How to think about the Chinese clock :-)

This is a blogpost from comfytummy:

http://www.comfytummy.com/2014/05/08/human-body-energy-clock/

“Why do I keep waking up at 3am?” I couldn’t figure it out. It was driving me crazy. I would go to bed exhausted, usually some time between 11:30pm and 1am, sleep a few hours, and then wake up with a mind full of stress, worries, anxiety, negativity, etc. When I looked over at the time, it would be around 3am. It was happening just about every night. It got to the point where any time I woke up, I was like “Oh, it must be 3am” and sure enough, when I looked at the time, it was 3:08 or 3:15 or some time right around 3am.

Of course, if you google “waking up at 3am”, you will come up with all kinds of different reasons including many that are supernatural or demonic (after all, it’s referred to as the witching hour). However, I decided to dig deeper. I had remembered reading somewhere that 3am is the time that the liver goes into its cleansing mode so I began digging around there. Soon I found myself learning all about the Chinese Body Clock.

The Chinese Body Clock is based on Chinese medicine and the body organ Qi(energy) cycle. It’s the idea that there is a cyclic flow of energy through the body that moves in two hour intervals through the various organ systems. See diagram above. Click on the diagram for a larger version.

So for each two hour window, there is an organ system operating a peak energy. As per – http://pathways4health.org/2010/03/04/the-chinese-body-clock-energy-patterns-through-24-hours/

“When one organ is at its peak energy, the organ at the opposite side of the clock, 12 hours away, is at its lowest ebb. For example, between 1-3 a.m., the liver reaches its peak, doing its work to cleanse the blood, while the small intestine, the organ responsible for the absorption and assimilation of many key nutrients, is at its ebb. What does this tell us? Principally, that it must be taxing to the system to deal with late night meals and snacking. The body is not programmed to accommodate the modern habit of late-night screen-based stimulation and the eating habits that go with it. When we eat late at night, food is not well absorbed by the small intestine and the liver has little opportunity to do its job of housekeeping.

The idea, then, is to try when you can to plan daily activity around an organ system’s peak energy, while avoiding actions that can tax a system when its energy is at its lowest ebb. Think of lifestyle habits you might modify in order to better synchronize your system’s energy ebbs and flows:

Lungs: With the lungs at their peak energy in the early morning, you might want to schedule aerobic exercise at this time rather than later in the day. And, if you must speak through the long work day, presentations given earlier in the day benefit from greater lung energy. Laryngitis can set in late afternoon when lung energy is depleted .

Large Intestine: To get the day off to a good start, give yourself enough time early in the morning to honor the normal elimination function of the large intestine.

Stomach/Pancreas/Small Intestine: Try to eat heavier meals early in the day—at breakfast when the stomach is at its peak, and at lunch, to catch Qi’s expanding/warming energy as it crests at midday. Eating larger meals of the day early delivers nourishment to the small intestine when it is strongest, which aids absorption and assimilation.

Kidneys: The kidneys are aligned with the adrenals, the glands that produce cortisol to help us spring out of bed in the morning. Early morning, from 5 a.m.-7 a.m., is when kidney energy is weakest—a reason that people with depleted kidney energy often have trouble waking up to a new day.

Liver: The liver stores and cleanses the blood, a fact that becomes more interesting as we consider personal experience. Have you ever partied too much in the evening, and awakened in the wee hours of the morning feeling “off” and unable to fall back to sleep? Chances are good that you were tossing and turning between the hours of 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. when your alcohol over-loaded liver was struggling to do its work. The timing of the liver’s peak activity also speaks to consuming the last meal of the day as early as possible. The liver’s daily programming assumes an early dinner and bedtime. Before electricity and the light bulb, people ate supper and retired early, allowing time for the last meal of the day to digest so that the liver could be most effective in its peak hours of activity. The “work shift” of the liver, then, reinforces the concept of making the last meal of the day a light one that is consumed on the early side. The more time that passes after food is eaten before peak activity of the liver, the better the liver will be able to carry out its myriad of functions.”

