Bee Breath: Hum Your Way to Health
“Whether we like it or not, we are all either in a stage of prevention or in a stage of recovery from COVID-19.” These words get you thinking: am I doing everything I can to support my own health at this time?
During PYI’s latest Breath Coaching Course, an incredible faculty of doctors, nurses, psychologists, and yoga therapists gathered to teach a group of over fifty students a range of breathing tools to support prevention and recovery from COVID-19.
“Whether we like it or not, we are all either in a stage of prevention or in a stage of recovery from COVID-19.” These words get you thinking: am I doing everything I can to support my own health at this time?
During PYI’s latest Breath Coaching Course, an incredible faculty of doctors, nurses, psychologists, and yoga therapists gathered to teach a group of over fifty students a range of breathing tools to support prevention and recovery from COVID-19.
Among the many useful breath techniques covered, I was delighted to reacquaint myself with an old favorite, Bee Breath or Bhramari Pranayama. As someone who has experienced a severe anxiety disorder, sometimes “taking a deep breath” or focusing on the breath at all wasn’t helpful or even available. However, I had discovered that Bee Breath had the power to literally drown out that anxious mental loop, and its vibration could immediately ground me in my body. I would say that Bee Breath is not only a breathing practice, but also a form of meditation.
Bhramari is the Sanskrit word for “bee,” and this pranayama or breath exercise is so named for the humming sound produced - like the gentle low buzz or droning of a bee. Sounds relaxing, right? It is, and here’s some science to back that up: as we’re exhaling and creating the droning sound, we’re also lengthening our exhalations - which in turn activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the side in charge of resting, digesting, and healing.
I’d always known that Bee Breath had a calming effect. In fact, this technique along with others helped me recover from my anxiety disorder, remaining a part of my regular wellness maintenance routine. In PYI’s course, I discovered that one of my most loved breath exercises could also improve immunity - by releasing a beneficial gas called Nitric Oxide into the system (NO.) NO is a critical component in the eradication of viruses.
Here’s how it works: Nasal NO levels increase dramatically during humming compared with normal quiet nasal exhalation. This effect is likely due to increased contribution of NO from the paranasal sinuses. Humming causes the air to oscillate, which in turn seems to increase the exchange of air between the sinuses and the nasal cavity.
To receive the full anti-viral and anti-bacterial benefits of NO, we need to inhale through the nose after the humming is finished, to draw the NO back into the respiratory tract via the bronchial passageways. Nitric Oxide is a free, naturally produced, anti-viral, anti-bacterial gas and can be made available at any time!
How to Practice Bee's Breath:
Sit comfortably but upright, with a stable foundation to support you.
Rest one hand on the heart, another on the belly. If it’s comfortable you could close your eyes, or gaze softly downwards.
Gently close the lips, keeping the teeth slightly apart, and bring the tip of your tongue to the space behind the upper front teeth. (Try to keep the jaw relaxed throughout your practice.)
To begin, take a deep breath in through the nostrils.
As you slowly exhale with the mouth closed, make a steady, low-pitched ‘hmmm’ sound at the back of the throat—like the humming of a bee. Focus on making the sound soft, smooth, and steady. The positioning of the tongue allows the vibration to better resonate throughout the head.
When you inhale, be sure to breathe in through the nose, thus distributing the beneficial NO throughout the respiratory system.
Continue for as many repetitions as you like. After the final exhalation, allow your breath to return to normal and observe any changes that have occurred.
Maybe you can even feel the vibration continue throughout your head and body after you've stopped humming!
Bee Breath Potential Benefits
• Calms and quiets the mind
• Releases Nitric Oxide into the nasal passages, NO is naturally anti-viral and anti-microbial
• Improves immunity
• Increases lung capacity
• Initiates the “Rest, Digest, and Heal Response,” lowering heart rate, blood pressure, and calming nervous system
• May aid in loosening blockage from the sinuses
Bee Breath may also have a positive effect on tinnitus, bolster the health of the throat, and strengthen and improve the voice. Practicing for at least 5 minutes may help you achieve a more meditative state. Happy Humming!
Links:
• Effects of Bhramari Pranayama on health – A systematic review
• The Effect of Bhramari Pranayama (Bumblebee Breath) on Tinnitus
• Humming Greatly Increases Nasal Nitric Oxide
• Nitric oxide and redox mechanisms in the immune response
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Ann Grace MacMullan is a yoga teacher and owner at Team Sun Wellness, a Philadelphia-based company whose mission is to help people of all walks of life take care of themselves through mindful movement and focused breathing. She is also a yoga therapy student at Prema Yoga Institute.
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How to Clear Your Lungs of Fluid Using Pranayama
A couple weeks ago, we talked about the self-proning technique and how it can help improve lung function in patients battling or recovering from a pulmonary condition such as COVID-19. Today, we’re exploring another technique with roots in pranayama, or yogic breath work: expectorating breath.
In short, “expectorating” is the act of coughing up or otherwise clearing mucus, phlegm or other fluid from the lungs and/or sinuses. COVID-19 patients – as well as anyone battling a chest cold, flu, bronchitis or pneumonia – typically suffer from a filling of the lungs with fluid. Of course, if the airways become too obstructed and filled with fluid, it can become impossible to get enough oxygen and the situation can quickly become life threatening. For that reason, working to efficiently and fully clear the lungs of fluid – expectorating – is key.
A couple weeks ago, we talked about the self-proning technique and how it can help improve lung function in patients battling or recovering from a pulmonary condition such as COVID-19. Today, we’re exploring another technique with roots in pranayama, or yogic breath work: expectorating breath.
