What is Jin Shin?
History is replete with stories and archeological evidence from all over the world showing that touch has been the first and most ubiquitous form of healing traditions.
Every one of us can recall our instinct to immediately place our hands where we feel pain. And we all know how compassionate touch immediately soothes emotional distress.
Jin Shin is the science and art of preserving, restoring, and improving health of mind and body by holding the same acupoints used in acupuncture with each hand, alternating between light and firm touch, until their pulses synchronize, indicating balance and harmony are restored between them and their associated meridians.
I call this method Biofeedback-Modulated Digital Stimulation (BMDS).
Google only references Biofeedback-Modulation Electrical Stimulation, which uses electrostimulation instead of mechanical pressure.
The biofeedback is the blood pressure felt by the fingertips of the provider, and the pressure detected by the mechanoreceptors in the skin, blood vessels, fascia, muscles, tendons, joint capsular tissues, and bones of the recipient.
Blood pressure and mechanoreceptors in both bodies adapt to this interaction as the provider modulates pressure to "chase" the pulses until they synchronize.
Digital refers to the fingers as well as the data that translates to 0's and 1's to the mechanoreceptors that detect Touch, Pressure and Body Position (proprioception).
The mechanical pressure changes the elastic weave of fascia which has piezoelectric properties and generates energy as the matrix tension changes (like a rubber band).
This induces parasympathetic response which relaxes the nerves and fascia, which releases pressure on blood vessels and nerves, allowing cells to get oxygen and nutrients to stimulate ATP production in the mitochondria which energizes, balances, heals, and enlivens the body.
This process induces alpha-theta brain waves and promotes neuroplasticity and increased neural connections so the brain can process more information in more brain regions to improve cognitive, adaptive, and homeostatic functions, problem-solving, decision-making, creativity, and insights that help us with every facet of our lives.
Professional practitioners typically use sequences based on Chinese Medical Analysis. However, ARC uses a "Master Sequence" that balances all the meridians to make it easy for any able pair of people to begin providing this for each other in as little as 30 minutes to make the many benefits of this practice accessible to everyone.
While I strongly encourage people to further their knowledge of this healing tradition through multiple classes and different instructors, my 28+ years experience, and countless practitioners, have affirmed that everyone can experience profound results with minimal training as this tradition taps into ancient wells of wisdom that live within our bodies and have been growing and evolving since the beginning of our universe.
We simply need only to learn how to tune into it.
A very brief history of Jin Shin's origins:
As the story goes, this method was lost for centuries and rediscovered by Jiro Murai in 1912, who eventually called it Jin Shin Jyutsu (JSJ) which translates to, "The art of the Creator through the person of knowing and compassion."
Mary Burmeister and Dr. Haruki Kato were the students who passed on Murai's teaching to the US and Japan respectively in the 1950's.
Iona Teeguarden learned JSJ from Burmeister & Kato in the early 1970's and integrated Reichian theory and other disciplines to develop her own system that she called Jin Shin Do (JSD).
Michael Reed Gach, PhD learned JSD from Teeguarden in the mid-1970's, and taught it as Jin Shin (JS) at his Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, CA, strictly within the Classical and Traditional Chinese Medical systems as opposed to the additional "SEL" points and "flows" as taught by Burmeister.
I completed over 1,000 hours at the Acupressure Institute between 1995 and 2000. Although I don't recall Reichian theory mentioned in particular, all my teachers there emphasized the interactive relationship of the Body and Mind to achieve the deepest and most complete healing possible.
The different approaches developed by these pioneers are why they gave slightly different names to this method that, at its heart, is based on Taoism, Classical and Traditional Chinese Medical Theory, and the universal principles that brought forward hands-on healing in every part of the ancient world. Below, you can explore some of the "basics" upon which Jin Shin is based on.
The Tao
(aka Dao)
Which is defined as:
A simple yet practical way to think of the Tao is as The Song of Life;
and disease results when someone plays a different tune. For a brief overview and history of the Tao, read this article by National Geographic.
To explore the Tao deeper, read this by Taoist Priest, Ted Kardash, Ph.D.
This "Song" is the reality we experience through ALL our senses
as the infinite, interdependent polarities known in Taoism as:
Yin & Yang
There can be no Light without Dark, Sweet without Sour, Joy without Sorrow, Pain without Pleasure, "Me" without "You," "Us" without "Them," "This" without "That," or "Here" without "There."