I found that very interesting because I had a very hard time getting out of bed in the morning, and I also tended to eat dinner very late, usually making it my biggest meal of the day. Maybe that was why I kept waking up at 3am? In fact, nothing in my daily routine corresponded with the organ energy cycle. I also thought it was very interesting because I’m always trying to maximize how much I can get done in a day and in order to do that, it requires sustaining a good level of energy throughout the day. There were some days when I just had no energy, and I felt like I just couldn’t get going.

Before rearranging my schedule and my life, I decided to become more conscious of my body in relation to this energy clock theory. So as I went about my day, I kept in mind the various organ cycles.

I noticed that if I ever got gas (the intestinal kind), it was usually in the early morning, before I really woke up. I made it a point to look at the time – 5:30am. Hmmm. Large intestine cycle. My stomach would start growling around 8am. I always figured it was because I hadn’t eaten since the night before and it wanted breakfast which I always put off for another hour or two. Maybe it was because my body was in the stomach cycle? I always liked to sit down and get work done in the morning around 10am or so because I felt clear-headed and efficient. That corresponded to the chart. And I’ll be damned if I wasn’t always peeing in the late afternoon. Bladder cycle. I thought “Maybe I should give this body clock thing a try and see what happens”.

It’s been over a week now and I feel great! I’ve made some adjustments to my schedule to correspond to the organ cycles and I’m kind of amazed by it. I go to sleep around or by 11pm with a 50 oz. bottle of water on the night table next to my bed. I set my alarm for 6am. I don’t wake up at 3am anymore but sleep straight through to 6am when my alarm goes off. I still hit snooze once or twice, but by 6:20 I’m usually sitting up and have started drinking the water. I drink about 24 to 32 ounces before even getting out of bed. I can literally feel it traveling through my system and hydrating my body. I have breakfast around 7:30 or 8am and make lunch at the same time. I get as much food related activities out of the way while I’m in the stomach cycle. Prepare snacks, clean the kitchen, plan dinner, etc. At 9am I’m at my computer working and being productive, getting stuff done. Once the heart cycle rolls around at 11am, I send and respond to emails, reach out to family and friends, head to my office, and have lunch. At 1pm, it’s back to work tackling problems, responding to emails and issues, and analyzing data. Between 3pm and 5pm, I love having a cup of tea and making more work progress, perhaps delving into some research and analysis. I now try to have dinner before 7pm and start winding down my daily activities by 9pm or 10pm the latest. With some quiet time to just relax and read before sleeping.

To help with staying on these cycles, I’ve been setting the alarm on my phone to go off at the start of each cycle from 7am until 9pm. Mostly just as a conscious reminder. Some days I’m truly amazed at how great I feel, how much energy I have, and how much I can accomplish. Other days, when it seems everyone in my world needs me to drop everything and solve their problems, it can be more of a challenge. Sometimes there’s no time for lunch before 1pm or no time for dinner until after 7pm, but I can adjust to live more in harmony with the cycles. The most amazing thing for me has just been the fact that I’ve been up, out of bed, awake and with good energy before 7am! And of course, not waking up at 3am anymore is an added bonus.

Here’s a link for more information – http://www.spiritualcoach.com/chinese-body-clock/

ComfyTummy

More from this Author 

I was diagnosed with severe Ulcerative Colitis in 2004 and told that I would spend the rest of my life on prescription meds. I began researching and studying natural alternative treatments and discovered the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). Within a year, I was off all meds and had brought my body and digestive system back into balance and a state of health and healing. That began my journey of health through nature and nutrition. I haven’t looked back since. Won’t you join me?

Safety energy locks in Jin Shin Jyutsu

I have been studying a little bit of the meridians from the Chinese point of view, to check out what the similarities and the differences are. And in that process I have wondered about some of these points that exist in Chinese medicine, why Jin Shin Jyutsu doesn’t use them as well, since I learned that there are some meridian points that are more important than others, and I thought it could be beneficial to use those points in a JSJ treatment as well.

