VOO Breath (the Voo Sound)

How to do it

1. Find a private spot where you can make some noise. Sit or lie down and let your jaw and shoulders soften.
2. Take an easy, full breath in, filling your belly first, then your chest. Do not force it.
3. As you breathe out, make a low "voo" sound, like a foghorn. Go as low as feels easy, not as low as you can.
4. Aim the vibration down into your belly. Low and steady beats loud.
5. Let the sound and the breath fade out together. Do not push out the last bit.
6. Let the next breath come in on its own, then repeat for 3 to 5 rounds.
7. When you finish, rest and notice what you feel in your body, without needing to explain it.

Benefits

• Grounded in about a minute

  A few long, low exhales slow everything down. You'll feel heavier in your seat and back in your body.

• A slow breath without counting

  Toning, a long vowel sound like voo, slowed breathing to about six breaths a minute in a study of 20 adults^[3].

• Higher heart rate variability

  Slow breathing raises heart rate variability, a sign of your body's rest system at work, during a session and after it^[2].

• Help when words are not enough

  In Somatic Experiencing, the Voo sound settles the body directly, through breath and vibration, for moments when talking alone does not help^[1].

What the research says

No published trial has tested the Voo sound itself. It is one small tool inside Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing, described in his 2010 book In an Unspoken Voice^[1]. What has been studied are its two parts: slow breathing, and making a sound on the exhale.

Slow breathing is well studied. A 2022 meta-analysis of 223 studies found that voluntary slow breathing raises vagally mediated heart rate variability during a session, right after one session and after multi-session programs^[2].

The sound adds less than you would think. In 20 healthy adults, toning (free, sustained vowel sounds, close to a voo) slowed breathing to about six breaths a minute and improved heart rate variability; breathing the same pattern silently was enough to produce those benefits^[3]. In a pilot with 16 adults, breathing with a hum and silent slow breathing both raised heart rate variability and relaxation, with no significant difference between them^[4]. The slow, long exhale does most of the measured work, and the voo keeps your exhale long.

Where the Voo sound comes from

Peter Levine, PhD, developed Somatic Experiencing, a body-focused approach to trauma. He describes the Voo sound in his 2010 book In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness^[1]. The name is just the sound itself, a long, foghorn-like vowel, not a traditional term.

Unlike classical breathing practices, VOO breath has no levels or counts. It is taught short: a handful of rounds when you need them, then a pause to notice how you feel.

Tips

• Go low, not loud. A comfortable low note beats a forced deep one.
• Practice somewhere private at first. Feeling watched makes the sound tight.
• Let the next breath come on its own. There is no hold between rounds.
• After the last round, pause and notice what changed, even if it is small.
• If you cannot make sound right now, switch to Bhramari, which you can hum almost silently.

Related exercises

• Bhramari PranayamaBreathe in through your nose, hum the whole way out, and feel the quiet after.
• Prolonged ExhalationBreathe in softly, breathe out twice as long. No holds, just two numbers to follow.
• Physiological SighTwo breaths in through the nose, one long breath out. Calmer in one or two breaths.