MANY MINOR PHYSICAL IMBALANCES can be relieved by doing specific Healing Sounds, the Inner Smile, and Releasing One Emotion. A number of practitioners have used them to cure stress, insomnia, indigestion, overeating, or smoking of cigarettes or marijuana.
CAUTION: If you have a serious or life-threatening illness, please work with skilled physicians or health practitioners. No doubt, the techniques in this book can assist your professional treatment by calming and relaxing you. However, do not rely on these techniques alone.
The best results for the following problems occur when the suggested practices are supported by moderate exercise, adequate sleep, and three regular nutritious meals each day that include all five tastes and all five colors.
ARTHRITIS: Do nine to eighteen SHHHHHH sounds (anger, jealousy). To balance your emotions and internal organs, either then or later in the day, do all Six Healing Sounds three to six times each. Do the Inner Smile every day, smiling more to your liver and heart. Do the Releasing One Emotion practice a few times a week. Emphasize green foods and sour foods in your diet. Include some raw fermented foods daily. Practice being looser and more flexible with yourself and others. Many Western scientific studies show that regular practice of tai chi alleviates arthritis.
ASTHMA: Do the sound SSSSSS (sadness, depression) nine to eighteen times. Then or later in the day, do all Six Healing Sounds three to six times each. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to your lungs and large intestine. Do the Releasing One Emotion practice for sadness and depression. Work on forgiving yourself and others for past mistakes and traumas. BACKACHE: Do six to eighteen CHOOOO sounds (fear, nervousness). Then or later in the day, do all Six Healing Sounds. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to the kidneys and the area of pain. Hit (gently), massage, and palm kidneys and sacrum six to twelve times. Do stretching exercises; learn tai chi, or Iron Shirt chi kung, or chi kung postures.
BAD BREATH: Do six to eighteen HOOOOOO sounds (worry, self-pity, anxiety). Then or later in the day, do all Six Healing Sounds. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to the stomach, pancreas, and spleen. Bless and appreciate your food. Take small bites, eat slowly, and chew each mouthful until it is liquid. BODY ODOR: Do the SSSSSS and the CHOOOO sounds (sadness and fear) six to eighteen times each. Then or later, do all the Healing Sounds in sequence. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to your lungs and kidneys. Slap your lung area six to nine times. With your fists, gently hit your kidney area. With your palms, massage and warm that area.
COLD OR FLU: Do six to eighteen SSSSSS sounds (sadness, depression). Then or later, do all the Healing Sounds in sequence. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to your lungs and large intestine. Slap your lung area. Rest and drink liquids. Fresh lemon juice with hot water and a little cayenne pepper will help clear your nose and lungs.
COLD SORES: Do six to eighteen HAWWWWWW sounds (impatience, arrogance). Then or later, do all the Healing Sounds. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to your mouth, tongue, and heart. CONSTIPATION: Do six to eighteen SSSSSS sounds (sadness, depression). Then or later, do all the Healing Sounds in sequence. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to your lungs and large intestine. Place one hand over the other and rub your abdomen in thirty-six clockwise circles only, the same direction as the large intestine excretes waste. Eat a raw carrot or banana. Eat some spicy food and food with fiber. Eat some raw fermented foods daily. Do a mild colon cleanse with cooked black or white fungus purchased at a Chinese herb or grocery store or online.
DIARRHEA: Do six to eighteen HOOOOOO sounds (worry, self-pity, anxiety). Then or later, do all the Healing Sounds in sequence. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to your stomach, spleen, and pancreas. Place one hand over the other and rub your abdomen in thirty-six counterclockwise circles only. Eat only rice congee soup until diarrhea stops: cook one cup basmati or white rice with six cups water for a few hours. Eat it plain. When diarrhea improves, add steamed zucchini; after a few more meals, add stewed, peeled apple to meals.
DIZZINESS: Do six to eighteen CHOOOO sounds (fear, nervousness). Then or later, do all the Healing Sounds in sequence. Massage the space between the large and small balls of the feet. Eat some grounding food, such as cooked whole grains and beans. Eat something salty; an umeboshi plum is very grounding. Take a nap. Go to bed earlier than usual.
EYE STRAIN; RED, WATERY EYES: Do six to eighteen SHHHHHH sounds (anger, jealousy, resentment). Then or later, do all Six Healing Sounds in sequence. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to the eyes, liver, and gallbladder. Take frequent breaks from your computer or other close work. Alternate close looking with looking into the distance. Get in the habit of blinking often. When reading, move your head along with your eyes as you read each line of printed material.
FATIGUE: Do six to eighteen SSSSSS and CHOOOO sounds (sadness and fear) at least a few hours before bedtime. Then or later, do all Six Healing Sounds in sequence. Take a nap. Get adequate sleep at night.
HEADACHE: Do six to eighteen SHHHHHH sounds (anger, jealousy, resentment). Then or later, do all Six Healing Sounds in sequence. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to your forehead, liver, and gallbladder. Massage your temples. Massage your scalp with your fingers, going front to back only, from your hairline back to your neck. Eat some sour foods.
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE: This is due to too much energy in the head. Do the first five Healing Sounds six to nine times each, in sequence; then do the HEEEEEE sound twice that many times. Massage your feet. Keep your feet warm. After any type of meditation, collect the energy in the navel, following the method given for the Inner Smile.