Then I went to Sadaki Kato’s class in Los Angeles, he told us a little bit of Jin Shin Jyutsu history – it has been a process of adding on the Safety Energy Locks used in Jin Shin Jyutsu, in 1945 when Mary Burmeister started her JSJ study with Jiro Murai, there where only 15 SEL. In 1953 when Haruki Kato started to study JSJ there were 22 SEL, and in 1957 Jiro Murai added the last SEL up to 26. So, maybe, if Jiro Murai had lived longer, he might have added even more Safety Energy Locks?
And in this class with Sadaki, he added some of these points that I have been wondering about, among other things in Chinese medicine they talk about Spleen 6, which is really important, Sadaki called that point a “high 5”. He also talked about when the energy goes horizontally, which can be a really bad thing, then we can use points on the side of the body, those are also points I have been wondering about – now I got an explanation, and found out how I can use them in a treatment.

I have also wondered why there’s a difference in some flows, when comparing Chinese meridians and JSJ flows – we were told in the class that Jiro Murai experienced the flows in his own body, through long fasts – as I understood it he fasted 12 times, 3 weeks each time, and then he was able to feel the flows, sometimes the flows were the the same as in the meridian system, and sometimes they differed a little bit.
Sadaki also told us that Jiro Murai did some automatic writing – he visited the shrine in Ise, and was praying that he would be able to understand the Kojiki, what came through the automatic writing was the trinity flows.

The 5 elements in your body (Formula to Good Health pt1 + pt 2)

A video about how to balance yin and yang, very briefly, but it has a lot of correlations with Jin Shin Jyutsu – I think it’s interesting to study other similar modalities too, to see where the differences and similarities are…

Macrobiotic compared to the 5 elements

So, I have checked out the website http://www.macroschool.co.uk a little bit more, Oliver Cowmeadow is one of the teachers there. He is a shiatsu therapist and founder of the Holistic Cooking school, among other things.
I feel that the way Oliver describes how we can use food to support and strengthen our five elements is something I want to explore further, so I am in the process of signing up for a class, and I have bought four books so far (the books they advice you to study before coming to a class in Devon, UK, where they are located.

The books I have bought so far are:
“Food and healing” by Annemarie Colbin (Kindle version, so I can start to read it immediately 🙂

those other books are regular books, so I have to wait for getting them delivered…

“Yin & Yang: A guide to eating a balanced & healthy diet” by Oliver Cowmeadow

“Macrobiotics for beginners” by Jon Sandifer

“The self healing cookbook” by Kristina Turner

I’m looking forward to study the principles for macrobiotics, and how it goes together with the five elements, I will keep you posted about it. I wanted to find out more about this since I bought the book by Sensei Haruki Kato (when I visited the Jin Shin Jyutsu institute in Scottsdale, AZ, last summer) – here’s one quote from his book (text 1):

“I continued to do clinical work with Jin Shin Jyutsu after Master Murai passed away in 1960, but I ran into a wall and was in a state of agony for a while because I could not solve problems with Jin Shin Jyutsu alone. During that period I happened to pick up a book about macrobiotics called “Food that transforms your body” by Master Michimasa Nishizawa. I was deeply impressed with the message that touched the essence of Chinese medicine”

I’ve tried to find Nishizawa’s book, but haven’t been successful so far, but I guess that those other books will do as well, as it must be a common knowledge among those who follows a macrobiotic diet.

A video with Jill Pasquinelli about Jin Shin Jyutsu

Here’s a video with Jill Pasquinelli about Jin Shin Jyutsu, in English but with subtitles in Portugese (made in Brazil)

Jill is one of the 24 certified Jin Shin Jyutsu instructors (trained through the Jin Shin Jyutsu institute in Scottsdale, Arizona)
Here you can read a little bit more about her:
http://www.jsjinc.net/bio.php?id=22

and here you can check out her classes and workshops:
http://www.jsjinc.net/instructor-courses.php?id=22

