I want to hold your hand...

Touch is a powerful thing.

We've known this since we were babies. Maybe back then, we knew it even better than we do now.
Many things we do instinctively have healing benefits. Did you know, for example, that simply placing your palm on your forehead helps neutralize your body's "fight or flight" response and gets your brain out of its blackout state when you are unable to think?



We've all done things like that, never really knowing why... never really knowing that if we lingered just a little bit longer, the healing benefits would grow exponentially.

For a decade now, I have been exploring the world of healing and massage therapies. My specialty: working with pain and trauma. For years now, I have seen how different people respond to touch. There is a whole world out there to be discovered. One where even little knowledge holds tremendous healing power.

In this brief review, I wish to share with you a disarmingly simple, yet extremely powerful technique. One you can practically use anywhere and anytime you feel like it. This simple technique comes from an ancient Japanese gentle healing art called "Jin Shin Jyustsu" (JSJ).

According to the JSJ practice, feelings and internal organs can be harmonized through a combination of slow breathing and gentle touch. The picture below shows a hand, where each finger matches a feeling and some common physical symptoms. Simply holding each finger gently for a couple of minutes while breathing slowly will help negative feelings flow away.

I have had the opportunity to use this technique on cancer patients waiting for medical exams in the Shaarei Tzedek Hematology Department. I have used it many times on different patients. Those who didn't fall asleep ten minutes in, said they felt very relaxed and at peace. 

While this is just a taste of the full technique, it is powerful enough to help you get centered again after a day filled with life's unique magic, so why don't you try it, and tell me how it went?