Need a hug? The power of touch and Jin Shin Jyutsu

I met Eve at my last weekend retreat, little did I know, that she was such a wealth of knowledge when it came to body and energy work. 

Eve practices Jin Shin Jyutsu, the ancient Japanese art of harmonising the life energy in the body. 

I was surprised by how gentle this practice is, less invasive than a massage and very peaceful.

In this weeks podcast episode Eve explains all about this therapeutic practice, and I share my experience as a client of Eve’s.

You can listen to the full podcast episode here.

Check out this clip where Eve shares a wonderful technique for giving yourself a hug.

Or if you prefer to read here is the transcript of our conversation:

So nice to see your face Eve.

Thank you. It’s lovely to see you. And you had a good treatment. I know you did.

I enjoyed that treatment. It was so nice. But I did actually feel I don’t know if it’s unblocked something. But I’ve had a weird couple of weeks. You know? I think everyone has this going on. But yet, so definitely. I guess I felt like a lot of emotion coming up.

It does do that sometimes. Especially if it needs to.

I did. I did. quite hard.

And then maybe having to deal with it on your own or without too many people around is even more difficult. Yeah, no distractions.

So have are you not working at the moment in your gym? No?

I’m not at the moment, the gym is shut. But I am still working because I do all my own classes online like this.

Here in my little studio behind me in my front room. So yeah, I do get that connection, which is really nice. I get to see everyone in my classes. And that really keeps me going. I think. I think it’d be really difficult if I didn’t have that. I’d find it very difficult.

It is about keeping in touch. There’s nothing like the energy in the room when you’re all together.

Yeah. And obviously, that’s not possible at the moment, unfortunately. But I’m really hoping that everything passes now, you know that we get all this out of the way so that in January, we get to do our retreat? Yes. On the ninth and the 10th. So I’m really excited about that.

So Eve, if you’re happy to I can record this as a podcast episode and you can tell me a bit about the work that you do and how you help people.

Well, they help themselves by coming to me. It isn’t me that does the work. It’s their bodies.

I’m just like a little key if you like, or maybe not even that maybe just by using the flows in the right place because their body is telling me which ones to even use. That’s how they get what they need. And you don’t always get what you want now? You quite often get what you need.

So could you just explain what is the practice that you share with your clients?

The practice is called Jin Shin Jyutsu. It’s a physio philosophy. An ancient art of harmonising the life energy of the body. It’s been here since the birth of Buddha. And it was brought back to life in Japan in the early 1900s, a Japanese lady who lived in America went back to Japan, and then she married a GI. And she went back to America, she was released from her training with the Master, because she said, “You have to follow your heart”. But he asked us to take a gift to America. And she said yes. And she didn’t realise what it was. But it was this. And he said, translate it in a way that the Western world would understand. And it was his gift to the west.

So it came to the United States in about 1950. And she devoted the rest of her life to translating it, training her core tutors to teach it. And it spread quite a lot through the states, and all over the world. Now people are practising.

How did you find it Eve? How did you come across Jin Shin Jyutsu?

Well, years and years ago, I was an aromatherapist and reflexologist doing and acupressure. And you have to do continuing professional development and I was introduced to Jin Shin Jyutsu. And I tell you, it just caught me so hard. I thought Yes! This is what I need to be doing. And studying. So that’s what I did. Yeah, I’m still studying. Even though I started in 2001. The thing is, you never stopped learning. You’re always a student.

I find it very humbling this treatment. It’s it’s all about taking the self out of it.

There are 26 safety energy locks and energy pathways that feed life into our bodies. When one of these paths become blocked, the resulting stagnation can disrupt the local area. And eventually, the energy will back up and back up along the pathway. So other things get blocked. And holding these energy locks in certain combinations can bring balance back to mind, body and spirit.

What is the energy that you are talking about Eve, would you do you call it Chi?

We call it energy.

In yoga we have we talked about the energy flowing and it being called prana. And in some of the Chinese modalities it’s referred to as Chi. And I just wonder if it’s the same premise, you know, that there’s it’s just a, it’s the same.

It’s the same whatever modality working energy is energy is energy. Yes. The energy of the breath, the energy of the body. Yeah, the breath of life.

Lifeforce. Yeah, Yeah, that’s how I always imagine it like a kind of the life force, the thing that we can’t see, we can’t touch. It can’t be measured as such in the scientific way. But you know, you can’t deny the fact that we are alive. And other things are alive. And there’s this. We don’t know what it is really. But it’s,

I like that. Without that breath. Are we not lifeless?

Exactly.

Yeah. It’s, it’s, it’s as profound as that.