The 5 elements presented by Oliver Cowmeadow

Found some videos by Oliver Cowmeadows, he opened a school for shiatsu therapists in Devon, and also the Holistic Cooking School – I feel that his way of combining the eastern way of alternative medicine and nutrition is something we might need to do more here in the Western world…  I will explore his websites more, will share more later, at the moment I’m sharing those links to the websites:

http://www.macrobiotics.org.uk/practitioner/73/Oliver-Cowmeadow

http://www.macroschool.co.uk

Since he is a shiatsu practitioner, he has a little bit different view of what goes together with what, compared to Jin Shin Jyutsu, but it’s very interesting to see where the similarities are, and where it is differing, I feel it can be very helpful to understand Jin Shin Jyutsu more, from his point of view anyway.
And he talks about food and nourishment, which Jin Shin Jyutsu don’t, (except from Haruki Kato, when he mentioned macrobiotics in his book) I feel that the food we eat is very important, so we might need to adress that more in Jin Shin Jyutsu as well.

You can find several videos/lectures at youtube, here is the first in a serie of lectures:

and here’s part 2, the video about water/kidney/bladder:

and part 3, about tree – chinese medicine call it tree/wood, Jin Shin Jyutsu call it blood (liver and gallbladder):

part 4, about fire/heart/small intestine:

part 5, earth/spleen/stomach:

part 6, metal in chinese medicine, which is air in Jin Shin Jyutsu:

PRACTICING THE ART OF JIN SHIN JYUTSU: Frequently Asked Questions

I have been to a number of 5-day classes, and have been noticing that there are some questions that often are asked by people who take the 5-day class for the first time, about when they can start getting clients, what to charge, and so on. Some of these questions are answered here by David Burmeister, director of the Jin Shin Jyutsu institute in Scottsdale:

FAQ

1. When am I able to practice Jin Shin Jyutsu on a professional basis and refer to myself as a Jin Shin Jyutsu student practitioner?

Answer: First of all, we encourage you to use your jumper cables with friends and family members from the beginning. However, since such a volume of material is covered in the seminar, and no test is given to measure one’s understanding, we feel that we cannot certify any student practitioner’s abilities. What we provide is a certificate of attendance after completing your first and third 5-Day basic seminars. If you choose to practice the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu on others, please be aware that you are fully responsible for your own actions. Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc. does not assume any responsibility for any type of loss or injury to you or to others. Many student practitioners purchase liability insurance. One insurance source is the ABMP, as mentioned in our brochures. We encourage new students not to hurry through the process of completing their first three classes. Generally, a period of approximately 18 months is the minimum suggested amount of time recommended to complete your first three 5-Day basic seminars. If you intend to practice professionally, we encourage regular attendance of our classes and recognize the need for experience before one begins a practice. Please check with your state and local authorities regarding what is required to practice this type of modality in your community.

2. Is a Jin Shin Jyutsu certificate the same as a license?

Answer: No. The certificate issued by Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc. is a certificate of attendance, certifying that you attended a minimum number of classes. The certificate does not constitute a license, such as those required by state or municipal governments for massage therapists. Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc. does not test for proficiency nor do background checks on its students. As mentioned above, please check with your state and local authorities.

3. What should I charge for a Jin Shin Jyutsu session?

Answer: Fees charged for a Jin Shin Jyutsu session tend to vary according to the location and experience of the student practitioner. (For instance, Mary Burmeister’s associates at the Scottsdale office charge $75 per session.) Factors such as license and permit costs, local cost of living, expenses for an office, and the extra expense of house calls can all influence a student practitioner’s fee. (Also, we have found that Jin Shin Jyutsu practiced at luxury resorts and health spas is often priced much higher than fees of a private student practitioner.) Keeping all of this in mind, we encourage student practitioners to keep prices affordable, because modest pricing (and even a sliding scale) keeps Jin Shin Jyutsu more accessible.

4. What terminology is appropriate to use as a student practitioner?

Answer: Mary Burmeister and Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc. do not use terms, concepts, and practices that are closely associated with the medical profession, such as “therapy,” “diagnosis,” etc. We do not make claims to “cure” or to be a substitute for appropriate medical care. Indeed, the use of such terms or the making of such claims may be illegal. However, we believe Jin Shin Jyutsu profoundly supports the healing process of body, mind and spirit, and is a valuable complement to, not necessarily a replacement for, conventional healing methods.

