Jin Shin
What is the Art of Jin Shin?
The Art of Jin Shin is an Energy Healing modality that originated in Japan. This beautiful art harmonizes body, mind, and spirit by using our own hands.
- The Art of Jin Shin is a Universal Healing Art that stems from the ancient traditions. It originated in Japan and harmonizes body, mind and spirit by using our hands
- We use our hands and apply them to different locations (SELs) on the body to allow for free flow of energy. As a result, the body can function optimally and heal itself
- The work encourages a life of simplicity, calmness, patience and self-containment
- The Art of Jin Shin is simple, effective and anyone can practice. You can also apply it to a loved one
- It is the philosophy and spirit of the work, not the technique, that attracts people to the Art of Jin Shin
The Art of Jin Shin can be easily practiced on oneself. As a matter of fact, it is an integral part of the art. A daily maintenance program as well as a specific individual program can be designed by you or your practitioner. You can practice on yourself as a way to maintain harmony in your body and break down new and old congestions. There is no time limit on how much time one can spend applying the Art of Jin Shin to oneself.
It takes 20 minutes to complete one circulation pattern. You can also hold a SEL (location) or finger for a couple of minutes. Point being that if you apply your hands, you are practicing the Art of Jin Shin. It is interesting to observe that we give ourselves Jin Shin without even being aware of it. We naturally hold certain fingers or SEL’s (locations) as we know subconsciously what needs to be harmonized. It is an innate part of our wisdom, we are all born with this knowledge. How often do we see a baby suck her/his thumb? This is exactly what the baby needs. There are many other examples.
The Art of Jin Shin is about self-study and becomes a way of life. Listening, observing and studying oneself on a spiritual, mental, emotional and physical level is the key to knowing and helping oneself. The Art of Jin Shin teaches us how to energize, support and harmonize our total body.
In the Art of Jin Shin, the practitioner uses both hands (referred to as “jumper cables”) to hold a combination of Safety Energy Locations. SELs are the area in the body that can become congested and can lock up. When this happens energy cannot flow freely and disharmony or dis-ease may occur. There are 26 SELs on the right- and 26 SELs on the left side of our body. When all 26 SELs are open there is harmony in our total being.
As the SELs release and balance is restored, the client experiences physical, mental and spiritual harmony. By using our hands and placing them on certain areas, we can open the SELs and release the congestion. The energy flow can now move uninterrupted, down the front and up the back. When all the energy is flowing in harmony, there is a sense of well-being and happiness. It is in this state that healing can occur.
The work encourages a life of simplicity, calmness, patience and self-containment. It is the philosophy and spirit of the work, not the technique, that attracts people to the Art of Jin Shin.
Jin Shin Institute (New York City)
In January of 2015, Alexis Brink became the chosen successor of Jin Shin Institute by Pamela Markarian Smith. Alexis uses the heritage of Master Jiro Murai’s work and holds the same philosophy as Mary Burmeister and Pamela Markarian Smith. It is with humility and honor, and through her love for the Art of Jin Shin, that she will continue the legacy.
The core of the Institute’s work consists of education as well as our wellness center, we offer a certification program for novice and seasoned practitioners.
Presenting the Art of Jin Shin in all of its breath is among our foremost goals, which is why we have made certain modifications to the terminology in order to reach a wider audience. For instance, those of you who have familiarity with the modality will know it as Jin Shin Jyutsu. In order to avoid a common source of confusion, we changed “Jyutsu” to its English translation, “art,” removing echoes to a martial art.
Offerings at Jin Shin Institute
Virtual Private Sessions
Live virtual classes
Monthly Study Circles
Textbooks + Self Help Guides
Self Help Courses + Training Programs
Online Webinars + Workshops
Certified Practitioner
Training Curriculum
NCBTMB℠ Continuing Education for Massage Therapists
History of the ART of JIN SHIN
Passed down through generations and across centuries, earlier incarnations of the Japanese healing art of Jin Shin Jyutsu existed long before the births of Buddha and Moses. By the early 20th century, these energetic healing practices had virtually disappeared from oral history and from Japanese culture. Credit for their rediscovery goes to Master Jiro Murai.
The second son from a prominent family of medical professionals, Master Murai had succumbed to the excesses of an immoderate lifestyle. By the age of twenty-six, the young man found himself near death, his body strained by frequent overconsumption of food and drink. Despite the legions of doctors in his orbit, no cure could be found and his condition was deemed terminal.
Master Murai decided to attempt to heal himself after reading about effective healing practices such as meditation, fasting, and mudras. Due to his weakened state, he asked to be carried on a stretcher to his family’s mountain cabin, and told his relatives to check on him again in eight days’ time. During the acute stages of his illness, Master Murai came to the realization that the Buddha had attained enlightenment after a week of practicing Zen sitting and fasting. As Master Murai passed in and out of consciousness, he had visions of spiritual guides practicing healing hand postures—called mudras—the ancient finger positions said to stimulate the movement of cosmic energy through the body.
Miraculously, he began to heal as he fasted and meditated and started practicing the mudras on himself. Once fully recovered, he vowed to spend his life uncovering the connection between the hand mudras and the movement of energy in the body, and his remarkable journey back to health. He studied the Bible and ancient Chinese, Greek, and Indian texts and began to use his findings to help others. After treating the brother of Japan’s Emperor Hirohito, he was awarded access to the Kojiki—a sacred Japanese text written in 712 AD—in the archives of the Imperial Palace. This famous collection of ancient Japanese myths and historical records unlocked the final key, providing information on the origins, philosophy, and techniques of the mudras he had utilized to heal himself. Using all the material he had uncovered, he spent the rest of his life conducting extensive experiments and doing research, eventually naming his technique Jin Shin Jyutsu—translated as “the art of the creator through the compassionate person.” The technique was popularized and spread primarily through two students of Master Murai’s: Mary Burmeister, a Japanese-American woman who brought the practice to the United States, and Haruki Kato, who practiced in Japan.