(readers are advised to consult their medical physician for any serious medical condition before following the recommendation below)

recent question
Question : I enjoyed reading your book.When I practice tai chi, at the finish my hands become pink but are
not very warm. Can you suggest a way to have them become warmer? Thank you,

Answer: The lack of warmth could be from many different causes. Since I have not seen you to assess your particular condition, I will hazard a guess that the lack of warmth here is due to not being relax enough during your Tai Chi practice. Here is a simple preliminary simple qigong to induce warmth. Stand for a few minutes and let your arms swing slightly forward and back for the duration, you should notice a general sense of warmth start to stream down your finger tips. Maintain that sense of relaxation in your shoulders and arms as you practice the Tai Chi movements. I am guessing that perhaps you are a beginner in Tai Chi practice.

Question 1 B: The book is a great pleasure for someone like myself. I have a question: my mother is slowly becoming crippled by arthritis the hands, the knees, the back - and I was wondering if there was a particular movement/sound/visualization or combination of any of these that might be of some use to her. She’s 81 and a stubborn ‘agnostic’ (by which she means ‘skeptic’, I think), but I would like to try to help her if I can. Although I have about 30 years of Yang-style T’ai Chi Ch’uan training (both Chen Man-ch’ing style and - more particularly - that of Yang Cheng-fu which I studied with Yang Zhen-duo and his chief representative here in Paris), I get the impression that her knees are far too painful now to think of doing moving exercises, but I think something gestural like the Six Sounds Qigong could very well help. Any suggestions?

Dear M__, first I am very pleased that you have such caring relationship with your mother. You are correct in that her knee will not take the strain of Taiji Quan. While the Six Healing Sounds are perfect for her in that it works directly with the qi flow. The best course is for you to read her some of the guided meditation in a tape and she can listen to it before she goes to bed. Then move to the movement part much later, after she discovers for herself the healing effect of simple meditation.

Q & A

1A: Question: Do I start with the liver meditation and movement and just do that until it feels comfortable and then move on and so on and so on? or do one/day (meditation and movement) of the six sounds? I guess another option is just "winging it" and just beginning. But the Qigong is too beautiful to me for there not to be some kind of plan. Then down the road what am I striving for? all six with in 20 minutes? I admit I am confused with respect to the nuts and bolts practice. ---H

Answer: Dear H:
Without knowing the specific health of the person, it is hard to give specific recommendation. But lets assume hypothetically a normal healthy woman or man between 18--62 without serious medical conditions. Then, my advise would be to start with the liver meditation and movement and just do that until it feels comfortable and then move on to the heart sounds, following the natural generative sequence of the healing sounds. Use a mirror to feedback on your movements. Listen to the sound file above to hear the tone of the healing sounds. As you practice, discover what you like and learn from that. Avoid over exertion of breathing--if you feel dizzy then most likely you are hyperventilating, just back off from breathing too deeply.
The nuts and bolts of the practice is analogous to learning to cook from reading recipes; initially it would be very difficult but with each practice, putting the words into the action, you would gain a clearer sense of the movement and sounds.
A good trick to do is to read out loud the instruction to a tape recorder, slowly, and then play back the instruction like having a teacher being present.
In time, you will come to gain a real alley and friend for life, the Six Healing Sounds Qigong would always be with you in your journey of life. Slowly, get to know such a friend. Invest time and effort, and you will be rewarded with a glowing health and overall radiance of life.
Of course, this book will also inspire you to take some qigong classes when it becomes possible in your local area. And you would find that you have already gained a better familiarity of the whole Taoist concept of healing, and breathing process.
Finally, if you perserver and complete the book. Then you should have a very gentle well rounded practice of the Six Sounds doing them in sequence from Xu, Liver, Ho, Heart...Hey, Triple Burner which lasts about 20 minutes. This is how some of my students practice daily with the Taoist Qigong. Some of them found the Healing sounds serve as really wonderful warm up before their singing performance. With daily practice, my students discover that they can extend the range and length of their songs.
Good luck in your journey of self discovery. Drop me a line on your progress and I will post a follow up.

1 Question:
I just bought Master Hon's new book on Taoist Qigong. Having just returned from a medical Qigong study trip in China ...I was delighted to find Master Hon's book on the shelf in the bookstore where I work. I have read about a third of it, have gone on-line to hear the correct pronunciation of the healing sounds and really like Master Hon's approach to this practice.

I am confused by one thing he writes. In fact this has been confusing to me with a number of Qigong teachers I have studied with, and I'm wondering if you can give me some clarification here: On page 37 where Master Hon is talking about breath and movement he says, "In general, when doing Qigong, inhale as you stretch your arms away from the body. Exhale as you gather your arms, as if hugging yourself. Inhale as your body rises up. Exhale as you lower the body." He does go on to say there will be exceptions, which I of course understand. Later however, on page 64 he says, "The basic principle of Qigong breathing is that when you extend your arms outward, exhale; when you gather your arms inward toward your body, inhale."

So which is the GENERAL rule, taking into account that rules are often broken for good reasons?

1. Answer

On page 37, the principle of breathing coordination with movement in general applies to the wider field of overall internal practice--i.e. Taiji Quan, Qigong..
while on page 64, the direction for the coordination for breathing is specifically apply toward the Healing Sound Qigong. The omission of the qualifiers become confusing. But that is the complexity of breathing process. However, it is possible an individual would find an alternative breathing pattern of inspiration and expiration more natural then by all means, reverse it. Taoist qigong is a process of self discovery, and the guidelines are exactly that serving only as guide post, the practitioner must find her own natural way of free breath. Good luck in your journey of discovery.

