Jin Shin Jyutsu: Healing Body and Mind with the Hands
This century-old Japanese technique helps to prevent disease and to balance harmony in the body using just the hands.
Babies suck their thumbs seeking comfort. Politicians speak with their hands close to their bodies to calm themselves down. And walkers make fists to carry themselves forward more safely. All of them, though they’re unaware, are using a form of Jin Shin Jyutsu, an ancient physio-philosophy of general health based in finger exercises. Now, if we become aware of all of these manual impulses, the possibilities could be enormous. And the best thing is, it’s also among the simplest of methods for stabilizing the body’s energy.
The principles of Jin Shin Jyutsu are nearly as old as human beings. Master Jiro Murai rediscovered those principles about 100 years ago in Japan and devoted himself to studying and teaching them. He learned to correct and adjust the body’s energy whenever it’s been compromised (out of balance), and all of this simply by paying attention to the hands. Spending just a few minutes every day can quickly put the body’s energy into balance. Emotions like fear, anger, sadness or excessive pretense (arrogance, pride) are quickly stabilized with Jin Shin Jyutsu.
The philosophy teaches no fixed rules as to the time that should dedicated to each of the exercises, but about 5 minutes each will suffice. When the body is in a more balanced state, the practitioner will naturally know how long to spend on each finger.
Following are the basic Jin Shin Jyutsu exercises with corresponding explanations. One should begin with the hand with which one is most comfortable.
For worry: hold the thumb
This exercise also helps with insomnia, digestion, headache, stress and nervousness, for calming, for skin health and for when you need to sit for a long time (sitting can cause swelling).
For fear: hold the index finger
This exercise also helps teeth and gums, back pain, digestion and constipation, self-criticism, shyness, muscular tension, kidney and bladder energy and in situations where one needs to stand for long periods.
For anger: hold the middle finger
This exercise also helps blood pressure, fatigue, vision, irritability, to balance the emotions, or the energy of the liver and when one must read a lot.
For sadness: hold the ring finger
This exercise also helps with hearing, respiratory functions, phlegm, skin conditions, the energy of the lungs and large intestine and when one must be lying for long (as during convalescence).
For added strength: hold the little finger
Holding the little finger also helps with heart palpitations, swelling, trying too hard (at anything), insecurity, nervousness, with the energy of the heart and small intestine and when one must walk a lot.
For fatigue: press the center of the palm
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