
I designed and illustrated a Jin Shin Jyutsu poster (the image above) for Mary Burmeister in 1991 . I also illustrated, designed and revised many of Mary’s Jin Shin Jyutsu text books and other teaching materials and study tools.
I was fortunate to study with Mary during three 5-day Jin Shin Jyutsu workshops before I created the poster. Experiential knowledge of Jin Shin Jyutsu was very important for creating accurate illustrations.
Jin Shin Jyutsu history

Jin Shin Jyutsu was rediscovered in 1912 by Jiro Murai (1886-1960) while he was terminally ill at age 26. He went to his family’s cabin in the mountains to die and asked his family to return in a week to bury his body. During the week he spent waiting to die, he meditated and practiced his Mikkyo Tantric Buddhism with mudra hand gestures, mantras, and visualizations associated with this esoteric Vajrayana practice.
While doing his practice, Jiro Murai healed himself and received a profound vision that inspired him to study the Kojiki (Book of Ancient Things – AD 712) the oldest surviving book within the Imperial Archives of Japan. Hidden within the creation stories of the Kojiki he found the instructions for the healing art he named Jin Shin Jyutsu.
Jin Shin translates as compassionate spirit, Jin translates as benevolent / profound / person, Shin translates as heart / mind /core, and Jyutsu translates as the art of.

Jiro Murai was given permission by the Imperial family after World War II to share Jin Shin Jyutsu with the people of Japan. Mary Burmeister and Dr. Haruki Kato were Jiro Murai’s main protégés.
When Mary first met Jiro Murai in 1946 while she was teaching English in Japan, he asked her, “Would you like to take a gift from Japan to the United States?” For six years Mary studied with Jiro Murai and in 1953 moved back to the United States where she practiced and taught Jin Shin Jyutsu until 1990.
The Jin Shin Jyutsu healing art utilizes 26 safety energy locks located on both sides of the body, a total of 52 safety energy locks. The locks are dynamic and can vary in position, usually within a 3 inch area. The life energy flows in pathways (meridians) between all the energy locks in a 24 hour pattern regulated by the sun.
Through the power of touch, intent, and focus, one can harmonize and strengthen the vital energy that is running through the pathways. The safety energy locks act as circuit breakers, locking when the flow of energy in a pathway is too much or too weak, protecting the body from further disharmony.
The practitioner directs their own vital energy (using the pressure of their fingers) to ‘jumper cable’ the energy in themselves or someone else. It is much like using jumper cables to start a car using the energy of another vehicle.
A ‘shortcut’ into the system is to use the fingers and toes. All of the energy flows run through all of the fingers and toes. Although Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioners may utilize many of the safety energy locks during their sessions, one can easily work on oneself or others by just holding the fingers or toes.
For the ‘physical’ body, hold the base of the finger or toe and ‘connect’ into the pulse. If a person is out of balance or unwell, their pulse will feel erratic, sometimes moving too fast or too slow, or spurting like little rocks through a tube.
Once you connect to the pulse, use your conscious breathing to visualize your vital energy ‘jumper cabling the pulse, helping it to grow strong and steady, and soon it will be pulsing steadily like a metronome. You can work on either hand, but working on each finger on both hands is always good. Usually a couple of minutes on each finger or toe is enough to balance all the flows.
Mary always said that this was the best relief for jet lag. You can easily reset your biological clock by applying Jin Shin Jyutsu to your own fingers as you fly. So simple and so effective!
I remember Mary mentioning that an airline asked about having her teach their crews this technique. I remember her laughing sweetly and saying, “It’s so simple, they wouldn’t have believed me!” I’ve been using this technique when I fly for many decades and it works wonderfully.

My favorite technique is to use the index finger and thumb – holding them together at the base. This strengthens the immune system. I used this quite a few times over the decades to bring a high temperature down to 99 degrees in only ten minutes.
The beauty of Jin Shin Jyutsu is that you always have your ‘medicine box’ with you. By using your intention, visualization, vital energy, and finger pressure you can easily antidote so many problems.
I love Jin Shin Jyutsu. Thank you so much, Jiro Murai and Mary Burmeister!