Meet Our Instructors for November 2025 Basic Seminar in Auckland

Meet Jennifer Holmes

For over 27 years, Jennifer has been immersed in the gentle art of Jin Shin Jyutsu, finding fresh insights and deeper understanding with each passing year.

Her spiritual journey began in her twenties, while travelling the world and teaching in Australia, the UK, and Spain. Along the way, Jennifer met and studied with a spiritual teacher in Germany, experiences that shaped her path and deepened her connection to the subtle world of energy and awareness.

Returning home to New Zealand, Jennifer balanced her love of teaching — tutoring foreign students — with raising a lively family of five children. In 1998, she attended her first 5-Day Jin Shin Jyutsu class in Auckland and soon after opened her own practice, which continues to this day.

A pivotal moment came in 2003, when she travelled to Scottsdale, Arizona, met Mary Burmeister, and began serving as the New Zealand class organiser the following year. In 2011, Jennifer became a Jin Shin Jyutsu instructor, sharing the art’s wisdom and philosophy with students around the world.

Today, she lives in Auckland with her husband John, continuing to teach, study, and inspire others to discover the harmony and healing that Jin Shin Jyutsu brings.

“This art continues to amaze me — it’s a lifelong unfolding of awareness, joy, and connection.”

 

Meet Sandy Smith

Sandy first discovered Jin Shin Jyutsu in 1999 when a friend invited her to a self-help class in Auckland — and from that moment, she knew she’d found it.
With a background in graphic design and publishing, Sandy had already explored Transcendental Meditation and Reiki, but Jin Shin Jyutsu quickly became her lifelong passion and “go-to” practice. After her first 5-Day Seminar with Wayne Hackett in 2000, she dove in deeply — taking more classes, opening a small Auckland practice, and blending her creative and healing worlds for over two decades.
From 2007 to 2017, Sandy was the Auckland organiser for both 5-Day and Special Topic classes, supporting the growth of the JSJ community in New Zealand. She has also studied with Sadaki Kato, gaining a richer understanding of Jiro Murai’s original teachings.

When the pandemic arrived in 2020, Sandy closed her practice, but her love for Jin Shin Jyutsu never stopped. The “aha!” moments continue to unfold, and her curiosity runs as deep as ever.
Now retired from her design career, Sandy is joyfully stepping forward to share the fruits of her 25-year journey — the insights, stories, and stillness that JSJ has brought to her life.
An animal lover, she also offers Jin Shin Jyutsu for animal friends, bringing gentle, healing touch to all creatures great and small.

As Sandy says with a smile, “The learning never ends — it just keeps opening new doors.”