Nothing can be experienced without the essential contrasts of Yin & Yang.
We cannot know what anything IS until we know what it is NOT.
For example, you wouldn't know you were experiencing pain or joy if you never felt their absence before.
In a sense, Yin & Yang is an elaborate binary reality of 1's and 0's.
Jin Shin helps reveal reality to us by:
1) quieting our mind enough for us to perceive what's within and without, and
2) Bringing us back to Balance by helping our nervous system realize how out of balance we had become.
Qi
氣 Qi (pronounced "chee"), as related to "Qigong," aka Chi,
as related to "Tai Chi," translates simply as “vital life force."
In Classical Chinese Philosophy, Qi is the primal substance
that all things in the universe are made of, the force that
connects and animates everything, and the quality of
relationships between all things in the universe.
This is what George Lucas based "The Force" on in his Star Wars universe.
For a more in-depth review of Qi, click here.
Western scientists created the term “bio-energy” to approximate Qi as a basis for research. However, this only denotes the energy of living organisms and organic processes such as combustion rather than natural phenomena such as water, lightning, wind, mountains, gravity, etc. that exist as a concrescence of the systems that give shape and "life" to all natural phenomena.
Thus bio-energy falls critically short of a proper grasp of Qi to effectively research it in the framework of conventional Western science. The link above reviews these challenges.
Quantum Foam may be a far better equivalent for Qi. Click here to learn more.
However, because Quantum Foam is so small, it presents special challenges in devising studies to explore its potential application to life sciences as it can't be observed directly (so far). Click here for an interactive illustration.
For the purposes of Western science, I propose that Qi is not one substance but the sum of all the biological constituents that collectively produce vibrant health, including ATP, neurotransmitters, hormones, blood, etc.
Qi may yet be an independent phenomenon underlying all constituents of life and physics that we simply have not developed the technology to detect and measure yet. Such was the case for electricity and microorganisms most of history.
Regardless, everyone can learn to perceive and experience Qi directly as millions have done for millennia using the "technology" we're all born with.
Acupoints & Meridians
Acupoints are where blockages occur along the body's meridians -the invisible circuits* conducting our Qi like energetic streams that support all functions of our body and mind.
* A hypothesis has been batted around since around the mid-1980's that the connective tissue called "fascia" -which permeates the body macroscopically and microscopically- may be the anatomical basis for meridians and acupoints. This is a fair premise given restricted fascia can inhibit nerve conductivity, blood flow, and body movement.
The link provided here is a meta-analysis of several studies which are each worth reviewing. This one in particular well explains why this hypothesis provides a good Western framework to research the concept of meridians and acupoints further.
Blockages impede the free flow of Qi, causing an excess of Qi on one side of the point and a deficiency on the other, each causing different symptoms. If left unattended too long, these disruptions become dysfunctions that degenerate our body and mind.
The goal of Jin Shin, Tui Na, Shiatsu, Acupuncture, Qigong, Tai Chi, Diet, and other Taoist Arts (ie. Calligraphy, Feng Shui, Meditation, etc.) is to resolve those blockages to restore balanced flow of Qi throughout the Meridians.
Jin Shin activates sequences of acupoints called Flows along different Meridians according to which symptoms need resolving, which is determined using Chinese Medical Theory principles like 5 Element Theory and Meridian Theory respectively.
Acupoints are like control gates AND software codes. The sequence in which they're activated is like programming a computer.
A Universal Method
Unlimited Applications
"The Meridian is that which decides over life and death.
Through it the hundred diseases may be treated."
- The Yellow Emperor
Jiayijing, Vol. 2, Ch. 1a
In Chinese Medicine, balancing Yin & Yang in the body's Meridians establishes the most fundamental foundation that supports healing and homeostasis just like diet, exercise, hydration, sleep, and massage attenuates virtually all conditions arising from systemic dysfunctions regardless of pathology.
While the principles of this nearly 5,000-year old system of medicine are dauntingly complex, it can be approached with profound simplicity by learning how to let Nature to do its work.
In as little as 10 minutes, one can read the simple instructions I prepared to apply a "Master Flow" to potentially get immediate and even spectacular results.
Simply knowing where and how to place your hands can yield extraordinary results!
