Bhramari Pranayama or Humming Bee Breath|How to Do|Duration|Benefits|Precautions

Pranayamas are much more than the breathing exercise that they are taken for. Practice of pranayamas not only helps calm the brain but also have many clinical benefits.
Bhramari pranayama specially has many benefits for the mind body and soul. This pranayama is mentioned bhramari as the sound produced while practicing the pranayama sounds like that of a bee.

The sounds produced while practicing bhramari pranayama vibrates in the skull which has a very soothing effect on the brain and the nervous system. Bhramari pranayama is also an important aspect of nada yoga. Nada yoga involves usage of sound vibrations to enhance meditation, transcend towards the internal journey.

This pranayama can be practiced anytime but is better to practice it on empty stomach in the morning.

How to do Bhramari Pranayama Or Humming Bee Breath?

How to do Bhramari Pranayama Or Humming Bee Breath?

  • To do bhramari pranayama, sit on the yoga mat in in a comfortable meditation asana.
  • Depending upon your ease and comfort you can sit in Padmasana, Siddhayoni asana or sukhasana.
  • Place the feet flat on the floor with the knees raised with the elbows resting on the knees.
  • While practicing the bhramari pranayama, the spinal cord should be erect, the head straight and the hands should be resting on the knees in chin or jnana mudra.
  • Close the eyes and relax. The whole body should be at ease. Stay in this pose for a few breaths.
  • While maintaining the posture, your teeth will remain slightly separated while the lips will be gently closed throughout the practice. Maintaining this allows the sound vibration produced while practicing Bhramari pranayama to be heard and felt more clearly in the brain.
  • Make sure that the jaws are relaxed while maintaining the posture.
  • Now, raise the arms sideways and bend the elbows and bring the hands to the ears.
  • From this position, use the index or middle finger to plug both the ears.
  • Make sure that you plug your ears by pressing the flaps of your ears with the thumbs. Make sure that you do not insert your fingers inside your ear. Place the fingers on your head.
  • When you attain this position, close your eyes and concentrate on the eye center and keep inhaling and exhaling deeply.
  • Start inhaling deeply through the nose and exhale slowly and in a controlled manner while making a deep, long and steady humming sound.
  • The humming sound coming of throat should be smooth, and it should be produced during the entire time of exhalation.
  • The ideal exhalation technique when followed reverberated the skull and give a deep calming and relieving sensation.
  • This completes one round of the Bhramari pranayama. At the end of each exhalation, breathe in deeply and repeat the process.
  • Start by performing 5 rounds of bhramari pranayama initially.

Awareness While Practicing Bhramari Pranayama Or Humming Bee Breath

One must be aware of the humming sound produced while practicing pranayama and spiritual awareness should be on the Ajna or the third eye chakra.

Duration Of Practice of Bhramari Pranayama Or Humming Bee Breath

  • You must start with 5 to 10 rounds in the beginning. After practicing 5 to 10 rounds for some time, you must slowly increase the duration of Bhramari pranayama to 10 to 15 minutes.
  • When Bhramari pranayama is practice for more than up to 30 minutes, you can experience relaxation and calmness as it aids in the healing process.
  • The practitioner should be aware of the rhythmic breathing and should keep a count of the breaths while practicing Bhramari pranayama.

Late night before sleeping or early morning is considered the best time to practice Bhramari pranayama as there are fewer external noises to interfere and would help in getting calmness and peace and helps in the internal journey. However, as mentioned earlier, bhramari may be practiced at any time of the day to relieve mental tension, pressure thereby bringing calmness.

Precautions and Contraindications While Practicing Bhramari Pranayama Or Humming Bee Breath

  • Bhramari pranayama should never be practiced while lying down or in a supine position.
  • People suffering from severe ear infections should also not practice this pranayama until the infection subsides.
  • People with severe heart diseases must practice under the guidance of a trained yoga expert or they must practice without breath retention.
  • Pregnant women or women on their menstrual cycle should also not practice Bhramari pranayama.
  • People suffering from epilepsy should not practice this pranayama.

People with extremely high blood pressure should not perform this pranayama or practice it under the guidance of a trained yoga expert after consultation with a physician.
Do not strain yourself when performing kumbhaka or breath retention, one or two seconds is enough for beginners. The duration of kumbhaka practice may be increased gradually with the practice.

Benefits Of Practicing Bhramari Pranayama Or Humming Bee Breath

  • Bhramari pranayama is beneficial in relieving stress and cerebral tension thereby alleviating excessive anger and anxiety.
  • Regular practice of bhramari pranayama is also considered to relieve insomnia.
  • It is also said to reduce blood pressure for people with mild blood pressure problems.
  • Bhramari pranayama is beneficial in speeding up the healing of body tissue and may be practiced after operations.
  • It strengthens and improves the voice and eliminates throat ailments.
  • One of the best benefits of Bhramari pranayama is that it strengthens and improves the voice of the practitioner.
  • Once the pranayama is practiced for some time, one can move to advance practice wherein you can incorporate tribandha in practice in conjunction with the internal breath retention.
  • Advanced practitioners can also practice humming sound on both inhalation as well as exhalation slowly with gradual practice.
  • Bhramari pranayama also helps in alleviation of migraine.
  • It also helps in increasing concentration and memory of the practitioner.
  • It is also considered very beneficial for people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
  • For people who want to start their inward journey, bhramari is an essential tool as it helps in awakening of kundalini.

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Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:February 12, 2020

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