Bhramari Pranayama: Power of Chanting

Action and movement are generally associated with health and fitness regimens. So in yoga, it's the asanas, at the gym, it's the pumping iron, in aerobics and calisthenics, it's the "doing", "sweating it out", "burning fat", and so on that are linked with fitness. However, as part of Bhramari pranayama, yoga relies on the power of the humming bee sounds. Plug your ears, take a deep breath, and as you exhale, chant "Auom" with a short A and O and extend the last syllable M for as long as you can, feeling the vibrations of "Mmmmm" in your head like a humming bee.

Chanting for Stress Reduction and Mental Well-Being

Neuroscientists equipped with powerful brain-imaging technologies have revealed in several studies how the way particular sound waves pass through your body helps cleanse your mind and calm your brain and nervous system. It doesn't matter what you chant, whether it's a religious chant or any sound or word that can lift your spirits. You can achieve meditative benefits by repeating things with focused attention. In a nutshell, it reduces stress and improves mental health and well-being, which has an indirect impact on various physiological ailments. Many studies suggest that chanting de-stresses, relaxes, and aids in gathering energy and concentration to a focal point (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Neurohemodynamic correlates of 'OM' chanting: A pilot functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Go to source). Typically, this energy is wasted or lost as a result of a mind that is always wavering, agitated, preoccupied, and dissipated. Memory, focus, judgment, and decision-making are all affected.

"I noticed subtle changes in my personality too," said one respondent who regularly practices chanting. "From a meek, feeble person, I had become someone who was able to overcome her deep-seated fears and inhibitions." Chanting can also help people with bereavement treatment. With consistent practice, they can undergo a total transformation from being completely lost on all levels of existence to becoming calm, cool, and collected and settling down into a solitary life without any mental or emotional agony or torture.

Chanting is the most basic and yet most potent of all disciplines. It can be practiced at any stage of life, at any time or place, and even by individuals who have become frail due to age or illness. You don't need to understand the meaning of the phrases you recite.

Chanting Meditation: Step-by-Step Guide for Deepening Mind-Body Connection

Sit in Padmasana or Vajrasana, or if you can't do either, sit on a chair with a backrest. Check that your spine and head are in a straight line. Close your eyes for a moment. Internalize your awareness and relax anywhere you feel tightness, tension, or tautness.

Keep your eyes closed the entire time. Keep an eye on your usual, natural breathing pattern. 5-10 rounds of inhalation and exhalation are recommended.

Then, when you exhale, take a deep inhalation and chant Aum, focusing on elevating the sound from your gut. Continue this for whichever many counts you have decided on.

The effort should be made throughout to ensure that ideas do not intrude and that the mind does not stray off to other things. It must stay focused and in harmony with your breathing rhythms. Concentrate on the tip of your nose. It cleanses and balances the neurological system, as well as connecting you to higher frequencies.

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Reference:

1. Neurohemodynamic correlates of 'OM' chanting: A pilot functional magnetic resonance imaging study - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21654968/)

Source-Medindia