I practice on my I do self help on myself. So it’s some. I mean, every day we do things, we think things we eat things, we bump into things or people or, and every one of those things has an effect on us in some way. Yeah. Yeah, that’s so true.

I found that it was a very, very gentle treatment, and a very gentle practice, which I feel is something that is potentially very appealing to people who might not be so keen on going for these, you know, big massages, you know, and quite, you know, where you get manipulated quite a lot. And I was just really, so surprised at how powerful it felt even though it was so very, very gentle.

Yes, it is. Yeah. It is gentle. It’s not meant to be intrusive for Yeah. You’re not meant to feel invaded with it?

And and it’s just this very, very peaceful. Practice, isn’t it at where you’re placing your hands? In the certain places? Yes. To work with these energy locks?

Yes. I guess to clear. Yes. Yes, you do a combination. And and the energy starts to flow again. And then the body feels very different.

We were just saying at the beginning. It does it work on an emotional level as well. Would you say?

Mental, emotional, spiritual? ethereal? Yeah.

I love the way that you share it with people in this way. So they are able to do it on themselves. And that’s what you’re going to be doing at the retreat, isn’t it?

Yes. Yep. Yes. I mean, with all these modalities, I have to say, if you have a problem, and you need to see a doctor, do see one.

Yeah, of course.

If you need medical assistance, get it. Yeah. So yes, I will be teaching self help. Some self help there. I might do the fingers. I might work with the main centre, which is our main energy line in the body. And it will be again, simple. Yeah. Yeah. And relaxing.

Yes. So I’m looking forward to doing that. I haven’t done this. I haven’t done I have talked in groups, but not like in a retreat or anything like that. So I’m really looking forward to it.

Yeah, me too. And it’s a lovely space, isn’t it?

Yes. Yeah.Well, luckily, the staff and the room was beautiful. And all that greenery outside. Yes.It is a wonderful venue. Isn’t it? Lovely space. And I felt refreshed after it. So I’m looking forward to doing it again as soon as we can. January. Hope.

Yes. We don’t know where this is going at the moment with all this going on. No. It’s I just feel that people are missing out. Not you know, lots of people are lonely.

I must say that people need touch to stay in touch. Yeah, absolutely keeping in touch. And that’s, I think that’s where it’s come from. Touch is so important.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it’s gonna have some impact on people, for sure. You know? Well on all of us on all of us, but you know, especially for people who are isolated, and don’t necessarily have family around. Yeah. And like you say, touch is important, I think there’s a really great saying that’s like you, I think you need like, 10 hugs a day.

The biggest hug you can give yourself is to put your hands there under your armpit.

Yes. Like that. How does that feel? That’s good. 36 breaths.

Yeah. And you can really feel your breath as well.

You can feel your chest moving. Yeah. And if you’re thinking about the breath, the mind cannot wander. Yeah. But you have to really focus on you can close your eyes and drop the head. It puts a smile on your face.

Its a really lovely, lovely, practical tool for people.

Yes. You could certainly do that in your zoom class.

I have to say I’ve kind of been really thinking about what kind of yoga to share with people at the moment. Because I just feel like it’s almost I’ve got this sense that we need soothing, you know, like, we don’t need to be working really hard, and sweating. We need to be nice and close to the ground and, you know, supported and held and feeling safe and bringing you back into the present. Yeah, so that’s kind of my where my classes have been sort of the way that they’ve been going in over the last couple of weeks and definitely all while we’re in lockdown.

Are you doing anything nice for the rest of the day Eve?

I’m going for cycle.

Every day walking or cycling. And now that we don’t have our little dogs anymore I just find the fresh air so refreshing.

Isn’t it though.

And I and I give gratitude because I can go out and because I can do it. It’s where I’m able to do it. So lots of other people don’t have that opportunity.

Yes, yeah, you’re so right. So, Eve, I’m gonna let you go for your bike ride. And thank you for chatting with me this morning. I’m just wondering if people were interested. Let’s say beyond lockdown. You treat people. You see people, you share with them? On a one to one basis, don’t you? So if people want to contact you for to book an appointment with you? What would be the best way for them to get in touch with you? By telephone?

Yes. It’s very important to pick that phone up and talk. You can hear their voice on the phone. They can hear you. Yes. There’s already an exchange. And the fact that they’ve actually picked the phone up is so focused on doing something for themselves.

Yeah, you’re so right. It’s so easy, isn’t it to slip into I don’t know about you. But I recognise myself. It’s so easy to slip into the bad habit of not phoning people, and just relying on social media, texting emails. Yeah. And you’re so right. It’s such a big difference in actually hearing someones voice.

Yeah. Yeah. That’s really great advice, too. Thank you.