Did you know shushing someone might actually may be beneficial to your health? There are six healing sounds known to Taoist qi gong practice that vibrate specific organs and promote emotional and physical well-being.
It has been shown sound vibrations promote healing and provide a type of massage to the organs. Six main organs that benefit from this sound vibration include the liver, heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys and triple burner. These are known as yin organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine and are associated with wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The key to vibrational healing is a relaxed attention to the organ to release stuck energy and emotion. It is not even necessary to voice the sounds; a whisper will do or even a mental rendition of the sound. There are many methods of qi gong practice for sound healing. You can explore more on YouTube or seek a qi gong teacher for more specific practice.
Liver: The emotion associated with the wood element, is the liver. The organ associated with the liver is the eyes. When someone is very angry, they tend to get bloodshot eyes due to rising energy. Visualize the liver and send love and attention to it. The sound of the liver is “sshh” (xu in pinyin). Give a nice breathless “sshh” down to your liver, releasing all the air in your lungs, relaxing and releasing any anger. Repeat five times.
Heart: The heart, a fire element, can get overwhelmed with frustration, hate and strong emotions. The heart’s emotion is joy, and the heart is involved with circulation and mental clarity. Visualize the heart in red and send down love and attention. The sound of the heart is He, pronounced “haaaaa” with the mouth wide open. Repeat five times, releasing all the air from the lungs and sending an inner smile to your heart.
Spleen: The spleen, the earth element, is involved with digestion and transformation of food. It can get bogged down with overthinking and worrying, anxiety and weight gain. Send the color yellow to your stomach area and give a breathless “hooo” (a guttural sound from the throat, not as in ”who” or “woo” but as in “hoe”), Hu in pinyin. Repeat five times, sending love to your spleen and stomach area, releasing all the air from your lungs.
Lungs: The lungs, the metal element, take in oxygen, circulate it and breathe out the old. The lungs are especially sensitive to external factors in the environment. The lungs are adversely affected by grief, sadness and depression. Send the color white to the lungs with an inner smile, release any sadness, and sound out “sss” with your tongue behind your teeth (si). Repeat five times.
Kidneys: The kidneys are associated with reproduction, sexuality, longevity, bones, urination, and your basic constitution. The kidneys are the water element and are associated with fear and phobias. Trauma will affect the kidneys, so visualize the kidneys in a dark blue or black and release fears with the sound “chooo” (chui). This is the whispered sound of blowing out a candle. Repeat as above.
San Jiao (Triple Burner): This meridian covers the top, middle and lower part of the body and is involved with irrigation and regulation of fluids. The sound associated with the triple burner is “sheee” (xi), a breathless sound to move the heat from the top part of the head down through the feet. Visualizing this heat moving downward helps boost sexual energy and warms the lower body.
The key to sound healing is to expel the old and bring in the new energy physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Seek out a teacher if you are interested in adopting these exercises more in depth. These sounds should not replace seeking medical treatment for any acute or chronic physical or mental condition.