The Six Healing Sounds or ''Liù Zì Jué'' () is one of the common forms of Chinese

qigong Qigong ()) is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation said to be useful for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial arts training. With roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese medicine, Chin ...

, and involves the coordination of movement and breathing patterns with specific sounds.

History

The term Liù Zì Jué first appears in the book ''On Caring for the Health of the Mind and Prolonging the Life Span'' written by

Tao Hongjing Tao Hongjing (456–536), courtesy name Tongming, was a Chinese alchemist, astronomer, calligrapher, military general, musician, physician, and pharmacologist during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. A polymathic individual of many tal ...

of the Southern and Northern dynasties (420–589). A leading figure of the Maoshan School of Taoism, Tao was renowned for his profound knowledge of

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

. "One has only one way for inhalation but six for exhalation" he writes in the book. Zou Pu'an of the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

(960–1279) was a major contributor in terms of theory and practice to the transmission of the exercise through his book ''The Supreme Knack for Health Preservation – Six-Character Approach to Breathing Exercises''. No body movements accompanied the Liù Zì Jué exercises until the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

(1386–1644) when Hu Wenhuan and Gao Lian wrote books on the subject. For instance, they both included in their books the summary of Liù Zì Jué for dispelling diseases and prolonging the life span, which combines controlled breathing with physical exercises. There are a number of schools of exercise which incorporate elements of Liù Zì Jué, including Yi Jin Jing, Ba Gua Zhang and Da Yan Gong, but the sounds are used as an aid to physical exercises in these dynamic Qigong, which is different from Liù Zì Jué. An authoritative work on the subject is Ma Litang's ''Liù Zì Jué Health and Fitness Exercises'' for clinical application. The theoretical basis of the Liù Zì Jué exercises is in line with the ancient theories intrinsic to traditional Chinese medicine of the Five Elements and the Five Solid Viscera. They tend to be on common ground on such issues as mouth forms and pronunciation methods, and the direction of body movements and mind follow the inner circulation law of the meridians.

The sounds/sections

* ''xū'' – 'deep sigh' or 'hiss' – Level the Liver Qi * ''hē'' – 'yawn' or 'laughing sound' – Supplement the Heart Qi * ''hū'' – 'to sigh,' 'to exhale,' or 'to call' – Cultivate r Shore Upthe Spleen/Pancreas Qi * ''sī'' – 'to rest' – Supplement the Lung Qi * ''chuī'' – 'to blow out,' 'to blast,' or 'to puff' – Supplement the Kidney Qi * ''xī'' – 'mirthful' – Regulate the Triple Burner Qi All syllables are pronounced on a level tone – the so-called first tone (regardless of the dictionary pronunciation of each word); typically all but the fifth sound are sustained – the fifth sound may be sustained, or pronounced quickly and forcefully.Examples of pronunciations, and the accompanying movements may be found a
YouTube
and related links.

References

* TU Ren-Shun; "Effect of Practicing Health Qigong-Liu Zi Jue on Endocrine System During Menopause"; Xiyuan Hospital of China, Academy of T.C.M. (Beijing 100091) * TU Ren-Shun; "Effect of Practicing Health Qigong-Liu Zi Jue on Brain Electrical Power Spectra for Old and Middle-aged People"; Xiyuan Hospital of China, Academy of T.C.M. (Beijing 100091) * YU Ping, ZHU Ying-Qi, SHEN Zhong-Yuan; "The Experimental Research of the Effect of Health Qigong-Liu Zi Jue Exercise on the Human Lung Function"; Shanghai Qigong Institute (Shanghai 200032) * Cathrine Despeux; "The Six Healing Breaths" in "Daoist Body Cultivation" 2006 p. 37 – 68 incl. bibliography * A guide to perform th
Six Healing Sounds
can be found at this external link * List articles abou
Liu Zi Jue
on neigong.net * A collection of differen
six healing sound
videos on Qigong Journal {{Qigong Qigong Chinese martial arts Taoist practices

History

The sounds/sections

See also

References