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Recently actor and TV host Shilpa Shetty shared how Bhramari Pranayama had helped calm her anxiety and stress. “Close your ears, your eyes, and shut yourself from the outside world. Look within, touch your tongue to your upper palate, take a deep breath in, and make the humming sound,” she wrote in her post. In fact, this pranayama, or breath exercise, is an easy to practise, smart routine that can help all age groups.
“Global research confirms that Bhramari consistently reduces anxiety, improves mood and lowers blood pressure, establishing it as a reliable tool for emotional well-being and nervous system balance,” says global yoga educator, Dr Yogrishi Vishvketu.
What is Bhramari Pranayama?
Bhramari Pranayama or the humming bee breath is a breathing technique described in classical Hatha Yoga texts. It involves producing a steady humming sound during exhalation, creating vibrations throughout the head and upper body. Traditionally practised to prepare the mind for meditation, Bhramari is now recognised by science as a powerful method for calming the nervous system, improving sleep and supporting long-term brain and cardiovascular health.
When combined with asana sequences that open the hips, spine and connective tissues, it helps regulate the nervous system and reprogramme trauma-based patterning.
What’s the science behind the hum?
Bhramari directly stimulates the vagus nerve, a key regulator of the parasympathetic nervous system. This shifts the body into “rest and digest” mode, slowing heart rate and reprogramming stress. Modern lifestyles usually keep many people in “sympathetic overdrive”— the fight-or-flight state — as a daily norm. Over time, this damages the body’s inner rhythms, raising blood pressure, disrupting digestion and sleep, and affecting hormone balance. That’s why this pranayama is a helpful tool.
Research shows that humming can increase nitric oxide levels in nasal passages by up to 15 times compared to normal breathing. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator; it relaxes blood vessels, enhances circulation, lowers blood pressure and supports immune defence.
Brain waves, sleep and detoxification
EEG studies in Japan have shown that the practice increases alpha brain waves, associated with relaxation and sleep readiness. By lowering stress hormones and engaging parasympathetic pathways, it helps people transition more easily into deep, restorative sleep.
Sleep is not simply rest — it is when the brain’s glymphatic system flushes out toxins and proteins linked to neurodegenerative disorders. A 2024 review in the Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology highlighted that Bhramari improves sleep quality and circadian rhythm regulation, thereby enhancing the brain’s natural detoxification processes.
Cardiovascular and immunity benefits
Research has shown that regular Bhramari practice lowers heart rate, improves lung function and boosts immunity. These findings are particularly relevant for lifestyle-related chronic conditions, now the leading causes of illness worldwide. Scientists are also exploring its potential in healthy brain ageing and slowing progression in conditions such as Alzheimer’s.
Through decades of teaching, I have witnessed its impact in diverse settings: from war veterans recovering from trauma disorders and inmates in correctional facilities to elders seeking health and dignity in later years. In fact, it is one of the most scientifically supported pranayamas available today.
