Humming Bee Breathing
In this exercise, I push air through my nose while humming, generating sounds similar to a bee or a drone. The exercise induces Nitric-Oxide generation and improves my ability to relax.
How I exercise ‘humming bee breathing’:
Directives:
- I sit comfortably with a straight back, close my eyes, and keep my tongue and jaw relaxed.
- Reset my breathing if needed.
- Breathe exclusively through my nose (3-part breathing).
- Plug both my ear holes with my thumbs. My index fingers cover my eyebrows, and the rest of the fingers cover my eyelids. My lips are sealed, and my teeth are slightly apart.
- Exhale and seal my nose with my ring fingers until I gently reach the point of ‘air-hunger start.’
- Inhale through my nose to maximum diaphragm amplitude.
- Exhale slowly through my nose while saying the letter ‘M’ or “OM,” producing a continuous humming sound.
- Once I complete the exhale, I seal my nose with both my ring fingers and hold my breath until I gently reach the point of ‘air-hunger start.’
- Repeat for a few rounds.
When my tongue touches the roof of my mouth, the sound generated is similar to pronouncing the letter ‘N.’ However, when my tongue rests on the floor of my mouth, it sounds like the letter ‘M.’
I hum in a low pitch and try to keep the frequency at around 120Hz, which has been found to be optimal for promoting nasal Nitric Oxide. On my smartphone, I have an app with a frequency-based sound generator. It helped me at the start to find the right frequency to hum.
The sound reverberates in the center of my head. Then, I gradually reduce the sound as I get closer to complete exhalation, which creates an effect similar to a fading siren.
Blocked blood vessels are released as I unplug my ears, allowing blood to flow in again. After unplugging, I usually get a momentary sensation of coldness around my ears.
The breath-hold allows indication. If I exhale slowly enough, after the breath-hold I reach ‘air-hunger start’ more rapidly.