Whether you want to reduce anxiety, boost your immunity or just chill out, this ancient (and cost-free) hands-on healing art can easily harmonize the life energy in your body with the touch of your fingers.

With the fast-paced and stressed-out lives most of us are leading these days, it has become second nature to treat aches, and pains with a pill. Got a headache? Take a Tylenol. Stomach ache? Chew some Tums. If only people knew more about how these problems started in the first place, they’d learn that a lot of their discomforts could be easily healed on their own.

Jin Shin Jyutsu, an ancient Japanese healing art, is just that--a simple and effective hands-on practice that anyone can do on themselves to induce relaxation and reduce the effects of stress with just a little bit of knowledge. Literally translated, Jyutsu means art, Shin means Creator, and Jin means compassionate man. And so it is. The Creator's art through compassionate man.

While its not widely known to Westerners, Jin Shin Jyutsu (JSJ) is very similar to acupressure and works with a set of 26 points (called Safety Energy Locks) along the energy pathways of the body.

When a pathway becomes blocked, energy stagnates. This initially affects the local area of stagnation, but has the potential to create imbalance along the entire pathway. The 26 Energy Locks are the locations on the body where energy tends to become stuck. (Acupressurists and acupuncturists, by comparison, learn over 300 points.)

Jin Shin Jyutsu expert and writer Nancy Mehagian has been incorporating the ancient practice into her massage therapy for more than 34 years. Clients include Quincy Jones, Diane Lane and Ravi Shankar. Mehagian believes JSJ is a valuable compliment to conventional healing methods and also teaches clients how to restore their own physical, mental, emotional and spiritual beings with various techniques they can do anywhere, anytime. (She even writes about it in her book Siren’s Feast, A Culinary Memoir. "By learning how to perform Jin Shin Jyutsu techniques on ourselves," says Mehagian, "we can weather the challenges we're all facing with greater ease."

Here are some examples:

1. To calm the nerves, simply hold the last three fingers of your hand, either side. This is the reason people wring their hands when nervous. Jin Shin is part of our innate wisdom so we are practicing it all the time unknowingly. Simply holding those last 3 fingers together is far more effective. Do this when sitting in the dentist's chair, in meetings or doing interviews.

2. To energize and revitalize the body when tired, simply sit on your hands, palms up, for 10 minutes. This can also be done in a prone position. As a bonus, sitting on your hands also helps get rid of cellulite.

3. For indigestion, gas and stomach aches, simply hold your thumbs, one at a time. If you are someone who tends to worry a lot, holding the thumbs also takes away worry.

4. For cancer prevention and to help the immune system, place the fingers of both hands on the sternum (breast bone located in center of your chest). Do this for a few minutes daily.

Some of the challenges Mehagian has assisted clients to overcome with JSJ include turning breech babies, dissolving fibroid tumors and ovarian cysts, PMS, migraines, dissolving kidney obstructions, digestive disorders, insomnia and clearing emotional traumas.

Client and friend Quincy Jones says, “Nancy’s dedication, natural gift and mastery of the art of physical therapy is akin to the combination of a Stradivarius played by Itzak Perlman. She is in a category all by herself. A lady from the A Team.”

Mehagian currently resides in Studio City, CA and teaches Jin Shin Jyutsu seminars throughout Southern California.

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10 Tips to Manage Stress

1. Set realistic goals and priorities; recognize what you must do first. 

2. Organize your time keeping your priorities in mind. 

3. Learn to say no, recognizing when you’re asked to do something stressful. 

4. Acknowledge that some stress is unavoidable. 

5. Write a list of stressful situations to help you remember to avoid them. 

6. Divide the list into two sections: "What can I control," and "What I cannot control."  

7. Marshal your time and talents to address stressful situations effectively. 

8. Don’t waste your energies trying to conquer what you cannot control. 

9. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, solicit solutions, and share problems with others. 

10. Allow yourself time to enjoy personal interests or just chill out. 

Source: Paul J Rosch, M.D., American Institute of Stress, www.stress.org.   

More Baby Boomers Using Massage

In its 11th annual survey of American consumers, the American Massage Therapy Association found that more people get massage therapy for medical purposes than for relaxation, with baby boomers leading the way. The goal of a better quality of life and overall wellness drove 24 percent of adult Americans to receive a massage in the past 12 months, with more than a third (34 percent) receiving a massage in the past five years.

