Putting your middle finger to good use

It’s no coincidence that in Jin Shin Jyutsu (JSJ), as in life, the middle finger is related to ANGER. That’s why holding that finger is a way to harmonize feelings of anger and rage.
 
By “harmonize,” JSJ doesn’t mean tamp down your anger or ignore it. Rather, it’s a way of expressing your anger in an assertive way that doesn’t harm you or anyone else. Because anger can be a healthy motivating force when it isn’t used to lash out indiscriminately at others (rage) or to undermine your own self-worth (depression).

Here’s an easy exercise to harmonize your anger in just two minutes:

Wrap the fingers of your other hand around your middle finger. (You can hold with your left or right hand, or each in turn.) Wait until you feel a pulse in the middle finger. If you don’t feel a pulse, just hold it for about two minutes.

While you are holding your finger, focus on exhaling and inhaling slowly, through your nose. When you exhale, you are releasing stress and tension. When you inhale, you are drawing in more life-giving energy (known as “Qi” in China; “Ki” in Japan; “Prana” in India.)
 
Notice: when you inhale, do your shoulders feel tight? Drop them as you breathe out, and you’ll feel even more relaxed. You can do 9 rounds (or more) of exhales and inhales while you’re holding your middle finger, and feel both calm and energized when you finish.
 
I’m finding this Harmonizing Anger exercise especially useful these days, when so many current events seem to trigger my anger reflex. I hope you find it helpful.
 
One of the beautiful truths of Jin Shin Jyutsu is, because everything is connected, one simple exercise can be healthful on many levels.
 
For example, JSJ shares several tenets with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The middle finger is related to the Wood element in TCM — the driving force that makes everything grow in Spring. The Wood element, in turn, rules the Liver and Gallbladder in the body. And the Liver in TCM “opens to the Eyes.”
 
This means: holding your middle finger helps harmonize any physical or emotional dis-eases related to the Liver and Gallbladder systems [in TCM, these are more than just the physical organs] and any complications of the Eyes. One activity that stresses the Wood element is Reading too much. It can result in red, irritated eyes; blurred vision; even headaches. Holding your middle finger is a simple way to help address these eye discomforts.
 
But there’s much more that holding your middle finger can do.
 
The middle finger relates to several vertebrae on your spine: Cervical vertebra 2, Thoracic vertebrae 3 and 9, and Lumbar vertebra 3. So when you hold your middle finger, you’re energetically helping relieve back strain and keep your spine in alignment.
 
Through its connection with the Liver system of TCM, the middle finger helps with the smooth flow of Qi energy throughout the body, balancing the emotions and regulating the hormones.
 
When the TCM Liver system is out of harmony, it can affect the digestion, leading to abdominal pain, nausea, heartburn, indigestion and other complications.
 
When the TCM Liver system is not “lubricating” the body with enough fluids, it can lead to dizziness, jaundice, brittle nails, spasms and tremors, numbness in the limbs, and difficulty bending and stretching.
 
When the TCM Liver is “stagnant” (the Qi energy is not circulating properly), it can result in menstrual irregularities, mood swings, insomnia, skin eruptions, fatigue, and a host of other dis-eases that are all interconnected — even if Western medicine has so far failed to see any correlation.
 
Holding your middle finger is not going to “cure” these issues, of course — especially not in two minutes! But if you get in the habit of harmonizing your middle finger and your anger every day, you are creating a space of balance which your body can use to heal itself.
 
There is so much more that the middle finger can do to promote healing. Let me know if you want to find out more.