The Science of Humming

The Science of Happiness

PRX and Greater Good Science Center

Science, Social Sciences

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 10 October 2024

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Did you know humming can soothe your nervous system? We explore the stress-relieving power of Bhramari Pranayama, also known as humming bee breath, with marathon runner and activist Cal Calamia.

Summary: Cal Calamia, the first nonbinary winner of the San Francisco Marathon, explores Bhramari Pranayama, an ancient yogic breathing technique that uses humming to promote relaxation. Dr. Gunjan Trivedi later explains how this "humming bee breath" enhances heart rate variability and why it’s key to managing stress. Part of our ongoing series, Breathe Away Anxiety: https://tinyurl.com/4jyvkj4t

Time: 15 minutes, or as long as it feels right.

How To Do This Practice:

Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose for 3-4 seconds.
Exhale for 6-8 seconds, making a gentle humming sound (like a buzzing bee) as you breathe out.
Adjust the timing of your inhale and exhale to find a rhythm that feels comfortable for you.
Continue the practice for as long as feels right, focusing on the sound and sensation of your breath.

Note: This version of Bhramari Pranayama, practiced without specific hand gestures (mudras), was studied by Dr. Gunjan Trivedi.

Guest: Cal Calamia is an activist, teacher, poet, and the first nonbinary winner of the San Francisco marathon.
Learn more about Cal: https://tinyurl.com/25ft296x

Guest: Dr. Gunjan Trivedi is the cofounder of Society for Energy & Emotions at Wellness Space in Ahmedabad, India.
Learn more about Dr. Trivedi and Wellness Space: https://tinyurl.com/r53x6x3x
Read Dr. Trivedi's study about Bhramari Pranayama: https://tinyurl.com/2xnjk6ah

Related Science of Happiness episodes:
How Breathe Away Anxiety (Cyclic Sighing): https://tinyurl.com/4jyvkj4t
How To Tune Out The Noise: https://tinyurl.com/4hhekjuh

Related Happiness Break episodes:
Happiness Break: A Breathing Technique To Help You Relax (Cyclic Sighing): https://tinyurl.com/3dtwyk44
A Mindful Breath Meditation, With Dacher Keltner: https://tinyurl.com/mr9d22kr

Transcript: Coming soon.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:15.2	It's so interesting because I came to running really as something that brought me joy and as I started to get older I started to come to terms with my own queerness, my identity as a queer person, and then later my understanding of myself as trans.
0:17.3	And it felt like in that struggle to understand myself, I was also kind of pushed out of my sport.
0:26.0	And that sport being that sort of like place where I could go ground myself,
0:30.0	it felt really challenging to try to both be trans and be an athlete at the same time.
0:35.0	As you can, you know, see and here in the media there's a lot of demonization of trans
0:41.4	athletes so starting to sort of grapple with how do I transition and still run.
0:48.2	It was a really dark time for me being forced to confront that question of like,
0:52.3	how do I be who I am and do what I love at the same time and why by virtue of my identity am I not allowed to do that.
1:00.0	Number one thing I'm thinking when I'm thinking about breath and I'm thinking about stress and heart rate and things like that
1:05.6	Trans athletes are so often you know accused of having an unfair advantage
1:09.9	I'm very stressed out. It is very stressful to even show up so I would say that it's perhaps an unfair
1:16.5	disadvantage. Humming. It's something a lot of us do while we're doing simple everyday things like folding, laundry, sweeping the floor,
1:35.0	taking a shower. But did you know that humming is also an ancient yogic practice?
1:40.0	Welcome to the Science of Happiness, I'm Dacker Keltner. Today we're trying out
1:47.0	bramari prana yama or humming bee breath. A practice shown to help activate the
1:52.4	Vegas nerve that runs through our neck
1:54.6	area from the cranial nerve to the large intestines, putting our bodies into a relaxed
1:59.4	state.
2:01.3	Research also shows that humming can help lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety, and improve our sleep.
2:09.0	Our guest this week, Kyle Kalamia, is an activist, poet, and professional marathon round. Kyle Calla
2:13.4	Amia is an activist poet and professional marathon runner.
2:15.4	He's made history as the first non-binary to win the San Francisco marathon.
	...

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