5. Can I use the name Jin Shin Jyutsu and its Kanji (Japanese characters) on my business card?

Answer: The name Jin Shin Jyutsu and the Kanji are valuable assets of Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc. and serve to identify and distinguish the Art brought to us by Master Jiro Murai and Mary Burmeister from other modalities which are practiced by people who neither understand nor share our values and teachings. It is our policy to allow the limited use of our above registered name and logos to those who have completed the five-day basic seminar at least three times with the understanding that the student practitioner is wholly responsible for his or her actions and will indemnify Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc. and its affiliates from any and all liability to the student practitioner and third parties.

When using the name Jin Shin Jyutsu and the Kanji, always identify them with the trademark symbol ®, and use them only in connection with the practice of the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu as given to us by Master Jiro Murai and Mary Burmeister. We encourage qualified student practitioners to use the logos on stationery, business cards, promotional flyers, etc., together with the trademark symbol. Of course, Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc. reserves the right to revoke the right to use any of the registered trademarks if the marks are not being used in a manner consistent with the Blessings of the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu or do not meet Jin Shin Jyutsu’s standards of quality, or for other reasons which are in the best interest of Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc.

6. How may I inform people about Jin Shin Jyutsu?

Answer: Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc. has a practitioner information brochure used to introduce Jin Shin Jyutsu to others. We also have introductory materials such as The Touch of Healing, Mary Burmeister’s 3 Self-Help books, and TheArt of Living video. You are not permitted to copy or otherwise reproduce any of our materials without our written consent to do so. We will happily permit you to write and publish articles in your community, provided that we are given the opportunity in advance to review and approve those articles. Public speaking about Jin Shin Jyutsu and offering Self-Help classes are excellent ways to introduce Jin Shin Jyutsu to others.

7. Who is authorized to teach Jin Shin Jyutsu?

Answer: Currently Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc. has contracted and authorized twenty-three instructors to present Jin Shin Jyutsu materials, including Text 1 & 2. The currently authorized instructors are: Muriel Carlton, Philomena Dooley, Wayne Hackett, Cynthia Broshi, Petra Elmendorff, Carlos Gutterres, Sara Harper, Ian Harris, Mona Harris, Jennifer Holmes, Iole Lebensztajn, Nathalie Max, Birgitta Meinhardt, Jill Marie Pasquinelli (Holden), Waltraud Riegger-Krause, Matthias Roth, Jed Schwartz, Susan Schwartz, Margareth Serra, Carlyse Smyth, Michael Wenninger and Anita Willoughby. The above-mentioned individuals are the only instructors (of text materials), other than Mary Burmeister, recognized by Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc. Therefore, as discussed in the Presenting Self-Help Classes section below, those qualified students may teach others to perform Self-Help utilizing Jin Shin Jyutsu but are not permitted to teach anyone to perform Jin Shin Jyutsu on others or from the text books.

PRESENTING SELF-HELP CLASSES

1. At what point can I help others through a Self-Help class?

Answer: We believe a Self-Help class should be facilitated only by students who have at least a basic understanding of the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu. We have found that students who have completed the 5-Day Basic Seminar at least 3 times along with the Living the Art Seminar at least once generally have the basic understanding necessary to facilitate Self-Help classes using Mary Burmeister’s three Self-Help books. The prerequisite for teaching Jin Shin Jyutsu Self-Help is a minimum of three 5-Day basic seminars and one Living The Art (LTA) class.

2. Are there any other considerations I should know about before presenting Self-Help Jin Shin Jyutsu to others?

Answer: Please use our name and trademark properly when producing brochures or flyers about your class. We do ask that you clearly refer to yourself as a Self-Help instructor (preferably including the words “Self-Help” in the title). Please contact the Scottsdale office if you have any questions.

If you present a Self-Help class, please communicate to students that, while this instruction is intended to assist them in helping themselves (and perhaps friends and family), it is not intended to prepare them to practice Jin Shin Jyutsu on others or to share Jin Shin Jyutsu with others in a professional capacity (such as a student practitioner or instructor). We suggest that you make available the latest seminar calendar brochure to help students differentiate between the levels of training.

