The Importance of Breathing

Skin is an amazingly complex organ and, by weight, the largest of the body. It covers some 22 square feet and weighs around 9 pounds (roughly 7 percent of body weight).¹ Its integumentary system provides the front line of defense for the body, as well as being expressive of physiological conditions and emotional states. Skin is the extension of our nervous system to the outside of the body. Often referred to as our third lung, it is involved in processes of exchange between the internal and external environments — respiration, absorption and elimination.

I had been a regular massage client of Katherine Kawana, a massage therapist and acupuncturist operating in Kaneohe, Hawaii. I was fairly active — swimming, running in excess of 20 miles a week and playing other sports. Then came the case of sciatica that was severe enough to sideline me. Visits to various practitioners, including medical doctors, were futile. Back traction, adjustments and medication brought no relief.

Among the panoply of alternative approaches to wellness, Jin Shin Jyutsu^(R) is emerging as a complementary therapy offered to patients in conventional medical practices. As part of a multi-disciplinary group practice in which I participate at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, Jin Shin Jyutsu (pronounced “Jit-su”) has provided significant relief to patients suffering from a variety of complaints, while easily supporting whatever treatment regime their medical doctors may have prescribed.