Helpful Instruction for Self Help Acupressure
Cindy Mason, CMT, Ph.D., State Certified Health Educator
www.21stcenturymed.org
011-1-650-919-4787
email: info@21stcenturymed.org

These directions are for the ancient Japanese healing art known as Jin Shin Jyutsu, which translates as spirit of compassion working through the art of man. It is shared by Japan and America, Jiro Murai and Mary Burmeister. I am a teacher of Self Help and I hope to share a few useful things that you can use to help yourself.

• How to Hold?   You may hold the area with the palms of the fingers, the thumb, the palm of the hand, the back of the hand, whatever is comfortable... I have even seen some people hold the areas with their feet if that is comfortable.

• Its important to relax while you are doing the self care to allow the most efficient use of the time.
• What to expect in your hands(what you might feel or experience while you do these practices)
• sometimes you might notice sensations in your hands. often, we feel heat, or a sensation of "buzzing", there might also be heat coming up out of the tissue you are making contact with. notice the quality of the tissue you are feeling. is it "gummy", "wirey", "fluffy", "squishy" est. as you do these you will begin to "know" with your body a new way of understanding yourself. sometimes you may notice your tummy gurgles, other people may twitch and move or twitch, kind of like as if you were sleeping deeply.
• How long should I hold a place? 
• Stay with the area as long as you like, you will know when it is time to move on or you are finished. the same way you know a hug is finished.

You may not notice anything the first few times you hold some areas. that is ok, give yourself time. there is, I think, a bit of a training effect in that the more often you do the self care, the more responsive we learn to be to it, the more we can perceive it in our bodies.  Its not so much about the technique, but about the experience when you do it... and the more you let yourself practice, the more interesting and helpful it can be.

There is sometimes a pulse that can be felt. this is also natural.

It is hard to know if it is the pulse of your hand or the pulse of the area you are holding. its not so much important to figure out that out but to experience the pulse and its quality, the tempo, the strength. whether it is present then absent and present again, whether it "synchs up" in your hands, and if it stays in synch. if you can feel these pulses, all the better, but it is not necessary to receive the benefits of the self care recipes.

• What you may experience?

You may experience a sense of inner quiet or peacefulness, a sinking into relaxation feeling, it may seem as if you are feeling sleepy, and its ok to actually fall asleep. allow yourself to feel whatever comes up, because it is part of your body's own healing process. sometimes, tears flow, as we let go of disharmony and tension. sometimes we see some of our selves, our inner truths, and find wisdom.

Give yourself a chance to move into relaxing, exhale,  let your hands rest on an area long enough to give the body a chance to understand what is happening. initially you might want to massage the area  or comb through, waking up the attention of the nervous sysem to this area of the body you are calling attention to. notice if you are tender or sore in the area. try to keep yourself comfortable, give yourself time and quiet if possible.  Relax
the jaw, relax the throat, the collar bone... relax the breath.  Relax the ribs, let each vertebra release, relax the tailbone.  Relax your elbow and your knuckles.   Relax all your joints.   Release your calves, and your ankles.  Relax your toes.