The Art of Jin Shin by Alexis Brink

The Art of Jin Shin by Alexis Brink ISBN-13: 9781982130930 Paperback: 240 pages Publisher: Tiller Press Released: June 25, 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Balance your body, mind, and spirit and heal yourself with your own hands using this clear, step-by-step illustrated guide to the practice of the ancient Japanese healing art of Jin Shin—written by a trained expert with nearly three decades of experience.

You might be surprised to learn that the majority of today’s most common ailments including anxiety, backaches, colds and flu, digestive issues, immune disorders, migraines, and insomnia, can be alleviated naturally by restoring and harmonizing blocked, stagnant energy. The art of Jin Shin, based on the Japanese healing art of energy medicine, is practiced throughout the world. While related to acupressure and massage therapy, this holistic practice uses only minimal pressure and gentle touching with the fingers and hands to redirect or unblock the flow of energy along the body’s fifty-two points (twenty-six on each side of the body)—called Safety Energy Locations, or SELs—areas where energy tends to get congested. This simple, non-invasive process allows your body’s energy to flow smoothly, and with balance restored, you will experience a sense of wellbeing and calm.

The Art of Jin Shin explains all the basics of this healing art and provides you with the knowledge you need to practice it on yourself—with exercises ranging from simply holding a finger for a few minutes to spending twenty minutes to harmonize a specific circulation pattern.


My Review:
The Art of Jin Shin explains how Jin Shin works (gentle touches and deep breathing) and some positions that a person can do on themselves to help with things like headaches, a cold, insomnia, dizziness, stomach aches, etc. The author started with a basic introduction to and history of the Art of Jin Shin. While Jin Shin can be applied to others, the focus of this book is how to apply it to your own body. The author provided an overview of how to do the technique and where the points you will touch are located on the body. She talked about some short routines to do for everyday care, organ flow routines, and positions to use for specific problems. There were pictures of people doing each position, so you can see clearly were to touch. She's a little less clear on how long to hold a position as that seems very variable and dependent on being able to feel when the energy becomes unstuck.

Many of the positions quickly get tiring to hold, so I'm not sure if I'm doing them long enough. Also, some positions (especially in the organ flow routines) require a flexible body to touch the two spots at the same time. Due to my rheumatoid arthritis, I'm not flexible enough to do most of the holds for the organ flows nor the one for autoimmune conditions, though I can do the arthritis hold for a short length of time. Does it work? I haven't seen any improvements in my RA, but it did seem to work quite quickly on a mild headache that I had. I'll keep trying it for a while since you can't hurt yourself by doing it. Anyway, if you're interested in The Art of Jin Shin, this book will get you started in applying it to yourself. I was left with some questions after finishing the book, but they weren't the sort that would prevent me from using the holds in the book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.