We have all seen the commercials, the ones that tout a great new remedy for your ailment—a new, simple fix available from the doctor is yours for the asking. Beautiful people cavort on the screen, implying that everything is there within reach, if you just follow the directions on the package. Near the end, we hear the disclaimers listing all of the interesting side effects that may occur—many which seem worse than the project from which you are trying to be free.

 

Fortunately, there are an abundance of life-enhancing modalities available. Some involve physical manipulation of tissue; some involve working with delicate lymph; and some work with the mysterious, unknowable forces that animate us. Jin Shin Jyutsu (acupressure) is in the realm of the latter. This safe, noninvasive work allows the practitioner to use light fingertip pressure, over clothing, with the client laying supine or sitting in a chair. The work involves stillness for the client as well as for the practitioner. Healing is accessed through a harmonizing of the person’s own “rhythm of life”.

What can be expected when receiving a session of Jin Shin Jyutsu? A session will generally last 50 to 60 minutes. The practitioner will use many of the same skills as a traditional massage therapist to determine the most effective selection of hand placements. Included will be what the client advises and what is seen by the practitioner visually, as well as the use of fingertips at the client’s wrists, like other Eastern modalities. The client then rests comfortably in whatever position is most conducive for their situation. The practitioner will lightly touch specific locations based on the information gained. A client will generally feel relaxed. Beyond that, the client experience can vary significantly—some will drift off into a peaceful sleep as fatigue is released; some may find quiet mental clarity; some may become more aware of bodily feelings.

 

What is especially helpful about Jin Shin Jyutsu is that it provides the client with many tools that can be used for self-care. These practices are easy to remember, simple to apply and can yield immediate benefit. In working with clients over the past 20 years, the author has seen tremendous transformations. Some transformations occur slowly and gradually. Some seem like the stuff of miracles—sudden and absolute. It is never known how a session will unfold as it is always a new reveal for practitioner and observer.

 

Jin Shin Jyutsu can be administered in almost any setting. It adapts well to critical care situations, hospital settings, outpatient treatment centers, nursing homes, individual homes, alcohol/drug recovery centers, and private practice settings. All that is required is a quiet place in which the receiver can sit or lay down and room for a chair or cushion for the provider.

 

The author’s practice of the art has grown deeper and more mature with the passing of the years as well as helping her to feel younger, more relaxed, more at peace in her body.