Bhramari Pranayama
What is Bhramari Pranayama?
In Sanskrit - the name of this technique roughly means ‘humming bee breath’.
This is an ancient yogic breathing technique. You hum while you exhale, generating vibrations that reverberate throught the chest, throat, and skull.
These vibrations help to stimulate your vagus nerve, triggering your parasympathetic nervous system, and eliciting a calming response. This calming effect is compounded further by the slow, long exhales. Making it a fantastic technique for soothing anxiety.
As an added bonus, the vibrations can be helpful for clearing your sinuses!
This technique is great for anyone of any age, including kids. The sensory feedback adds a fun element to your breathwork practice!
Step by step instructions (link to video at the bottom):
Inhale – from nose – full, deep, controlled
Exhale – slowly from the nose, while humming (keep your mouth closed)
Tips for Bhramari Pranayama:
Hum from your chest. Your hum should be clearly audible.
Try to keep your hum at a mid-low pitch. Too high-pitched, and you wont get the vibrations, too lowpitched and you can strain your throat.
You shouldn’t feel breathless at any point, if you do just stop and start again.