We thank you for your loving participation in sharing the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu. We know that our community will continue to flourish with your collective support and dedication.

Lovingly,

David Burmeister
Director, Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc.

http://www.jsjinc.net/pagedetails.php?id=studypath&ms=1

Jin Shin Jyutsu self-help book by Waltraud Riegger Krause

If you understand German you can buy Waltraud Riegger Krause’s book:

Jin Shin Jyutsu: Die Kunst der Selbstheilung durch Auflegen der Hände

it has a lot of photos, so it will be easy to understand where you should put your hands.  The book is in the process of being translated into English, but until then you can buy it on Amazon

Jin Shin Jyutsu Selfhelp

Came across a pdf about self-help, wanted to share it with you:

Click to access JSJGentleTouch-SelfHelpCancer.pdf

Just a reminder about how we use Jin Shin Jyutsu:
The information provided on this site is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. You should not use the information on this site for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment. You should consult with a physician before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or if you have or suspect you may have a health problem. You should not stop taking any medication without first consulting your doctor.

An Interview with Mary Burmeister, Master of Jin Shin Jyutsu®

När jag träffar folk som håller på med Jin Shin Jyutsu så är det ofta så att dom inte vet så mycket om Mary Burmeister, kvinnan som “tog med sig” Jin Shin Jyutsu från Japan till västvärlden, som en “gåva” från Jiro Murai – han som återupptäckte den här bortglömda metoden i början på 1900-talet. Här är en intervju/artikel med Mary, postad på Jin Shin Jyutsu institutets hemsida:
http://www.jsjinc.net/pagedetails.php?id=about-mary

^{Interview by Melissa Higgins}

^{Edited version of an article published in the March/April 1988 issue of Yoga Journal}

The tiny, energetic woman placed one of my hands in hers, grasping my forefinger firmly but not tightly. Her eyes sparkled as she looked into mine and said, “See? Isn’t that simple?” Miraculously, the tension of months of work disappeared. It was Jin Shin Jyutsu^® in action, she explained.

Categorizing Jin Shin Jyutsu can be as difficult as pigeonholing its one-woman leading force, Mary Burmeister. More than a style of bodywork, it’s a philosophy of life taught by a master who lives her philosophy.

Burmeister describes Jin Shin Jyutsu (which means “art of the Creator through compassionate man” in Japanese) as a “physio-philosophy” that is used by everyone unconsciously, doesn’t “do” anything, yet encompasses everything. “I call it the art of life, the art of life itself. It is the whole cosmos and cannot be categorized,” Burmeister explains.

The purpose of Jin Shin Jyutsu is to release the tensions that cause various physical symptoms. The body, Burmeister teaches, contains energy pathways that feed life into all cells. When one or more of these paths become blocked, the damming effect can lead to discomfort or pain. Jin Shin Jyutsu,  reharmonizes and balances the energy flows.

Recently I participated in Burmeister’s five-day Jin Shin Jyutsu course to learn more about this little-known “art” from the Orient. Although she has a large and loyal following, Burmeister keeps a low public profile and, until now, has never allowed an interview.

Based on ancient knowledge of the body and creation, Jin Shin Jyutsu was passed down orally from one generation to the next and had virtually disappeared in Japan when it was rediscovered in the early 1900s by Jiro Murai, a Japanese philosopher. As a young man, Murai contracted what was diagnosed as a terminal illness. He asked his family to take him to the mountains and leave him in solitude for seven days.

In a feverish state, Murai imagined sages in spiritual meditation using hand mudras, which he applied to himself as he went in and out of consciousness. By the seventh day he was completely healed, and he vowed to spend the rest of his life studying the connection between his amazing recovery and the mudras he had used.

Searching for answers, Murai studied the Bible (which he translated himself) and ancient Chinese, Greek, and Indian texts. But it was the Kojiki, the Japanese “Record of Ancient Things,” that opened the door for him.

