FROM CHAPTER 2

The Six Healing Sounds

Benefits and Theory

Thousands of years ago the Taoist masters discovered in their meditations the six sounds that were the correct frequencies to keep the organs in optimal condition by preventing and alleviating illness. They discovered that a healthy organ vibrates at a particular frequency. To accompany the Six Healing Sounds, six accompanying postures were developed to activate the acupuncture meridians, or energy channels, of the organs.

Overheating of the Organs

What causes an organ to malfunction? There are many causes. Urban society creates a life full of physical and emotional stresses, such as overcrowding, pollution, radiation, junk food, chemical additives, anxiety, loneliness, bad posture, and sudden or overly vigorous exercise. Separately and together, these stresses produce tension and start to block the free passage of energy flow in the body and, thus, the organs overheat. In addition, the concrete jungle that we live in lacks the safety valves provided by nature: trees, open spaces, and running water, which give forth a cooling, purifying energy. Continued overheating causes an organ to contract and harden. This impairs its ability to function and results in illness. One of the surgeons working with the Universal Tao Center in New York reports that the hearts of patients who have died of heart attacks look as if they’ve been cooked! And the ancient Taoists have a saying: “Stress cooks your brain.”

The Cooling System of the Organs

Chinese medicine teaches that each organ is surrounded by a sac or membrane, called fascia, which regulates its temperature. Ideally, the membrane releases excess heat through the skin, where it is exchanged for cool life-force energy from nature. An overload of physical or emotional tension causes the membrane, or fascia, to stick to the organ so that it cannot properly release heat to the skin nor absorb cool energy from the skin.
The skin becomes clogged with toxins and the organ overheats. The Six Healing Sounds speed up the heat exchange through the digestive system and the mouth. The digestive system is more than twenty feet long and runs from the mouth to the anus as one pipe in the middle of the body in between all the organs. It helps release excess heat from the fascia, cooling and cleansing the organs and skin.
Toxic deposits on tissues and muscles block the free passage of heat generated by the organs. The heat is reflected back into the organs, causing pressure, overheating, and eventual malfunction of the organs.
When all the sounds and postures are done in the proper order, body heat is evenly distributed by the intestinal tract throughout the whole body, and each of the organs is at its correct temperature (fig. 2.1).
As the sound is made, the heat given off by the organs is transferred out of the body through the esophagus.

Lung Exercise: First Healing Sound

The lungs are dominant in autumn. Their element is metal, and their associated color is white. The negative emotions are grief and sadness. The positive emotions are courage and righteousness.

Lung Characteristics
Associated organ: Large intestine
Element: Metal
Season: Autumn--dryness
Negative emotions: Sadness, grief, sorrow
Positive emotions: Righteousness, surrender, letting go, emptiness, courage
Sound:Sss-s-s-s-s-s
Parts of the body: Chest, inner arms, thumbs
Senses: Nose--smell, mucus, skin
Taste: Pungent
Color: White

Position and Practice

1. Become aware of your lungs (fig. 2.2).

2. Take a deep breath and, letting your eyes follow, raise up the arms in front of you. When the hands are at eye level, begin to rotate the palms and bring them up above the head. Keep the elbows rounded. You should feel a stretch that extends from the heels of the palms, along the forearms, over the elbows, along the upper arms, and into the shoulders. The lungs and chest will feel open and breathing will be easier (figs. 2.3 and 2.4). Close the jaws so that the teeth meet gently, and part the lips slightly. Draw the corners of the mouth back, exhale, and allow your breath to escape through the spaces between the teeth, making the sound “Sss-s-s-s-s-s,” sub-vocally, slowly and evenly in one breath.

4. When you have exhaled completely (without straining), rotate the palms down, close the eyes, and breathe into the lungs to strengthen them. If you are color oriented, you can imagine a pure white light and quality of righteousness entering into your whole lungs. Float the arms down by gently lowering the shoulders. Slowly lower them to your lap so that they rest there, palms up. Feel the energy exchange in the hands and palms.

5. Close the eyes, breathe normally, smile down to the lungs, be aware of the lungs, and imagine that you are still making the sound. Pay attention to any sensations you may feel. Try to feel the exchange of cool, fresh energy replacing hot waste energy (fig. 2.5).

6. When your breathing calms, repeat the sequence 3 to 6 times.

7. For colds, flu, mucus, toothaches, smoking, asthma, emphysema, or depression, or if you want to increase the range of movement of the chest and the inner arm, or for detoxifying the lungs, you can repeat the sound 9, 12, 18, 24, or 36 times. Close the eyes; breathe normally; smile down to the lungs.