JSJ history and principles
a brief history
Jin Shin Jyutsu physio-philosophy is an ancient art of harmonizing the life energy in the body. Born of innate wisdom and passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, the Art had fallen into relative obscurity when it was dramatically revived in the early 1900s by Master Jiro Murai in Japan.
After clearing himself of a life-threatening illness, Master Murai devoted the rest of his life to the research and development of Jin Shin Jyutsu, gathering insight from a range of experiences and resources, including the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Things). The resulting knowledge of Jin Shin Jyutsu was then given to Mary Burmeister, who brought it to the United States in the 1950s.
Mary Burmeister began teaching the Art to others in the early 1960s, and today there are thousands of students throughout the United States and around the world. For more information, visit: jsjinc.net.
Excerpted from an article on the Jin Shin Jyutsu website. Copyright© 2002. Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc. All rights reserved. “Jin Shin Jyutsu” is a registered trademark of Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc.
Foundation Principles
The concept of a universal life energy is essential to an understanding of Jin Shin Jyutsu. The primary way that each of us may access this universal life energy is through our conscious breath.
The foundation principles of Jin Shin Jyutsu, as summarized in The Touch of Healing by Alice Burmeister, are:
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- Life energy circulates throughout the universe and within each organism.
- This universal life energy manifests itself in varying levels of density called depths. The breath is the basic expression of life energy, exhaling (releasing) accumulated stress and stagnant energy, inhaling (receiving) an abundance of fresh, vital energy.
- When life energy flows through us without obstruction we are in perfect harmony. Obstructions, which lead to physical, mental and emotional disharmony, arise out of attitudes – our stuck emotions. The five basic attitudes are worry, fear, anger, sadness and pretense.
- Life energy moves through the body in distinct pathways known as flows.
- Life energy moves down the front and up the back in a continuous oval. All aspects of our being are interconnected through this movement of life energy.
- There are twenty-six distinct sites, called safety energy locks, on each side of the body. These safety energy locks act as circuit-breakers to protect the body when energy is blocked. When shut down, they manifest a symptom which serves as both alarm and indication of the source of the imbalance.
- An underlying harmony is always present even when we have symptoms of disharmony. Though disharmonies take many forms (such as illness, fatigue, stress, disillusionment) they all derive from one cause, blocked life energy. Disharmonies are called labels to distinguish them from our essential selves, who we really are. Big, scary labels such as cancer or heart disease indicate a lot of blocked or stuck energy. All labels, big or small, can be helped by freeing up stagnant energy.
- Jin Shin Jyutsu is part of our innate wisdom. We may awaken to this wisdom through conscious breath, through practicing self help and through receiving sessions.
To learn more about Jin Shin Jyutsu, please visit: jsjinc.net.