Why humming can reduce stress and how to practise a yogic breathing technique at home

As well as being something that many people might do to music, humming is used in a yogic breathing technique known as Bhramari pranayama, or “humming bee breath”.

Gunjan Trivedi, a key researcher in the field, describes Bhramari pranayama as “a basic nasal sound – a combination of ‘mmmm’ and ‘nnnn’ – that gets repeated for several minutes at a time”.

Trivedi, the co-founder of Wellness Space, a mental health and therapy centre in the city of Ahmedabad in India’s Gujarat state, believes humming is the simplest form of chanting, which involves repeating a mantra – a sound or phrase.

“Chanting, given the use of a mantra, adds specific emotion and thoughts, which makes it a more advanced practice with additional benefits. Both humming and chanting involve slow, rhythmic breathing and sound vibration during exhalation.”