Most therapeutic techniques that are employed to promote relaxation hold little attraction for me. For years, I have failed to profit from controlled breathing, for example, a practice that works for many other people. Even meditation, which I have long practiced within the classic tradition of western spirituality, does little to relieve my anxiety or to soothe bodily stress.

For this reason, I felt somewhat wary in accepting a longstanding invitation from one of my readers, Phyllis Reichart of Watertown, to experience Jin Shin Jyutsu, the therapeutic technique that she practices. This 42-year-old single mother is a certified practitioner of what her brochure describes as an “ancient energy-harmonizing art that can help reduce stress and promote health and well-being.”

Jin Shin Jyutsu traces its origins to ancient times in Japan. However, it fell into obscurity for centuries until rediscovered in the early 1900s by a Japanese master who devoted his life to its development. In the 1950s, it was introduced to the United States by a woman named Mary Burmeister who took the lead in spreading it around this county.

Phyllis Reichart became involved in this therapeutic practice five years ago after having pursued a career as an educator. Her motivation has been to help people to find more peace of soul and body. Older people like me, she believes, can profit from this discipline, especially if they are experiencing symptoms of tension or illness for the first time.

Given my misgivings about such practices, I agreed to take part in this exercise somewhat warily but in the spirit of adventure. Though Jin Shin Jyutsu was entirely new and unknown to me, I trusted that it would do me no harm, and might possibly deliver on some of its promises. It helped greatly that Phyllis Reichart was so patient in answering the questions of this first-time wayfarer.

It is gratifying to report here that the one-hour session introducing me to this Japanese art proved both enjoyable and, as I hoped, relaxing. To my surprise, it also turned out to be subtly and agreeably energizing as well. For the next couple of days I felt my spirits notably higher than usual.

These positive results emerged even though I remain, if not dubious, at least agnostic about the rationale behind the art. This explanation attributes undesirable physical and mental symptoms of stress to “blocked energy flows.” It believes that these blockages can by opened by making contact with certain  pressure points on the surface of the body.

Practitioners begin this exercise by feeling your pulse to determine your current flow of energy and state of well-being. Then, by gently placing their hands on “Safety Energy Locks” located at various bodily sites, therapists can begin to clear out energy blocks and you can start to experience “renewed vitality and harmony.”

As already noted, personal lack of faith in this explanation of bodily dynamics did not prevent me from enjoying the whole experience. From the beginning, when I lay down on the table, after removing only my shoes and wristwatch, I felt the practitioner’s touch as soothing and the procedure agreeable.

The therapist does not do any massage nor manipulation of muscles. Instead she proceeds by merely placing either her fingertips or her whole hand on each the body’s 52 primary locations (26 on each side.)

Phyllis Reichart showed herself gentle and sympathetic throughout as I submitted to this unfamiliar process. At several points, she explained what she was doing in order to allay whatever anxiety I might have felt as a beginner. Restful music played nearby. From an adjoining room I could hear Phyllis’ four-year-old daughter happily playing under the supervision of a caretaker.

Before moving her hand to each new site, Phyllis would try to sense when the vital energy had been successfully harmonized with the previously opened locations. These points on the body, by the way, correspond almost identically to the sites used in acupuncture and other such disciplines.

At the session’s end, Phyllis gave me materials designed to help me carry on the therapy on my own. One is entitled “Harmonizing of Attitudes through Fingers” and indicates “how to get rid of worry fast.” Though I welcome anything that can relieve anxiety quickly, long experience makes me doubt that such a thing is possible.

Later years, I believe, are favorable times for “experimenting with truth.” This phrase of Gandhi first gave me inspiration long ago and continues to do so now.

This Gandhian framework I use in evaluating my brief experience with Jin Shin Jyutsu. It introduced me to a new and different worldview. It opened up a new approach for coping with stress, adding to already familiar methods. It revealed more of the mysterious connections between the spiritual and the physical sides of human existence. And it showed me once again the beauty and power in human touch.

Anyone wishing for more information about this therapy can tap into its web site at www.jinshinjyutsu.com. [link no longer active]

Richard Griffin