True Taoists often spent time in the forests or on mountaintops in deep and solitary meditation. Living this natural life in the wilderness, these wise men were, of course, exposed to hardships and disease. According to legend, they evolved a method of repeating sounds, synchronized with a motion resembling the Six Healing Sounds movement of T’ai Chi Chih to ward off illness or cure any indisposition. Each sound referred to a particular inner organ and the idea was to concentrate on the appropriate organ while making each movement and slowly uttering the correct sound in a long drawn-out whisper. These six sounds with the organs they serve are:
- HO (ho) Heart
- HU (who) Spleen
- SZU (tsue) Liver
- HSU (shuh) Lungs
- HSI (she) 3 Heaters: below the navel, in the abdomen, between the eyes)
- CHUI (chwee) Kidneys
The idea is to balance the organs. In order to do this the entire six healing sounds movement must be completed in its entirety. Simply uttering an individual sound with its corresponding motion will create an imbalance.