Of the 1,008 adult respondents (502 men and 506 women, age 18 or older and living in private households in the U.S.), 30 percent of those who received a massage in the past five years did so for medical reasons, compared to 22 percent who were in search of relaxation and 13 percent who simply indulged in a treatment. Almost one-third (32 percent) of Americans say they've used massage therapy at least once for pain relief, just behind consumers who have chosen chiropractic (38 percent) or physical therapy (44 percent). Survey respondents said they most frequently sought massage for medical reasons such as pain management, injury recovery, soreness, general wellness and control of headaches or migraines.

Maintaining their general health and wellness was a major reason many turned to massage therapy. Of those surveyed, 87 percent agreed with the statement that massage can be effective in reducing pain; 85 percent agreed that massage could be beneficial to health and wellness; and 59 percent would like to see their insurance plans cover massage therapy. In light of these findings, almost one in five (19 percent) reported discussing massage therapy with their doctor or health care provider. And of those 19 percent, more than half (58 percent) said their doctor recommended or encouraged them to get a massage.

The baby boomer generation is leading this trend, with 38 percent of those ages 45 to 64 tending to seek massage for health conditions and medical reasons. In contrast, only 25 percent of people ages 18 to 44 cited medical reasons for getting a massage. In addition, 23 percent of those baby boomers have discussed massage therapy with their doctor or health care provider, compared to 18 percent of those 18 to 24 years of age.

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Massage Helps Kick Off a New Year By Jean Ives Of the 365 days in a year, not all are equal. For many people, January 1 is reserved for soul-searching, self-recrimination and a resolve to do better in the next 364 days than we did in the last. Resolutions vary widely, but there's an uncanny commonality to most lists... Editors at About: Pittsburgh, PA, a guide to Pittsburgh on About.com--, compiled results of several New Year's Resolutions surveys and reported that the following resolutions, in order of frequency, are the ones people make most often. Although the editors don't cite massage therapy as the cure for all ills, it's not difficult to find a role for massage in accomplishing almost every one of these resolutions. Spend more time with family and friends. Massage can be a solitary pleasure, to be sure. But don't underestimate its place in promoting warmth and community among friends. I have one friend in particular who, if we've gone through several months of hit-or-miss girlfriend times together, will say, "Hey, you know what, we need a massage day." To an outsider it may sound like she's just suggesting that we get a massage. But my friend and I know better-for us, massage is the best anchor of a quality day spent together, acknowledging the value of the other person and slowing down long enough to enjoy each other's company. We make simultaneous or back-to-back appointments for massage and build our day around them. It works every time. Come to think of it, we're due! Fit in fitness.  It's no coincidence that so many fitness centers have massage therapists on staff. Do you think the Sports Medicine Division of the Olympic Training Center would include massage therapy as part of its official program if there weren't a connection between massage and recovery after exercise? Tame the bulge. There's probably more hype than hard research to support massage as a weight reduction technique. However, in his article "Massage for Weight Loss," Scott Haywood talks about the wide-ranging benefits of massage for improved blood circulation to the muscles, for range of motion, for anxiety reduction and so forth. Haywood concludes that massage can be part of your weight reduction program if you don't expect it to be the only plank in the program. Quit smoking. People who want to quit smoking in the New Year will be interested in learning the results of the research "Smoking Cravings are Reduced by Self-Massage."  In this study, researchers Tiffany Field, PhD, and Maria Hernandez-Reif, PhD, found that ear and hand self-massage techniques could "alleviate smoking-related anxiety, reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms, improve mood, and reduce the number of cigarettes smoked." Enjoy life more. See Resolution No. 1. Quit drinking. The Queensland University in Australia study "Massage Therapy Improves the Management of Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome" found that subjects undergoing alcohol detoxification who received massage therapy experienced milder symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. Get out of debt. Okay, this might be the only one that massage won't help with. But massage can help reduce the stress you may feel when you think about debts.  Learn something new. Until you've experienced every type of modality, can you really say you know massage? There's Swedish, Deep Tissue, Reflexology, Shiatsu, Hot Stones, etc. Help others. See Resolution No. 1. Try volunteering, such as arranging a massage benefit for those in need. Get organized. Part of getting organized is setting priorities. You've got a lot of massages to "squeeze in" in 2008.  You'd better get moving!

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Happy New Year!!! ~The Essentials Crew (Susan, David, Monica, Dee, Lisa & Heather)