2. Question:
I purchased a copy of your book and I am confused. Is this a "short form" version of Taoist Qigong or is Taoist Qigong supposed to be this short? I know there is a Wuji Qigong that has 18 postures. Your book only shows 6 which is very short compared to the Wuji style. Is that all there is?

It must be a shock for you to get an e-mail which basically says "this is too easy, give me more." Whatever the case, is there a long form of Taoist Qigong and are you planing to write a book for the long form?

Are the six exercises all there is? I mean, if six is all that is needed to have vigorous health and attain the Tao then, thank you very much! If there are more than six postures.... master Hon, please, share more knowledge please.

2. Answer:
The Six Healing Sounds are only a small component of the whole Taoist Qigong which according to the Taoist Canon, Tao Zheng, there are approximately 3,000 various different styles and practices of Qigong. For example, the Five Animal Frolic is another set of the Taoist Qigong which models after the movements of the animals.
Taoist Qigong are categorized in two major groups: Stillness and Movements.
Stillness Taoist Qigong consists of meditation and internal circulation of the qi, vital force, in the various energy channels: Micro-cosmic Orbit and Macrocosmic Orbit are two of the most common ones.
Movements Taoist Qigong involves the integration between motion and breath, visualization and mudra--hand gestures, the Six Healing Sounds belongs to this movement Taoist Qigong group.

4. Question:
Do the legendary masters represent mythic ideals, or actual ideals that people can achieve with enough work?

4. Answer
Legendary masters point to the possibility of accomplishment. If a practitioner has the following perfect conditions then he or she could achieve the highest level of Taoist accomplishment:
Ideal conditions:
A. A healthy body/mind with exceptional brilliance of mind, heart and spirit.
B. Finding a true Taoist master who is willing to accept one as a student.
C. An extended period of 10 years in relative peace and harmony for the studies.
D. A clean environment free of pollution.
E. Luck and good fortune.

Please read the last chapter of the book, Taoist Qigong for Health and Vitality, on what one need to able to achieve mastery of Taoist Qigong practice--faith, perseverance and wisdom.

6 Healing sounds

The therapeutic effects of the Healing Sounds:

Harmonize the organs
Open the throat and increase oxygen into the blood stream
Increase Qi flows

Sound and healing from the beginning of time, all animals have the use of sound to express, communicate and to defend themselves. In time of stress and sickness, we often emit different spontaneous sound that helps to heal and soothe us. The crying sound of sadness, the laughter of joy, the moaning of sickness, the cooing to baby. The therapeutic effect of those primordial sounds become buried with the excessive use of sound as speech and singing. People has forgotten how to use the Primal healing sounds to heal themselves and others with the exception of few remaining aboriginal tribal shaman in the Amazon who still chant their healing songs, and blowing away sickness.

In the development of the healing sounds, there are two currently contemporary practice that is available for student of healing. The studies of mantra from the yogic tradition and the Taoist 6 Healing Sounds. These two system each have developed to an extensive theory of interrelationship between the organs and the sounds.

The Yogic universal mantra AUM corresponds:

A to the physical body
U to the soul
M to the spirit.

For every mantra has four effects:

The sound effects
The meaning of the words
The mental image effect
The ‘spirit’ of the mantra itself.

Parallel to the development of the mantra, the Taoist healing dated from 200 B.C. expands into the therapeutic and physical effects of the sounds on the organs. The 6 Healing sounds corresponds to the organs:

Xu to Liver
Ho to Heart
Fu to the Spleen
Xi to the Lungs
Chu to the Kidney
Hey to the Triple Burner

The bases of the curative effect of the healing sounds are in its three major functions:

By using the throat and the esophagus, the Taoist releases excessive heat from the organs.
By the shaping of the mouth and tongue, the resonance of the sounds stimulates the internal movement of the organs.
By coordination of physical movement with the sounds, the Healing Sounds enable one to regain one’s natural freedom in breathing.

Releasing excessive heat cools the organs, while the vibrations of the sounds stimulate their functions. Regaining the spontaneous free breath release us from the conditional restricted habit of breathing, therefor, this allows us to increase the oxygen in our blood.

The Chinese system of organs are more than just the physical organs. For example, the heart is no mere pump but the seat of the consciousness. The organ, heart, has a more general function of the nervous system. While the Spleen not only responsible for the digestive system but also control and effect the overall muscular system of the body.

The inter-relationship between the organs and the neural, endocrine, muscle skeletal systems and the immune systems are the distinctive characteristic of Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM) practice. The TCM principle of treating sickness has become widely accepted in the USA and Europe.

The 6 Healing Sounds serves as the triggering point for twigging the organs into balance and indirectly deal with the other body systems.

Disclaimer:
As with all physical exercises, caution must be taken before the exercise is started. You should consult your physician before starting any exercise program, including Tai Chi, Qigong. Persons with conditions such as heart disease, respiratory conditions, asthma, and other dangerous conditions should exercise extreme caution and consult with their physician before starting any exercise, including Tai Chi and Qigong Any information given on this site "www.erols.com/dantao/index.html", "www.dantao.com" and all internal links within should be read and followed at the reader/viewer's own risk. Sat Hon and all other persons associated with the creation and maintenance of this web site "www.erols.com/dantao/" and other related links by Sat Hon shall not be held liable for any damage including physical or mental damage caused by the viewing/reading of this web site. All material contained within this web site should be taken with extreme caution at the reader/viewer's own risk.

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6 HEALING SOUNDS Audio Files & FAQ:

1. Answer