In short, “expectorating” is the act of coughing up or otherwise clearing mucus, phlegm or other fluid from the lungs and/or sinuses. COVID-19 patients – as well as anyone battling a chest cold, flu, bronchitis or pneumonia – typically suffer from a filling of the lungs with fluid. Of course, if the airways become too obstructed and filled with fluid, it can become impossible to get enough oxygen and the situation can quickly become life threatening. For that reason, working to efficiently and fully clear the lungs of fluid – expectorating – is key.
Your doctor may have set this as a goal for your treatment, or even prescribed medication (commonly known as expectorants). But as anyone who’s suffered through a chest cold that lingers for weeks knows all too well, fluid can linger in the lungs for weeks. This is where it’s important to learn techniques for effectively clearing your lungs.
While most of us are used to coughing up mucus after recovering from a cold, the breathing technique described below can offer a more targeted, gentle, and complete expectoration. It can be so difficult to draw in a full breath when suffering from COVID-19 that simply trying to cough alone won’t do the trick, and we need to employ more advanced breathing tactics.
This technique, which has been introduced and endorsed by Dr. Sarfaraz Munshi of Queen's Hospital in London, not only serves to induce the clearing of the lungs of fluid, but it can also help to open up alveoli that may not be being used correctly or fully due to infection, and therefore more fully oxygenating the blood. In addition, it can help downregulate the nervous system and enable an individual breathe more fully, which is important when in any form of respiratory distress.
If you find yourself struggling to clear your lungs, consider this practice of breathing for expectoration and see if it helps you eliminate built-up fluid and breathe more fully. You will need a comfortable space to position yourself, and a tissue or handkerchief.
1. Set up in a comfortable posture – either at the edge of a bed or couch, or on a yoga mat with blankets and bolsters nearby.
2. Inhale deeply through the nose (unless it is too clogged, in which case the mouth is alright). Let the belly expand fully, breathing into the diaphragm.
3. Hold the breath at the top for a count of five. Note: holding the breath is contraindicated for glaucoma and pregnancy, so if either of these conditions apply to you, skip this step. It also may exacerbate high or low blood pressure. If you experience any dizziness when holding the breath, try holding the breath for a count of only two or three.
4. Exhale fully through the mouth, as if you’re fogging up a mirror in front of you. Really work to empty all the air out of the belly.
5. Repeat this for a total of five times. Then inhale and hold the breath again for a sixth time.
6. On the sixth exhale, cough deeply into a handkerchief or tissue. If coughing does not feel appropriate, make a “HA” sound on the exhale.
7. Come to rest on your belly on the yoga mat, bed or couch, with one pillow underneath the abdomen and one underneath the head, if it feels comfortable. Reference the blog on self-proning for more on how this posture helps promotes deep breathing.
Repeat this technique as often as needed throughout the day to help induce expectoration.
Just as with proning, the expectoration technique is showing us how to use traditional yogic practices to promote health. The COVID-19 pandemic has opened a door for health practitioners of all backgrounds to explore ways of working with the lungs to help affected patients.
If you are dealing with a respiratory condition, in need of a good clearing of the lungs, or simply looking for a new down-regulating breathing technique, you can give this a try for a safe and gentle way to clear your lungs on your own.
Additional Useful Links:
Breath techniques videos
Prema Yoga Institute Breath Coaching Course
Hannah Slocum Darcy is a yoga teacher and a student at Prema Yoga Institute. She specializes in accessibility and adaptive practice for many life stages and scenarios.
Lessons on the Lungs from COVID-19: Benefits of Proning
In therapeutic yoga, we often talk about modifying the practice for the seasons, but the year 2020 has tossed a whole new set of considerations into the mix. While watching winter change to spring, and spring to summer, we’ve been forced to reckon with a global respiratory health crisis, and us yoga therapists now have an opportunity to study and teach in support of the respiratory system.
When we think of breath in the yoga practice, we typically go right to pranayama and the practice of manipulating the breath, either by focusing on the rhythm of the inhales and exhales during a flow yoga class, or as a standalone practice, often done seated. But what we are seeing with the treatment of COVID-19 is how our physical posturing can have an impact on how we breathe and the functioning of our lungs.
Prone postures that aim the belly down and open up access to the back body – where the lungs reside -- can be incredibly nourishing, in addition to beneficial for breathing. When working with clients with respiratory issues – whether recovering from COVID-19, those with a history of smoking, or even someone battling a nasty winter cold, here are some postures you can bring them into to recruit the lungs:
Child’s pose – This can be done with a blanket between the thighs and the belly to increase the dome-like shape of the back, opening up more space for the lungs to expand.
Paschimottanasana – Rather than working to lengthen the spine and move the collarbones toward the feet, it's alright to let the spine round in this variation to maximize the posture’s benefits for the lungs.
Rabbit pose – If it is appropriate for the client to put pressure on the head and neck, lifting the hips away from the heels and rolling to the crown of the head can relieve pressure on the lungs.
Restorative twist – With the knees bent to one side, create a prone, restorative twist by lying the belly and chest on the mat, then turning the head toward or away from the knees. This is a good way to incorporate twists without compressing the lungs.
Supta savasana – Taking savasana on the belly is not only a way to release pressure on the lungs in a prone position, but it can be very comforting for clients suffering from anxiety as well.
As the COVID-19 pandemic marches on, it is teaching us complementary practitioners new techniques for working with breath – not just as a pranayama practice to support general healing, but to specifically target respiratory illness and recovery. Learning what we have from the medical field and its emphasis on putting critically ill COVID-19 patients on their bellies, we can prescribe prone asanas to optimize lung function.
Hannah Slocum Darcy is a yoga teacher and a student at Prema Yoga Institute. She specializes in accessibility and adaptive practice for many life stages and scenarios.