“He unraveled the mystery of a plain, old story, the Kojiki, which describes creation in allegories,” says Burmeister. “He read into the words.”

From his study of the Kojiki and his 50 years of personal experimentation, Murai concluded that Jin Shin Jyutsu was more than a philosophy of the body.

“Murai studied the Chinese acupressure points, then took them a step further by experimenting on himself and fasting. He compared what he experienced to the ancient acupuncture writings and compared them to what he felt. His experiences were much deeper than what he found in the writings. There is an awareness in Jin Shin Jyutsu that is deeper than technique,” Burmeister says.

Theories of the body and philosophies of creation were far from Burmeister’s mind when she met Murai in the late 1940s. A first-generation Japanese-American born in Seattle, she went to Japan to learn Japanese, not to study Jin Shin Jyutsu. “A young lady came to me and asked me to tutor her in English,” Burmeister recalls. “It was through this casual meeting that some months later I met Jiro Murai at her home. The first words he said to me were, ‘How would you like to study with me to take a gift from Japan to America?’ I had no idea what he was talking about, but I went to hear him speak and knew I would stay to listen. I studied with him in Japan for five years, then in America through correspondence for seven more years.”

It was 17 years, however, before Burmeister started sharing Jin Shin Jyutsu with others. “I just felt I had to know something before I could say I knew it. Then I realized you can’t say you ever really know an art like this. One day I found myself timidly putting my hand out to a neighbor with a back problem and saying, ‘Maybe I can help you.’ After five years of working with her, I moved, and she then went back to her chiropractor, who called me soon after and requested that we meet. The chiropractor became my first student.

“After two years of sharing with the chiropractor, I started to translate and write down what I had learned from Jiro Murai. I’d stay up late at night after taking care of the children, writing and making drawings. The chiropractor said she had a few colleagues with whom she’d like me to share Jin Shin Jyutsu. Our group grew to about six students, including a psychologist, a physician, and another chiropractor. That’s how it began.”

Burmeister explains that our revitalizing energy, which flows up the back and down the front of the body, can become blocked in 26 “safety energy locks,” or what she terms “specialists,” located throughout the body and in the organs themselves.

“As we abuse our bodies in our daily routines, mentally, emotionally, digestively, or physically, our safety energy locking system becomes activated,” says Burmeister. “This is simply to let us know we are abusing our bodies.”

A flow can be unblocked through a sequence of steps, or through a “quickie” step as simple as grasping a finger. The revitalizing energy then flows through the hands, or what Burmeister calls the “jumper cables,” and can penetrate through clothing, even a brace or a cast.

“Light pressure goes through the skin and into the bone. If pain is present, it’s because there is blockage and the pain is coming from the person, not the pressure. We don’t have to dig into the very marrow of the bone. All we have to do is take away the dams.”

Burmeister says that in Jin Shin Jyutsu there is no diagnosing, healing, or curing. “Some of you can go out today and look at the book and try this out. But you’re not doing it, it’s the light and the ‘specialist’ that are doing it. And the person you’re working on says, ‘Hey, my headache’s gone.’ But it’s not you who’s done it, it’s the ‘specialist’ on step one, step two, step three, that’s cleaning the debris for that particular complaint. We cannot do wrong because we are not doing anything. We are only jumper cables.”

“Not doing anything” while at the same time doing something is one of several paradoxes in Jin Shin Jyutsu. Despite its esoteric principles, however, Burmeister maintains that Jin Shin Jyutsu is an inborn art that anyone can learn without much training.

“Plato said, ‘Learning is remembering.’ There’s nothing we have to learn. We’re always utilizing part of Jin Shin Jyutsu naturally, but as soon as we come into the world, it’s ‘gotta get,’ ‘gotta go,’ ‘gotta get your education,’ and the skill lies dormant.”

A student with a sprained ankle tells Burmeister that after her accident she has developed a habit of holding her wrist “That’s helping the sprained ankle,” Burmeister replies. “We carry a baby a certain way, and that’s helping the little one without our knowing why. When a baby sucks its thumb, we tell it, ‘No, no, that’s wrong,’ but the baby is telling us about its needs. It’s in need of real energy, or its digestion needs help. Sucking the thumb helps the baby’s nervous and muscular systems. As adults, we can hold the thumb and get the same result.”

