The Six Healing Sounds (Liu Zi Jue): A Practical Guide

六字訣

Six exhalations, six organ systems, one of the oldest documented breathing practices in the Chinese canon — and the one people most often perform too loudly.

Six exhalations, each shaped by the mouth into a different sound, each paired with an organ system. It is among the oldest documented breathing practices in the Chinese canon, and it is the one most often ruined by performing it loudly.

What it is六字訣

六字訣liù zì jué

Six-word formula訣 means a knack, a mnemonic, a transmitted key — not a spell.

吐納tǔ nà

Expelling and taking inThe older general term for breath practice, of which this is a specific instance.

Descriptions of the practice appear in Chinese medical and Daoist literature over a very long period, with the association between particular sounds and particular organs stabilising in roughly the form used today. It exists in seated and standing versions, with and without accompanying arm movements.

The six sounds

How to make the sounds

Each is produced by the shape of the mouth, tongue and lips as air leaves. None is voiced in the way singing is voiced — the vocal folds are barely engaged.

1. 01
   Xū · 噓

   Lips slightly parted, tongue flat with the sides touching the upper molars. The air escapes with a soft "shhh" quality closer to hsu than to an English "shoe". Eyes may open a little wider on the exhalation.

2. 02
   Hē · 呵

   Mouth open and rounded, tongue resting low. A soft breathy haa, as though fogging a window very gently.

3. 03
   Hū · 呼

   Lips rounded into a small circle, tongue low and slightly raised at the sides. A soft hoo, the air directed forward.

4. 04
   Sī · 呬

   Teeth lightly together, lips drawn back slightly. A fine sibilant sss. The quietest of the six.

5. 05
   Chuī · 吹

   Lips pursed as if blowing across the surface of hot tea. A cool, narrow chway. The airstream is noticeably cooler than the others.

6. 06
   Xī · 嘻

   Lips drawn wide, as at the beginning of a smile, teeth close. A light sheee. Often accompanied by a rising arm movement.

The practice itself

1. Stand or sit with the spine vertical and the shoulders dropped — see Xuán Dǐng.
2. Inhale quietly through the nose, into the lower abdomen.
3. Exhale through the mouth, forming the sound. The exhalation should be longer than the inhalation and should end before you run out of air.
4. Pause naturally. Do not rush the next breath.
5. Repeat six times, then move to the next sound.
6. After all six, stand quietly for thirty seconds before closing.

Why the order

The standard sequence — 噓, 呵, 呼, 呬, 吹, 嘻 — follows the generating cycle of the five phases: Wood feeds Fire, Fire makes Earth, Earth bears Metal, Metal carries Water, and 嘻 closes by harmonising the whole. It is the same logic that orders the seasonal correspondences.

You can practise a single sound on its own — the lung sound in autumn, the kidney sound in winter — and this is common. If you practise several, keep them in order.

Common problems

Practise this form: Liu Zi Jue (Six Healing Sounds) · 六字訣