  

When one or more of these safety energy locks become blocked, a local disruption can occur, eventually resulting in disharmony of the energetic pathway completely. Just like in your home electrical system, if an outlet is overloaded, it blows the breaker that feeds that outlet, but does not shut down the whole electrical system. If the breaker is not reset, you can just shift the plugs to another outlet. This outlet will also break as it becomes overloaded and the process will continue until the entire system shuts down. A single breaker switch shutting down is a warning that you have overloaded the circuitry and attention must be paid to what you are doing. It is just the same thing with the energy system of our bodies. 

These twenty-six Energy Locks serve as breaker switches. If enough are blown over a period of time, disharmonies will occur in your physical, emotional, or mental well-being. The openness and flow of energy through our safety energy locks determine our health, balance and well-BE-ing.

It was easy for me to see that the relationship of these Fibromyalgia TenderPoints and Safety Energy Locks indicates a stagnation of the flow of life energy. 

Jin Shin Jyutsu teaches us to heed the warning of pain-which is our indicator that something is out of order and energy locks are shutting down. By simply holding the stuck energy center we can unlock the flow of energy and return ourselves to harmony. It really is that simple: Hold the pain and clear the stagnation!

I now see a number of clients in my practice who have the label of Fibromyalgia. Regular Jin Shin Jyutsu Sessions with a practitioner can be really helpful. One of my clients with this label usually comes weekly for a maintenance session. She finds the weekly sessions very helpful in managing her pain. This Summer she missed several weeks of sessions due to family vacations and house guests, etc... she said that she continued to do all of the other things that she knows helps her to keep the Fibro pain at bay (healthy eating, regular exercise including swimming, supplements and fibro meds) but she skipped her Jin Shin Jyutsu sessions with me. She said that leaving out the Jin Shin Jyutsu sessions was the only thing that she changed in her care plan and she was surprised to discover just how much the regular Jin Shin Jyutsu sessions made a difference in her pain level.

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.

“Pain is such an uncomfortable feeling 

that even a tiny amount of it 

is enough to ruin every enjoyment.” 

~Will Rogers

Inhaling the Purified Breath of Life

"Breath is the bridge which 
connects life to consciousness,

which unites your body to your thoughts." 

~Thich Nhat Hanh

     I love exploring the 8 Mudras of the Jin Shin Jyutsu Tradition. They are an important and easily accessible tool for balance and well-BEing. Mudras are the birthplace of what we now call Jin Shin Jyutsu. One hundred years ago, when Master Jiro Murai was diagnosed with an incurable illness, he asked to brought to the family cabin in the mountains of Japan. His family was instructed to come back in 7 days to see the outcome. It is said that the intense use of mudras while sitting in meditation and fasting turned his life energy around. He passed through fevers and chills during those days before losing consciousness and subsequently coming back to himself, feeling that he was free of whatever had caused him to be so ill. Murai believed that the simple act of joining right hand with left hand brings about a unity between body and mind.
     Unlike animals who primarily use their noses and mouths to experience their environment, we explore our world with our hands. Touch is important to our human experience thanks to 17,000 tactile receptors on the hand. We have about 4000 nerve endings at the tips of our fingers, giving our fingertips one of the densest collections of nerve endings in the body. The nerve endings connect with the energetic pathways of our organs and can influence them, relax, stimulate or balance them. Our hands are therefore an energy map of our consciousness and health with areas of the hand corresponding to different systems of the body as well as our various attitudes. By curling, crossing, stretching, and touching the fingers and palms, we can effectively talk to the body and mind. All of this is what makes mudras effective tools for balance and well-being.
     Anywhere you are, while on a break, sitting at a red light while in your car, waiting at the checkout, at your office or home, stillness can be yours. Mudras are easily learned and with a little practice you can do them at any time and place. A knowledge of these mudras allows us to send energy to any part of our being.
     The mudra pictured above is one of the 8 mudras that are part of the Practice of Jin Shin Jyutsu. It is known in our tradition as "Inhaling the Purified Breath of Life." This finger pose relieves asthma, back tension/stress and brings general well-being to the whole body. It aids in easier breathing allowing us to receive the purified Breath of Life. This pose helps us to bring harmony to our total being.
     Cynthia Broshi, International Jin Shin Jyutsu teacher, says, "Through their relationships the Mudras excavate, untangle and dissolve tensions. Singly and as a group they work with the relationship of Exhale and Inhale, building and breaking down. Some poses emphasize one or the other aspect of Breath, and utilizing each pose with the left and the right hand amplifies and blends these actions of Generation and Regeneration."
     Our power to harmonize, balance, and heal is literally in our own hands. Learn more about this practice and awareness in MUDRAS and MINDFULNESS, an ongoing weekly class held at the Sunshine Institute.  Join me for this study of harmonizing our energy channels through fingers and toes and the 8 Mudras of Jin Shin Jyutsu.

"Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary

to which you can retreat at any time 
and be yourself."