INDIGESTION: Do six to eighteen HOOOOOO sounds (worry, self-pity, anxiety). This is the only sound that can be done immediately after eating. Afterward, wait at least an hour and do all Six Healing Sounds in sequence. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to your stomach, spleen, and pancreas. Eat three nutritious meals a day on a regular schedule; have your dinner three hours before bedtime. Eat slowly; take small bites and mix each one with lots of saliva and chew it until it’s liquid. Stop eating when you’re 80 percent full. Eat a variety of the five tastes and colors every day. Sweet foods that will benefit your digestion are cooked whole grains (presoaked overnight; see directions in chapter 8), cooked beans (presoaked overnight), cooked sweet potatoes, red potatoes, and squash. We weaken our digestion and our stamina by eating sugar-sweetened food or too many sweet fruits. Switch from cane sugar to a small amount of raw honey or 100 percent pure organic maple syrup. Bitter and spicy foods will also strengthen your digestion. Twenty minutes before a meal, try drinking a half cup of organic wine or filtered water with a few squeezes of fresh lemon added.
INSOMNIA: Do all Six Healing Sounds in sequence. When you come to the HEEEEEE sound (relaxation, sleep), turn out the lights, lie down under the covers, and keep doing the sound until you fall asleep. It’s important that you don’t eat anything later than three hours before bedtime. Do relaxing activities at night — don’t watch TV news or violent or disturbing films at night. The HEEEEEE sound has helped countless practitioners to cure long-standing insomnia.
MUCOUS: Do six to eighteen SSSSSS and HOOOOOO sounds (sadness, depression, worry, and anxiety). Do all Six Healing Sounds in sequence. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to your lungs, stomach, spleen, and pancreas. Avoid cane sugar. Avoid eating a lot of sweet foods. Eat some spicy and bitter foods. Use a neti pot with warm salt water to clean your nasal passages a few times a week.
MUSCLE CRAMPS: Do six to eighteen HOOOOOO sounds (worry, anxiety, self-pity). If the cramps are in the legs at night, massage both legs before sleep. Do some gentle stretching exercises or a short tai chi form before bedtime. Do all Six Healing Sounds in sequence, just before bedtime. Learn and practice Iron Shirt chi kung or other chi kung postures. (Do them no later than three hours before bedtime.)
NAUSEA: Do six to eighteen HOOOOOO sounds (worry, anxiety, self-pity). When the nausea subsides, do all Six Healing Sounds in sequence. Drink boiled warm water. When you can, eat rice congee soup. See Diarrhea, for the recipe and other food suggestions.
PAIN: Smile frequently into the area of pain. Massage it. Ask for the message of the pain, and act on it. Do the entire Inner Smile practice. Do all Six Healing Sounds in sequence.
SMOKING CESSATION (cigarettes and marijuana): Do six to eighteen SSSSSS sounds (sadness, depression, letting go). Do all Six Healing Sounds in sequence. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to your lungs and heart. Do the Releasing One Emotion practice for sadness, depression, or any other resistant emotions. Eat regular nutritious meals; eat all five tastes and colors daily. Moderate, regular exercise is important. Don’t watch TV news at night; don’t watch violent or disturbing shows or films. Deep, restful sleep is important. See suggestions under Insomnia.
SORE THROAT: Do six to eighteen HAWWWWWW sounds (impatience, arrogance). Do all Six Healing Sounds in sequence. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to your throat and heart. Drink warm boiled water with fresh lemon juice and raw honey. Rest your voice. Take a nap. Go to bed early.
STRESS: Do six to eighteen SHHHHHH and HEEEEEE sounds (stress, relaxation, sleep). Do all Six Healing Sounds in sequence. Do the entire Inner Smile practice. Eat calming, cooked, sweet foods such as yams, rice, oatmeal, quinoa, broccoli, carrots, red potatoes, and turnips. Take a walk in a park or in the country. Ignore newspapers and TV news. Take a warm bath. Listen to peaceful classical music. Treat yourself to a massage.
SWOLLEN GUMS: Do six to eighteen HAWWWWWW sounds (impatience, arrogance, overexcitement). Do all Six Healing Sounds in sequence. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to the gums and heart.
TOOTHACHE: Do six to eighteen SSSSSS sounds (sadness, depression). Do all Six Healing Sounds in sequence. Do the Inner Smile, and smile more to your teeth, lungs, and kidneys. Chew on a whole clove or apply a few drops of clove oil.
WEIGHT, EXCESS: Do all Six Healing Sounds in sequence twice a day. Do the Inner Smile before each meal. Do the Releasing One Emotion practice a few times a week for individual resistant emotions. Eat fresh, local organic food that you enjoy, and prepare it (or have it prepared) with love and appreciation. Use fresh herbs to please your palate. Eat three meals daily, or three smaller meals and two small snacks, on a regular schedule. Eat the last meal three hours before bedtime, and don’t eat anything afterward. Eat slowly, savor each bite, and chew it thoroughly until it is liquid. Train yourself to stop eating when you’re 80 percent full. Eat a variety of foods, with all of the five tastes and five colors daily. Include one or more raw fermented foods daily. Eat small amounts of raw organic butter. Stir-fry vegetables in water or with raw organic coconut oil. (You need quality fat to lose fat.) For dessert, eat raw organic fruits and nuts (soaked for a few hours). Moderate exercise daily is important. Find a creative outlet that you care deeply about. Volunteer to help children, adults, or animals in need.