"You are very powerful,
provided you know how powerful you are."
~Yogi Bhajan
My daughter is all grown up now and moved to Boston just a few months ago. When you have a baby everyone tells you how quickly they will grow up. It is true! In the scheme of things, it feels like just yesterday that I got a phone message from her at 11 years old. She had been having a belly ache in the morning, so I had given her some self-help to do. When I saw that there was a message from the school, I thought... oh no.. she needs to come home. But her message said, "Mom, I don't need you to come get me, I just wondered if you had something else you could suggest for me to do so that I can stay at school, my belly is really hurting..."
Wow, I was amazed! It was one of those proud mama moments. One of my goals (both as a parent and as a holistic practitioner) is to empower people to take charge of their own health through Jin Shin Jyutsu Self-Help! and here was my dear one asking for ideas on what she could do to help herself! Pretty cool, eh?! Now that she is on her own, I know that she has the self help tools to draw on when she needs them and that she’ll call if she needs suggestions!
Mary Burmeister wrote a children's self-help book called Fun with Happy Hands, which offers a delightful introduction to the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu and helps children of all ages learn simple and FUN ways to help themselves. (I have a few copies at the office if you would like to see one the next time you are in.) My daughter, Rebecca, has owned this book since she was pretty little and has been actively learning Jin Shin Jyutsu Self-Help from me and this book most of her young life.
I think that it is important that while we are teaching our children self care skills like potty training, tying shoes, making healthy food choices, how to get dressed, and so many others, that we also empower them to actively participate in their own care and well-being. Teaching your child independent skills can be easier said then done, especially if they are accustomed to having things done for them. But if we give them the tools that they need to self-soothe and help themselves, they become empowered with good coping skills and a confidence in their body's ability to heal.
I like to think that from an early age that I taught Rebecca that she could balance attitudes by simply holding her fingers. But in actuality, she taught me a lot about them! I would watch her at a few months old choosing which finger or toe to suck. Confidently and consciously choosing! It was amazing to watch and taught me so much about the innate nature of Jin Shin Jyutsu. We are all working towards helping ourselves all of the time. The practice of Jin Shin Jyutsu brings awareness to what we are doing and allows us to have a different relationship with our BE-ing. We literally hold BALANCE in our own hands!
We can teach our children how to cope with emotionally difficult situations like worry, fear, anger, sadness and the challenges of being true to ourselves (pretense/trying to). If we are always trying to do it all and being burned out, stressed out and overwhelmed, the lesson that we gift our children is "how to be stressed". However when we use these same self-help techniques to enhance your own coping skills, we teach them how to cope and BE. Simple!
"Happiness is not a matter of intensity
but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony."
~Thomas Merton