Burmeister says that Jin Shin Jyutsu not only aids the body, but changes the attitudes that underlie the physical symptoms. “Jin Shin Jyutsu helps everything from head to toe and toe to head. There are 27 trillion cells in the body, and if we smile, all 27 trillion cells smile with us. This is how we help ourselves in health.

“A five-year-old girl came in for a session with her parents. At the first session she was unhappy, all frowns. After the third session, she smiled at her mother and said, ‘I love life.’ Isn’t that dynamic?”

During the five days of class, Burmeister shared other success stories. A woman in a wheelchair whose hands were stiff with arthritis was unable to enjoy her favorite hobby, knitting. A friend who was familiar with Jin Shin Jyutsu told her about holding the fingers. A few days later, after using Jin Shin Jyutsu on herself every night, the woman was knitting again.

A teenager working in a fast-food restaurant burned his arm in a vat of hot oil. His mother, a student of Burmeister’s, placed her hands gently on his calves, the location specified in Jin Shin Jyutsu for helping skin ailments. The next morning, not only had all signs of the burn disappeared, but his complexion had cleared up as well.

Amazing as these stories are, I wondered how any kind of body therapy that didn’t include direct and deep manipulation of the spine or muscles could be so effective. Although I felt tension disappear when Burmeister held my finger, I was not completely convinced.

Then I experienced a full Jin Shin Jyutsu treatment firsthand. In a class practice session, Burmeister took one look at me and said, “You’re a ‘doer.’ You’re always out in the world trying to get things done, rather than relaxing and letting things be.”

From observing my body – the bend of my toes, my hands held over my stomach, my left shoulder higher than the right – Burmeister seemed to know almost everything about me. Yet she insists there is nothing unusual in what she does.

“When someone comes in for a session, I know the way they eat, I know what their needs are. And they say, ‘Gee, you’re psychic.’ I’m not psychic. There’s nothing mysterious about it. I’m just reading what the body is telling me.”

At Burmeister’s direction, one student placed her fingers under the back of my neck and another held my big toe and ankle. Two students on either side of my body each put a hand under my back. Then one of these students grasped my inner thigh at the knee, and the other put his free hand on top of my calf. Over the next 20 minutes I felt the tension in my back muscles melt away. Gurgles rose up from the depths of my torso. Toes and fingers twitched and moved. My breathing became deeper and more even. In general, I felt a sense of calmness, balance, and well-being. Even the puffiness in my cheeks disappeared.

Other students experienced their own small successes. Obviously something was working, but would the results last?

“The physical, mental, and emotional may be cleaned up for now,” Burmeister says, “but if we go out and dirty it up again, we need to clean up the dirt, dust, and grime again. That’s all it is. You’ll just come in for more housecleaning, or you’ll do it yourself.”

Although dedicated to her work, Burmeister is hesitant to promote Jin Shin Jyutsu as a business. She does no advertising for her courses or private practice in Arizona, yet her classes fill quickly with students from around the world, and new clients have to wait up to one year for treatment. Watching and talking with Burmeister, I soon understood why: By living the simplicity, calmness, patience, and self-containment that lie at the heart of Jin Shin Jyutsu, she has become its best promoter.

“In Jin Shin Jyutsu there are no teachers or masters, they are all the same. I always say, ‘Be the example.’ We don’t have to preach to other people. When people see me and say, ‘You’re so calm and relaxed. How do you do it, are you on pills or something?’ Then I can tell them about the hands. The jumper cables are the light. I’ve been studying for 30 years, and I know nothing.

“I don’t see a future. I’m just in the now. Whatever direction it is, so it is. Whatever direction comes up, that’s what I am. We’re having this interview because David (her son and business manager) said it’s time to get out a little bit more. I never butt into God’s plans, I just go along with what is. Life is not a struggle, life is enjoying the now. It’s simple.”