The lost and magical art of humming

Why you should include humming in your daily life

Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”
― Nikola Tesla

Humming is an extremely simple, hugely ignored, very underrated yet quiet effective and easy to practise way to stay in a better mood and health. When I read a few articles about the benefits of humming, I was pleasantly surprised with it’s potential. I choose to write about it — because I know there are very low chances of people writing about ‘humming’ and what is written less is read less.

In the most basic context — humming means — to make a humming bee sound or sing a song without opening your mouth. I am a yoga practitioner and have done humming as a part of some breath work exercises without ever knowing the real benefits of this simple activity.

Of all the sound healing modalities, humming is the most independent and least complex. There is no instrument needed to hum — our throat and nose are enough. At the same time no real skill, time or practise is needed. It comes to us as naturally as talking and breathing — just that we are not using it enough. Unlike other sounds, internal vibration of the human body — is the core of the sound created during humming.

Let us delve a little deeper and understand more about humming.

Types of Humming

The Casual Humming

To sing without opening your mouth or to copy the rhythm of a song. To sing with closed lips, without articulating words — the stuff you do when you forget the lyrics of a song or your voice is too bad to sing.

How to casually hum? (More fun, less discipline)

Casual humming can be done anywhere — on your couch, while driving, cooking, walking or thinking. I usually do this while driving or whenever I need a quick ‘pick me up’. Playing music in the background and humming along is a great way to do this too.

The Serious Humming

It is done by making a low, continuous, droning sound — basically humming like a bee or making a bee like humming noise. This is a more methodical and focussed way of humming.

How to hum with seriousness? (More discipline, less fun)

It is recommended you do this while sitting in a quiet place, with your spine erect, on a chair or a yoga mat. There are a few ways in which you can do this, I am covering two of them.

• Basic humming — is making a bee like noise using your throat and nose while keeping your mouth closed. You hum for as long as you can, while holding your breath. Each time you breath, you finish one count of humming. When you start, you may only do this for a few seconds but you can improve with practise. It is recommended to do this for a count of 10, 20, or 30 times to begin with. But at any time you struggle stop. (If you have any medical condition related to respiratory organs, please do this after consulting your doctor).
• Bhramari (Bee Breath) is a ‘Pranayam’ in Yoga — which is based entirely on humming. Here in addition to closing your mouth, you also keep your eyes and ears closed. This exercise is a great way to rejuvenate and calm your mind creating strong internal vibrations. It is easy to do this, even if you are not a yoga junkie — you can learn to do this by clicking here.

You can practise both casual and serious humming depending on your schedule and willingness. It is recommended to practise daily for 5 to 10 minutes to see marked results.

Benefits of Humming

It is the most simple things, which bring us the most happiness — Izabella Scorupco

The benefits of humming are aligned with the principles of sound, vibration and energy. Let us explore some key benefits (please note this list is not exhaustive).

1. Brings down your stress level: Humming slows down the number of breaths taken per minute leading to lower heart rate. Regular humming can help you manage your stress much better.
2. Lifts up your mood: Humming is said to release endorphins and oxytocin — the feel good hormones. When you have plenty of them, you are automatically anchored around ‘feeling good’.
3. Will boost your brain health: Regular humming is believed to create new neural connections in the brain — which contribute to the long term brain health. Just like our body, our brain also goes through wear and tear and it is important to relax and nourish it. Humming can do that for your brain.
4. Will calm you down: Having a stressful day? Try humming. It is extremely soothing and even a 3 minute sprint will bring you the result. Humming can bring in a certain kind of rhythm to the body, which eases the system and brings in a sense of calm.
5. Will take away the hurt and open up your heart : Our bodies are also storehouses to all our emotions and experiences. We store a lot of memories, hurt and disappointments locked in our bodies without realising it. This can bring down our efficiency, energy levels and block our heart chakra. At a vibrational level, humming can unknot the knots, disintegrate the heaviness, and create an exit for the heavier emotions in the body. When our heart chakra is healthy, it is easier for us to experience joy and give & receive love.
6. Will bring a certain kind of sweetness to you: Do you want to give out better vibes? In our busy lifestyles, we sulk more than we smile. We stress more than we enjoy. We react more than we act. Humming for a few minutes a day, will set the pace of your heart right and you will exude a certain sweetness all day.
7. It will create a better world: By this point you either love me or hate me. So much fuss about an ‘utopian’ existence. Let us take a few seconds and imagine a world where no one is making faces, no one is angry, no one is plotting revenge, or being grumpy. A world where smile is the natural expression and humming your favourite song a sought after talent. Don’t you agree, we all can do with more good cheer around us.

While there are many ways to do better, feel better and create a healthier lifestyle, I am huge fan of ‘humming’ because of its ease of melting into my busy life. In the midst of my corporate job, city traffic, workout regime, reading addiction, a restless mind and a constant strive to get more sleep — I have found my sweet spot in humming and I hope you find it too.

(Sources: The humming effect by Jonathan Goldman & Andi Goldman)