HUMMM LIKE A BEE

Last week I was blessed with spending a whole work week and my birthday weekend in Paris!!

For two days my colleagues from various countries and I all went to Paris. This gave us the opportunity to meet each other in person and to have a workshop on harmonising our ways of working.

As most of you already know, bee’s in hives work together. Each type of bee has a different job and together the whole colony works on thriving. The coolest thing that I have ever read was that bee’s even regulate the temperature in their hives. They work as a ventilation system by Inhaling as they push on the combs and exhaling as one.

So when my team leader was looking for a fun 9am ice breaker, I suggested “ bee’s work together so why not start with the whole team humming like bee’s?”

Sure enough, the next morning, at 9am, on the dot, I was standing in front of my colleagues teaching them Bhramari pranayama (bee’s breath in sanskrit.)

So - how does one breath like a bee?

The simple version:

1. Close your eyes

2. Place your thumbs on the cartilage of the ears

3. Inhale through your nose

4. Exhale through the nose, keeping the lips shut, creating a continuous humming sound “HUM” at the back of the throat.

5. If you do the above steps correctly - you will feel the vibration of the HUM at the center of your brain.

6. Start with a set of 5

Now after 5 times of practice, add on the Shanmukhi mudra.

Mudra’s are hand gestures and the Shanmukhi is completed by placing your hands onto your face. The reason we do this is to emphasis the closing off of the world. To bring the focus to the inner self.

The Shanmuki mudra:

1. Your eyes are closed

2. Your thumbs are at your ears

3. Your index fingers are placed on each side of your eye lids closing them gently

4. Your middle fingers are resting on either side of the nose nostrils

5. Your ring fingers are resting on the upper lip

6. Your pinkies is resting underneath your bottom lip

Once you have the fingers in place for the mudra, begin the Bee’s Breath again. This time for 5 -10 mins.

Doing Bee’s breath meditation promotes blood flow and oxygen to reach the brain. It is good for the mind, ears, nose, lungs and eyes. It also reduces stress, anxiety, regulates the heart rhythm, helps with depression and reduces migraines.

Try it out and leave a comment if you like it.

Namasté,

Tücsi