~Hermann Hesse 

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

Self-Help Tip: Stop the Swirl of Holiday Stress

"The time to relax 
is when you don't have time for it."

~Sydney J. Harris 

         We forget sometimes that the time to take time for ourselves is when we seem to have no time at all! I love this quote and was reminded of it when I offered a session to a stressed-out friend. Her response was, "Oh, that sounds so nice. Maybe when things calm down, I will be able to take you up on your offer." I knew that a session would have helped to calm things down for her.
         In my experience, when we come at things from a place of balance, everything calms down, we cope better and move through our lives with more ease. We need to find ways to replenish our energy, so that we can continue to take care of our kids, spouse, job, family and friends. An indicator that we need to take time is when we feel that we have nothing left to give to the things/people that we care about! When our emotional and energetic bank account is overdrawn life becomes a downward spiral.
So, when you find yourself caught up in the swirl of holiday stress, just Stop. Hit the Pause Button. Remember your Breath. Take a moment in the peaceful center of the storm. And then Go with the Flow.
          I encourage you to remember that peace and calm are indeed possible in the midst of the holiday season.

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

~Joan Borysenko

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 

Stress-Busting

Stress-Busting

"Life is not the way it's supposed to be.
It's the way it is.
The way you cope with it is what makes a difference."
~Virginia Satir

     Stressed out, out of control, overwhelmed, burnt out, anxious, depressed....The more I learn about stress, the more I realize that if we are to ever find balance and bliss, eliminating the effects of stress in our lives and our bodies must be our priority! None of us can totally avoid stressful situations. Stress is an integral part of our lives, and thanks to its ability to bring about the flight or fight response, it plays a big role in our survival. But continued stress without relief, is the beginning of all disharmony in our health and well-being. As much as stress and its fight or flight response is critical to survival, finding ways of coping with stress is equally essential to our well-being! 

Our bodies have their own way of coping with stress, it triggers the release of a series of stress hormones.  The prolonged secretion of these stress hormones lead to a break down of the cardiovascular, digestive, musculoskeletal, and immune systems. When we allow the day-to-day stresses to pile-up, they have a detrimental effect on our physical and emotional well-being. But the better our coping skills and stress management are, the less negatively affected we are! 

     The number one strategy for to help manage stress in our lives is RELAXATION! Relaxation, a practical coping strategy, has the power to reverse the stress response, calm the mind and relax the body. Psychology defines relaxation as "the emotional state of low tension, in which there is an absence of arousal that could come from sources such as anger, anxiety, or fear." By decreasing muscle tension, lowering the blood pressure and slowing heart and breath rates, relaxation minimizes the effects of stress. 

     Edmund J. Bourne, author of The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook says, “Regular practice of deep relaxation for 20 to 30 minutes on a daily basis can produce, over time, a generalization of relaxation to the rest of your life. That is, after several weeks of practicing deep relaxation once per day, you will tend to feel more relaxed all the time.”

    And the more time we spend in a relaxed state, our coping skills just get better and better. We become more resilient and better able to manage anxiety and stress in general. In this calm state, we are able to think more clearly and effectively problem solve.

     I invite you to add Jin Shin Jyutsu to your stress busting tool box! Discover the restorative nature of JSJ, be it practicing the simple self-help holds daily and/orgetting regular treatments with a practitioner. The benefit of Jin Shin Jyutsu, also known as the Art of Longevity, is relaxation, calming the nervous system, easing the stress response, and bringing about a return to balance and homeostasis. 

"If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity,
I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension.
And if you didn't ask me, I'd still have to say it."
~George F Burns 

Stop the Swirl of Holiday Stress

Stop the Swirl of Holiday Stress

"The time to relax is when you don't have time for it."

~Sydney J. Harris

     As time winds down and we get closer to the Christmas-time Holidays and all the hustle and bustle the season brings, it is a good time to remind ourselves to stop and enjoy! We forget sometimes that the time to take time for ourselves is when we seem to have no time at all! I love the above quote and was reminded of it recently when I offered a session to a stressed-out friend. Her response was, "Oh, that sounds so nice. Maybe when things calm down, I will be able to take you up on your offer." I know that a session would have helped her to find some balance in her life, to calm things down for her, and improve her coping skills.
     In my experience, when we come at things from a place of balance, everything calms down. It is important to find ways to replenish our energy, so that we can continue to take care of our kids, spouse, job, family and friends. Another favorite quote of mine is by Sierra Goodman and says, "If your own cup is running over, you then have so much more to give to others. Fill your cup first, take care of yourself, do things that bring you joy, and others will benefit from your self love and appreciation overflow." Know that what we really need, is to take time BEFORE we get to the place where we have nothing left to give to the things/people that we care about!

     So, when you find yourself caught up in the swirl of holiday stress, just Stop. Hit the Pause Button. Remember your Breath. Take a moment in the Peaceful Center of the storm. And then Go with the Flow and remember that Peace and Calm are indeed possible in the midst of the holiday season.

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

~Joan Borysenko

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

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

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