tantra · Kundalini Tantra, Swami Satyananda Saraswati (Bihar School of Yoga)
Bhramari Pranayama: Humming Bee Breath
A humming exhalation practiced with the ears plugged, so the sound reverberates inside the head — framed in this text less as breath control than as a meditation that traces the heart centre's 'unstruck sound' to its source.
The theory, briefly
The text places bhramari among the practices for awakening anahata, the heart chakra, describing the heart centre traditionally as 'the centre of unstruck sound' and 'the cave of bees.' Although it is called a pranayama, the text is explicit that bhramari is actually more a meditational practice than a technique of prana control in the usual sense — the humming sound of bees is produced on the exhalation and consciousness is directed toward tracing that sound to its source, rather than toward regulating the breath itself.
Plugging the ears is described as intensifying the experience of the sound's vibration inside the head, which is the actual object of the practice, rather than any effort to lengthen or control the breath. The described effect is deep mental and emotional relaxation.
The practice
Humming Bee Breath
6–12 minutes · Comfortable meditative pose, head and spine straight, facing forward
- 1Sit in a comfortable meditative pose, facing forward, and relax fully for a few minutes.
- 2Hold the head and spine as straight as possible, and close the eyes.
- 3Relax the whole body completely before beginning.
- 4Keep the teeth slightly separated and the mouth closed for the entire practice — this lets the vibration be felt more distinctly.
- 5Plug the ears with the index fingers, keeping the eyes closed throughout.
- 6Breathe in slowly and deeply.
- 7While breathing out slowly and under control, produce a smooth, continuous humming sound for the whole exhalation — not loud, just enough that you can hear it reverberating inside your head.
- 8At the end of the exhale, stop the hum, breathe in fully, and begin the next humming exhalation. Continue like this for 5 to 10 minutes, staying relaxed and never straining the sound.
None stated in the source.
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