Every night I hum lullabies to my little boy as he falls asleep. The past few days I have been suffering with major sinus yuck! It struck me late Wednesday night. By thursday I was in sinusitis hell. As bedtime drew near, and I was full into the symptoms of stuffy nose, scratchy throat and itchy ears, I dreaded the thought of singing him to sleep. However, after a few moments of humming him to sleep, I realized I could breathe…wow!!! Then, the lightbulb went off. I remembered my teacher Nancy Clark leading us through bhramari breathing when she noticed most of her students sniffling and coughing through class. This is a breathing technique commonly referred to as the bee breath. Following is a pretty good link I found explaining bhramari in more detail. Below are the basics.
OH, another few useful tips for feeling better, thanks to the great advice of friends. Drink warm water with as much lemon juice as you can stand, sweetened with pure maple syrup or honey. Neti pot, neti pot, neti pot…but when sinuses are getting the better of you, add a drop or two of tea tree oil to your salt and water. Nothing beats a box of super soft kleenex. Chicken soup.
Bhramari: Sit comfortably. Close the ears with your thumbs, rest your index fingers on your forehead and close your eyes covering them lightly with your middle and ring fingers. Breathing through your nose, inhale to a count of 4 (or whatever is a comfortable length) and exhale for twice that amount or two counts more than your inhale. Don’t force your breathing. Once you are comfortable with the breath and count, begin to make a sound like a bee….mmmmmmmmmm (not zzzzzzzz) for the length of your exhale, getting louder with each breath. Do this for as many rounds as you can or at least 5 minutes. Once you finish, aaaaaahhhh, enjoy the beauty of being able to breathe.
Here is the link…. http://www.yogapoint.com/pranayama/bhramari.htm
Filed under: Breathing Techniques, Fifth Chakra, Seventh Chakra, Sixth Chakra | Tagged: bhramari | Leave a comment »
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