A practice called the 6 Healing Sounds (SHS) in Qigong has been studied and shown to help transform stress and negative emotions into vital life-force energy (“good chi”) throughout our body’s electromagnetic field.

Where did the 6 Healing Sounds Come From?

The “Record of Longevity and Nourishing Life,” was written by Doctor Tao Hongjing, who was also an alchemist and astrologer, where he compiled the sounds around 500 CE.

Over the centuries, the Six Healing Sounds went through enhancements by Taoists, monks and even China’s “King of Medicine,” Sun Simiao.

There are some slight variations in the sounds, according to different sources, but I compiled the most commonly used ones here, from trusted masters.

The “Magic” of Healing with Sound

Our life-force energy — chi — can get blocked from a bad diet, stagnant lifestyle or repressed emotions, causing pain or illness (according to TCM).

For example, if chi is stuck in the spleen, bloating, abdominal pain and poor digestion can result. In the liver, bad chi might be felt as pain in the lower right rib cage or having a quick temper (anger causes liver disease, according to TCM). Headaches can arise if stagnant chi is stuck in the head.

The 6 Healing Sounds move stuck chi using specific internal vibrations of your vocal cords, which massage your organs with healing frequencies to expel stagnant chi, allow in fresh energy.

TCM focuses on five of our major organs: the heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys. Each are assigned an element (fire, earth, metal, water or wood), a sound, a color, and even a season.

By using the healing sounds, chi that’s congested is ejected from affected organs to allow space for renewed clear chi.

What are the 6 Healing Sounds in Qigong?

Here are the sounds with their associated element, season, color and emotions (postive/negative).

❤️ Heart
Element: Fire
Season: Summer
Color: Red
Emotions: “Emperor” of all Emotions (Love/Hatred)
Healing Sound: Haaa — ‘yawn’ or ‘laughing sound’ to feel more calm and connected

🫁 Lungs
Element: Metal
Season: Autumn
Color: White
Emotions: Courage vs. Grief
Healing Sound: Ssssuh — ‘to rest,’ to reduce colds and lift one’s spirit

🌳 Liver
Element: Wood
Season: Spring
Color: Green
Emotions: Kindness/Anger
Healing Sound: Shhhooo — ‘deep sigh’ or ‘hiss’ to reduce irritability

🗻 Spleen
Element: Earth
Season: Late Summer
Color: Yellow
Emotions: Trust/Worry
Healing Sound: Whooo — ‘to sigh,’ ‘to exhale,’ or ‘to call,’ to calm anxiety

💧 Kidneys
Element: Water
Season: Winter
Color: Dark blue
Emotions: Gratitude/Fear
Healing Sound: Chooo — ‘to blow out,’ ‘to puff,’ to calm anxiety

🔥 “Triple warmer” (3 dantians) plus small intestine & gallbladder
Element: Wood
Season: All seasons
Color: Purple
Emotions: Peace/Panic
Healing Sound: Sheee —‘mirthful,’ for digestive issues and relieving anxiety

Inhale through your nose, then exhale through your mouth making the sound.

Proper sequence for the 6 Healing Sounds

Order to promote healing

(based on the mutual overcoming of the 5 elements):

Haaa (heart, fire)
Shhhoo (liver, wood)
Whoo (spleen, earth)
Ssssuhh (lungs, metal)
Chooo (kidneys, water)
Sheee (triple warmer)

Order for routine maintenance

(based on the mutual generation of the five elements):

Shhhoo (liver, wood)
Haaa (heart, fire)
Whoo (spleen, earth)
Ssssuhh (lungs, metal)
Chooo (kidneys, water)
Sheee (triple warmer)

Certain forms and poses are used with the sounds in Qigong to help clear stuck chi.

⏯ See them in action in this 6 Healing Sounds Exercise.