Bramhari Pranayama ( Bee humming breath)
“Everything in life is vibration”. - Albert Einstein.
Bramhari Pranayama is made from the Hindi word “Bhramar” which means bumble Bee and, hence, also called ‘bee breath’. Brahmari (Bee Breath) is a very effective Pranayama (breathing exercise) for achieving calmness and meditative states.
Science
In our school days, we would have probably come across the experiment of the “tuning fork” wherein we understood how sound is produced by means of vibrations and the meaning of resonance. Resonance is the impact of sound vibrations on structures exposed and vulnerable to it.
Science has now confirmed that these vibrations can also impact our brain and body and, thus, influence our lives in most profound ways.
This respiratory and vibrational exercise of Brahmari helps to induce a calming effect on the mind rapidly because of resonance.
In Bhramari Pranayama, the exhalation sound resembles the humming sound of a bee. Your lips are closed, and you breathe with a gentle humming sound creating a buzzing in your throat. You can easily feel the sound vibrations in your jaws, throat and face. This is simple and can be done by any age group of people.
Steps
- Sit in the Padmasana (lotus) or any other sitting Asana which you can maintain comfortably until the end of the practice.·
- Close your eyes and breathe deeply.·
- Now close your ears lids or flaps with your thumbs.·
- Place your index finger just above your eyebrows and the rest of your fingers over your eyes with your middle fingers.·
- Applying very gentle pressure to the sides of your nose.·
- Now concentrate your mind on the area between your eyebrows.·
- Keep your mouth closed; breathe out slowly through your nose with making a humming sound of the last syllable of A-U-M i.e. 'M'. M tends to dissolve the existing state, in this case, being stress.
- Repeat this process for 5 times.
- Focus and feel the sound vibrations as they permeate your being and especially the area of your head.
This Pranayama has been known to induce sleep or meditative states
Benefits
- This is the best method to calm and destress.
- It opens any energy blockages and brings about a feeling of happiness.
- Beneficial in relieving from hypertension.
- It relaxes the mind and lowers stress.
- Helps in concentration of mind.
- Helps in High blood pressure and heart problems.
- With the help of this, mind becomes steady, lowers mental tension, agitation etc.
- Helpful in curing Paralysis and migraines.
- All ages people can try this breathing exercise including pregnant women.
- In the time period of pregnancy, it helps to maintain and regulate the functioning of the Endocrine system and provide easy child birth.
- It is very good for Alzheimer’s disease.
- Most effective Pranayama for awakening the Kundalini
Tips and Cautions
- Not a must but best done after practising more basic Pranayama techniques such as nose, chest and abdominal breathing.
- Don’t press your ear cartilage too hard while doing this Pranayama
- Best if done in the morning on an empty stomach. If you are doing Pranayama at other times, then keep 3-4 hours between Pranayama and your meal.
- It is advisable to do all the Yoga postures and breathing exercises initially under the yoga expert.
- Do not put your finger inside the ear- only gently press the ear cartilage.
- People with low blood pressure may wish to consult their doctors as the practice may affect them adversely.
- Also if you are suffering from panic attacks or are highly stressed, you may want to keep your eyes open so as to not subject yourself to complete darkness for the entire duration of the practice
- Always take doctor's advice if you have any health issues.