Try the Bhramari Pranayama breathing practice the next time you’re feeling stressed or anxious. Known as “bumblebee breathing,” it can instantly calm you down.

Bumblebee Breathing Video

Bumblebee Breathing Key Take-Away Points

Bumblebee breathing is a form of yogic breathing known as Bhramari Pranayama. It’s a well-known practice that’s been practiced for generations as a way to connect with the self.

A review of the research on bumblebee breathing was published by the NIH.[1]

Benefits of bumblebee breathing include:

  • Decrease in blood pressure
  • Decrease in heart rate
  • Activation of the parasympathetic nervous system (rest-and-digest functions that counter the fight-or-flight functions)

Note: There remains a need for higher quality research on this topic!

In my personal experience, bumblebee breathing can help:

  • Drown out mental chatter and ruminations
  • Add a soothing vibration to breathwork

To practice bumblebee breathing:

  1. Sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor.
  2. Close your eyes or look down and soften your gaze.
  3. Take a few slow, deep, gentle breaths.
  4. After an inhale, exhale w/ closed mouth, while making a low humming sound.
  5. Repeat 5 times.
  6. To intensify the experience, gently push both ears closed with your thumbs.

Other variations of bumblebee breathing:

  1. Use your thumbs to close your ears while placing your fingertips on your forehead, eyes, and down the centerline of your face, applying very gentle pressure.
  2. On your exhale, experiment with a higher pitch of your humming noise.

Helpful Links

NIH review

Bhramari Pranayama instructions on yogapedia

Five Ways to Practice Bhramari

Small Changes, Big Transformation

Bumblebee breathing is one small change we can make to prioritize our health and build resilience. Wellness doesn’t have to feel so overwhelming. Give this practice a try this week and let me know how it goes!

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[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5755957/