Jin Shin helps:
Stabilize Emotions
Maintain Clarity
Promote Creativity
Increase & Sustain Energy
Alleviate Stress
Calm the Nervous System
Reduce Inflammation Strengthen Immunity
Restore Homeostasis
Balance Hormones
Accelerate Healing
and Much More!
It’s no exaggeration to say Jin Shin supports every aspect of one’s life, health and wellbeing.
And, we all have this power -literally at our fingertips!
People simply need a Teacher to show them The Way.
Giving Jin Shin
The process of giving Jin Shin is characterized as an art of "listening" with one's hands -and entire being- to the Recipient, Provider, and the Spirit within, between and beyond them both (the Tao).
Receiving Jin Shin
Jin Shin is traditionally received fully clothed and supine (face up) on a table. While it can be received as a stand-alone treatment, it is generally best to administer it after decompressing joints, increasing blood flow, and relieving physical tension with Tui Na so recipients can relax deeper for Jin Shin to work best.
Although Jin Shin is deeply relaxing, and can leave you feeling a bit spacy after, people quickly feel brighter, clearer, more grounded, centered, energized, and renewed.
Why you haven't heard of Jin Shin before
Jin Shin is taught either as a stand-alone program or as part of a Massage Therapy program. MDs and PhDs rarely encounter this field, and Jin Shin practitioners rarely become MDs or PhDs.
Since Jin Shin is rarely found outside of private practices, very few people outside of clients and practitioners are exposed to it. This art was lost in ancient times due to various sociocultural reasons, and not rediscovered until 1912, while acupuncture remained ubiquitous in Chinese culture since the Shang Dynasty (1600 - 1046 BC). These factors have resulted in there being very few studies on Jin Shin. This perpetuates a self-reinforcing cycle. This page shows the handful of known Jin Shin studies and where it's been integrated into Western Healthcare settings. Since Jin Shin is based on the same theory as acupuncture, we can use the abundance of acupuncture studies to support Jin Shin. Click here for some examples.
However, no acupuncture studies I know of have demonstrated results as remarkable as I observed using Jin Shin. Click here for considerations as to why. No Jin Shin studies like mine have been attempted yet. Determining what distinguishes Jin Shin and/or the protocol I used demands further study.
Proving my protocol's efficacy across multiple conditions has profound implications given it can be learned from a simple set of instructions in as little as 10 minutes by anyone, even children at 7 or older. There are countless studies validating the wide therapeutic value of Meridian Therapy (Acupuncture, Acupressure, Tui Na, Shiatsu, Jin Shin, and ARC), especially when combined with proper nutrition, exercise, massage therapy, physical therapy, and psychotherapy.
The abundance of studies proving acupuncture’s efficacy for conditions that Project ARC evaluates, as well as the other disciplines that ARC integrates, provides confidence in ARC’s therapeutic potential.
Since Jin Shin is rarely found outside of private practices, very few people outside of clients and practitioners are exposed to it. This art was lost in ancient times due to various sociocultural reasons, and not rediscovered until 1912, while acupuncture remained ubiquitous in Chinese culture since the Shang Dynasty (1600 - 1046 BC). These factors have resulted in there being very few studies on Jin Shin. This perpetuates a self-reinforcing cycle. This page shows the handful of known Jin Shin studies and where it's been integrated into Western Healthcare settings. Since Jin Shin is based on the same theory as acupuncture, we can use the abundance of acupuncture studies to support Jin Shin. Click here for some examples.
However, no acupuncture studies I know of have demonstrated results as remarkable as I observed using Jin Shin. Click here for considerations as to why. No Jin Shin studies like mine have been attempted yet. Determining what distinguishes Jin Shin and/or the protocol I used demands further study.
Proving my protocol's efficacy across multiple conditions has profound implications given it can be learned from a simple set of instructions in as little as 10 minutes by anyone, even children at 7 or older. There are countless studies validating the wide therapeutic value of Meridian Therapy (Acupuncture, Acupressure, Tui Na, Shiatsu, Jin Shin, and ARC), especially when combined with proper nutrition, exercise, massage therapy, physical therapy, and psychotherapy.
The abundance of studies proving acupuncture’s efficacy for conditions that Project ARC evaluates, as well as the other disciplines that ARC integrates, provides confidence in ARC’s therapeutic potential.