Quick anxiety relief: Humming
The other day at yoga, we did a little humming exercise. It was such a lovely exercise that I’ve used over the years to reduce anxiety and it always brings me to a state of calm.
It got me thinking about how such a simple exercise can bring so much peace and calm so quickly. In the past I was a huge anxiety sufferer and have used many techniques in order to help me. And I figured; it it brings me a lot of calm then it might be helpful to others who haven’t experienced this before. So below I will explain to you how to do this little technique and also the benefits you will receive from doing it.
To start:
Get yourself in to a comfortable position - preferably sitting, although it also works laying down.
Place your hands over your ears.
Take a breath in and on the out-breath, hum. It’s easiest to produce the letter “m” as your hum.
Breathe in, and on the out-breath hum the letter “m”. Allow the letter “m” to last as long as your out-breath.
Keep repeating until you feel calmer.
Note: you can try other letters on the out breath too. Experiment with what works for you!
I like to end the practise, by placing my hands on my heart and giving myself gratitude for taking the time out to come back in to balance.
If you’d like to see this in a video, check out this post on Instagram where I talk you though it a bit more.
You’ll find that this technique can really settle anxiety and stress very quickly. It’s really good for your nervous system helping it to come in to balance. I’ve been doing it for years because it feels incredibly good whilst doing it, and afterwards too. It’s like a mini reset. 💫
Placing your hands over your ears while you hum really helps the experience be felt deeper and quicker. The combination of humming with hands over ears really helps you to get out of your head very quickly, and relax your body. You’ll feel the vibration ripple through your head and throat—it’s like a mini sound bath for your brain bringing so many benefits to your body!
Here’s a little on what I found on why it’s so good for you.
Humming stimulates the vagus nerve, helping to calm you down, lower stress, boost immunity, and improve breathing. Plus, it increases nitric oxide production (better circulation & airflow). It increases oxygen, melatonin, lowers blood pressure and a whole range of other things. All this just from a simple thing like humming! 💗
So if you haven’t done it before, give it a go! It only take a few minutes and it leaves you with feeling amazing.
Have you experienced this sort of humming before? Try it out and let me know what you experience! 💓
