Hum your way to health

[1]

Amrit Sadhana [1]

When everything in our life is going well and there is a feeling of well-being, we start whistling or softly humming to ourselves. From where does this humming come? It is an expression of the inner hum of the mind and body. It shows that the body and mind are in sync with each other, they are enjoying a harmonious relatedness and are happy to be together. Their contentment emerges as humming.

Humming and chants have been used by mystics for meditation because they know the healing power of sound. Now doctors have found that humming can dramatically improve health, reduce pain and stress. Dr David Simon, director of Neurological Services at Sharp Cabrillo Hospital in San Diego, California, has seen that chants and music have “measurable physiologic effects”. Dr Simon points out that chants are actually metabolised into natural painkillers, releasing healing agents into the body.
Musical notes, chants or humming enter deep inside the body, which is like a hollow bamboo and reverberates the sound like a deep valley does. It is intoxicating to feel every pore resounding with harmonious sound waves. The vibration of the sound slowly penetrates the unconscious mind and the busy mind calms down and falls in tune with the body.
Another study shows that humming is a great way to increase ventilation in the sinuses. The Swedish researchers who made the observation now want to determine whether humming a few bars a day can keep the doctor away from patients susceptible to upper respiratory infection. Apart from having health benefits, a harmonious sound has its spiritual effects, too.
This reminds me of a delicious sound meditation designed by Osho. It is called Nadabrahma (the cosmic sound) meditation. In this meditation, you are required to hum continuously for 30 minutes to the tune of Tibetan bells. This kind of humming is not only relaxing, but also rejuvenating for the nervous system. After half an hour, when you feel like a balloon of sound waves, you stop humming and feel them all over. In the second stage, distribute the waves with your palms up to the ocean of sound all around you, and then, as if taking a refill from the sound, bring the waves inside in a circular motion. In the third stage, immerse yourself in this ocean of vibrating silence, the Nadabrahma, and be a witness.
Once a pilot told Osho that he has been doing the Nadabrahma meditation for nine months, even during his job as a pilot and that he finds it a great source of energy.
Osho confirmed his experience and said that humming is indeed a great source of energy. When you are humming a sound, you fall into harmony. The sound becomes a vibration in your body/mind and slowly the body and mind fall into a rapport. Their conflict ceases, and in that cessation of the conflict energy is saved.
Energy is being wasted all the time because there is continuous inner conflict. Our body wants to do one thing and the mind wants to do something else. This is the reason we get exhausted so easily. When the body and mind are in harmony, much energy is saved and then more energy is supplied by existence. Energy is supplied when the body and mind are flowing in a rhythmic harmony from your innermost core. The source of energy is infinite, hidden deep inside the core. Once you are connected to it, that source will become active and shower more bliss on you — bliss is not just a feeling, it is a state of energetic attunement of all levels: body, emotions, the intellect, the being. When everything works in unison living is like playing music.
A side effect of this kind of musical living is that you never feel exhausted. Sometimes maybe spent, but never exhausted; and these are two different things.
Being spent means you spend the energy you have for now, but soon you will be replenished because you are in harmony with yourself. When you love the work you do, you find that you get new energy out of your work; that every new project recharges you and is a tremendous boost to your vital energy. It means you are in “sound” state.

— Amrit Sadhana is in the management team of Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune. She facilitates meditation workshops around the country and abroad.