Omega II: Visiting with the Sages
Day 2 - Evening Session - Part 2

by Alisa Joaquin

"So, there's different emotions associated with each one of these organs. We'll go through each one of these and there are different ways that I have people remembering some of these different sounds. Like, for instance, with the first one, water, we have fear. So fear is the negative emotion associated with the kidneys. In fear we have the sound FU. So, f-u (he stretches out the sound of the F and U.) And the way I always remember this one, F stands for fear. So when we do these sounds, of course I will be directing you accordingly, we're going to do the intonation in an audible way and then there's going to be a silent way in which you practice. Usually, that's the way it's done. Actually, it's done more audibly in the beginning just to get the sound. What's important is to connect with the vibration. The vibration of each organ is being restored as you work with this. Of course what happens at the same time, the expulsion of the breath is carrying with it whatever pathogenic chi, and that's how you release that negative emotion and allow for the restoration of the chi to take place.

"So one of the things about fear; if you ever hear people talk about that expression "Oh I'm so scared I wet my pants," right. So there we go again. Water, kidneys, kidney function has to do all with the same connection. Each one of these organs also has to do with different tissues. Which tissue do you think is associated with the kidneys? Anybody happen to know? Bone, so, your skeletal system that's what's connected to the kidneys. You also see kidneys house the energy for long life.

"So the next one we have is the liver. Live actually houses anger. So the anger we're going to be doing the sound of Shoo (sounds like shoe-also stretching out the Sh and U sounds). And I always remember this one because, someone who is angry, they want to shoo that person away. So what happens is this agressive energy that you might have inside you, this liver anger, aggression, resentment, can be cleansed using the shoo sound.

"Next we have the heart energy which I talked a little bit about last night (Friday evening session). And the heart is actually bothered by over excitation. The Chinese will tell you joy, but in our culture we believe that joy is a positive quality, not necessarily negative. So, over excitation or over excitability, sometimes what happens is if there is too much heat, like during the summer, people have problems sleeping, insomnia is brought about. Also the heart has a lot to do with the mind. So what happens when you have too much on your mind, you need to clear that excess heart energy and bring down the heat. So that's what happens with the heart. So by clearing the over excitation, you bring balance to the heart. So the sound for the heart is an easy one to remember, Ha (stretching out the H and Ah sound), like laughter. Ha, ha, ha.

"Then next we have the spleen. And the spleen actually works with the function of digestion. The spleen also manifests its health in the tissues of the muscles. The spleen works with and houses the negative energy of worry and anxiety. You always heard about people talking about worrying too much and the connection to having an ulcer. You here that many times. So the sound for spleen is Hu (like shoo but without the S). And all of these sounds always go downward. So what it is, is a releasing sound, so it always drops downward. So, Hu for worry, and that works with the spleen.

"And then the final one, for the metal or air element, we have sadness, grief, disappointment, that all relates back to the lungs. So you hear some of these sounds actually just throughout your day-to-day living. Somebody is told something, didn't rise up to their expectations, what do they do? (Arnold let's out a deep breath.) These sounds again, naturally occur. So here, with the lungs, you have grief, sadness, disappointment, all you need to remember is SSSSSSS for sadness.

"And then there is a sixth healing sound that associates itself not with any particular organ, but something they call the triple heater, triple warmer, which relates, purely to Chinese medicine concept, relates with the three burning spaces. So there's the chest area, mid section are, and the lower intestinal region. So the upper area has to do with inspiration, confidence; the middle area has to do with assimilation and digestion; and the lower intestinal region has to do with elimination. So, when we do this final sound, it's done by bringing your mind all the way from the upper chest going all the way down (indicating the to the lower abdomen or pelvic region). Some people do it in both directions, but with this one we'll just go straight down. The sound that relates with that is She (stretching out the SH and E sounds). And again all of these are in the book. And they're also on the videotape as well. So you want to refer to those if you have questions with that.

"So, what we're doing here is by learning a method by which we can connect with the energy, we can release any excess emotions or feelings that we might have, there by bringing about more emotional stability. And again, a centerness of your energy so you can reconnect back with the three dan tiens and Heaven and Earth. So what is interesting about this, in our culture we don't really have a way in which we comfortably express these emotions, other than of course, talking or speaking about them. Many times people pent up their emotions and they don't know what to do with them. They don't know how to manage them. So, Qi Gong does it in this particular way, very specifically. Now, there are some sounds that are used more in a clinical level. In fact, I'm working with a cancer group in Stanford (UCSF-Stanford) where they have a complimentary alternative medicine center that's very well known for working with cancer patients. In that class, and those people, what those people, they could actually do some of these other sounds that I'm talking about. They would be the ones that would be specifically used, these other sets of sounds. These ones here are generally used. And usually they are not used as part of a routine. You would actually just tap into them as needed. So what happens is, you're driving down the road and somebody's tail gating you. Or maybe you're tailgating someone else, trying to get through where you need to be. So, that anger comes up so then the healing sound of Shoo would be needed in that case.

"So, that's one of the things that you could do. You don't have to necessarily do the physical posture. There's different postures associated with these sounds. The main thing is that you connect your intent, you relax in your posture, and then your breath connecting the vibration. So, it's not, for instance, the heart sound is not just from the throat, it's HHHHAAAAAAAA (demonstrating-going deep and low-feeling the vibration), so there's this release and it's deep and guttural. So you have to connect with the organs. So often times people have already experienced these different emotions. Is there anybody here who's never experienced sadness, fear, anger, resentment, over excitation, worry. Nah, no one here, right. You've been doing the videos. You've been doing the Nine Psalms."

At that point he gave us a choice as to which position we wanted to do these sounds. Usually, Arnold would have his students either do them from a seated position (on a chair or lotus position). He stated that you could do them standing as well. He again stressed that the main thing was to connect with the intent. He also had us close our eyes to connect with the energy and as we did the sounds we also did the posture that went with the sound. To really know what it is that I am referring to, you would have to have the videotape. I wanted to have the healing sounds on my website so you could hear them, but the file size prevented it. Each file took up at least a megabyte and my space is limited. The videotape, though, is widely available at any video store in the workout section so I will leave it at that.

At that point, we did each healing sound, starting with the kidneys. The position (from a seated posture) was a leaning forward motion where you would feel the stretch in your lower back. As you would do the sound, you would lean forward and feel the vibration going down to your lower back as you leaned and stretched forward.

The next position and sound we did was for the liver. If you have ever did the left or right pancake stretch; it is that stretch you would do accept you do not lean toward the right or the left if you are seated in a chair. You would simply lift up the arm, turning the palm upward and pushing upward to stretch. Again, you need to feel the sound vibration dropping down as you stretch.

The third position of course was for the heart. We interlocked our fingers and as we made the sound, we raised and stretched them upward then over our head, turning our palms outward.

The fourth position was for the spleen and that was just like the liver, but you would do it on the left side. Each sound that we did, we inhaled deeply and as we did the sound, we exhaled at the very point of making the sound, which helps to make the sound go deeper and resonate better.

The fifth position and sound we did was for the lungs. Arnold felt this was a very important sound for men to do because men in western society are not encouraged to cry, especially in public. They tend to bottle up their grief more. They are told as children not to cry or to stop crying when they do causing a reflex action. So this sound would really be beneficial. What you would do for this position is as, you would make the sound, you would lean back, letting your arms drop open to your sides, and raising her head so you face the ceiling. This opens the throat, the bronchial passages, and the lungs.

The sixth and final sound that we did releases the excess energy of the three dan tien. This particular one, the position is usually done laying down, but it can be done in a seated position but you need to be able to straighten out you body. The vibration goes from the chest, through the center, and down to the intestines.

After going through each one with the positions with explanation given, we went through all six and did all the positions a second time. Arnold once again stated that we needed to connect with each of the energies that related to each of the organs, and apply our intent to each one as we do the posture and sound to release the negative emotions associated with each of the energies and organs. He said that when you release that energy, direct that energy downward into the ground that way it would do no harm.

End of Day 2 - Evening Session - Part 2

Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2001.
This personal account cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.

Omega II Contents / Next Part
David Carradine Home / Contact Alisa