Would you like to feel your inner fire gently warming you and protecting you from the cold? Try Tummo meditation to purify your body and soul and burn off negative energies. The stimulating Tummo method originally comes from Tibet and is already an advanced meditation technique. Here we explain what Tummo meditation is all about and how you can light your inner fire even as a beginner.
What is Tummo Meditation?
Tummo meditation is a tantric meditation technique. The word "tummo" comes from the Tibetan and means "inner fire".
As the name suggests, meditation is about generating heat through targeted breathing and visualization techniques in order to increase your own body temperature. This may sound a little unusual at first, but Tummo meditation has a long tradition that proves its effectiveness.
Can Tummo increase body temperature?
Tummo is a traditional Tibetan technique and was first recorded in writing in the 11th century. It is also popular in Ayurveda. Since then, researchers have repeatedly studied Tibetan monks who meditated seemingly unimpressed in freezing cold environments and were scantily clad.
The scientists were able to prove that certain meditation techniques can actually increase your own body temperature (1). For example, a temperature increase of up to 8 °C was measured in the fingers of practitioners.
You may have heard of the so-called 'ice man' Wim Hof. The Dutchman was given this nickname because he has already set several world records for enduring low temperatures.
For example, he managed to endure 73 minutes in an ice bath and climbed Mount Everest to 7,400 meters wearing only a pair of shorts. He was so successful in all of this because he developed his very own version of Tummo meditation.
So you can see what is possible with meditation and mental strength. With a little practice, Tummo breathing has been proven to influence the temperature in your body. But how exactly does it work?
Vase breathing and visualizations: How Tummo meditation works
We all have an inner fire, but unfortunately we often don't use it. In Ayurveda, it can also be found as the digestive fire Agni, but it also manifests itself in other areas. In Tummo meditation, this inner fire is consciously ignited. This is done through two specific aspects: on the one hand through so-called vase breathing and on the other through concentrated visualization.
Vase breathing is a conscious breathing technique in which the breath is bundled and held at the navel chakra as if in a vase. The navel is the starting point for the inner fire, which is now ignited by the energy generated by vase breathing. As a result, warm light radiates through your whole body and creates cozy warmth.
This warmth can then be intensified and retained for longer through visualization. To this end, you can visualize anything that has to do with heat.
Think of blazing flames crawling up your spine. However, it is also enough to concentrate on a specific part of your body to keep the flames there. You can also focus on negative thoughts that are to be transported outwards and thus burnt.
All of this sounds quite demanding at first and in fact Tummo meditation is not suitable for everyone, as it requires a certain amount of experience in meditation. Therefore, it cannot be practiced by everyone straight away.
Who is the Tummo meditation technique suitable for?
Experts advise beginners not to go straight into the cold and try their hand at Tummo meditation. This meditation technique requires certain meditative skills and spiritual knowledge and is too risky for the inexperienced.
Caution: If you meditate unprepared in the cold, you run the risk of hypothermia.
Extensive training and specific guidance from a trainer are required to practise this meditation effectively. Tummo is therefore particularly suitable for advanced practitioners who want to develop their skills further.
If you would still like to give Tummo a try but have little experience with meditation, don't despair. Here we give you a short guide to simple meditation exercises that you can use to try out Tummo meditation even as a beginner without any major risks. You don't have to spend much time at all! Just follow the instructions and you're ready to go.
Learn Tummo meditation: instructions for beginners
Here you will find step-by-step instructions to help you learn to use your inner fire, even if you are new to meditation. But please remember that the Tummo method is one of the most difficult meditation techniques.
You won't become a master overnight, but that's completely normal. With a little patience and perseverance, it's not that difficult to see the first results. So start practicing right away!
1. sit down comfortably
Tummo meditation requires a lot of concentration and is therefore best practiced sitting down. So first sit upright and comfortably, preferably in a lotus or cross-legged position, and close your eyes.
2 Imagine channels running through your body
Now imagine that a canal about 1 cm thick runs through your body from your perineum to your head. Also imagine two side canals running to the left and right of it. However, all of these channels are completely hollow, as if they were empty pipes.
3. your body is completely empty
Imagine that your whole body is completely empty and hollow like a vase. There is now nothing where your organs and your inner life usually are. Concentrate on this empty space inside you. You can also imagine it like an empty balloon.
4. imagine a ball of light
Breathe in deeply and feel how your breath energy flows through the two side channels and reconnects in the central channel at your navel. Now imagine a small but very warm ball of light located exactly where your breath is focused. Your breath ignites this ball of fire and makes it extremely hot.
5. enlarge the ball
Concentrate on adding more and more energy to the ball. You can do this by tensing your pelvic floor, for example, to hold the ball of fire. This will make the flames bigger and hotter. Observe how your body gently heats up. Now hold your breath with this ball for about 5-15 seconds.
6. let go of the energy
Then let go of all the breath and energy that you have collected in the fireball. Feel how it flows through your channels and bursts all blockages. The fire cleanses your chakras and your whole body. All negative thoughts are burned away by the fire. All that remains is pleasant heat, which you can consciously feel and direct into those parts of your body that need healing and warmth.
7. repeat the exercise a few times
Initially, you should only practise the exercise for about 2-6 minutes. Once you are more familiar with the method, you can then meditate for longer. The more often you practise this meditation, the more adept you will become at warming up your body in a targeted way.
To make the exercise more difficult, you can try holding your breath slowly over a longer period of time. If you want to go one step further, you can also put on some wet clothes and try to warm your body in them.
Important: Please make sure that you never do the meditation in a cold environment without a guide!
The more experienced you become with Tummo Meditation, the more you will notice how your body and mind benefit and are healed.
Positive effects: Gentle healing through Tummo meditation
Why do people voluntarily expose themselves to cold temperatures in order to meditate? Well, Tummo meditation has a number of health benefits. Probably the most obvious is that the body learns to warm itself and you can cope better in cold environments.
The fire makes you stronger and more robust. It boosts the metabolism and helps the body to defend itself effectively against cold and infectious diseases.
Tummo meditation also has positive effects on the ability to concentrate. Because attention, imagination and conscious breathing are all trained at the same time in one exercise, this improves concentration and memory. You become calmer and more relaxed, at the same time your mind is sharpened.
But your mind and psyche also benefit from this meditation. When the heat flows through your body during meditation, both adrenaline and happiness hormones are produced. The fire also burns away negative emotions, thoughts and beliefs.
Your mind becomes empty again and recovers. Your soul and your body experience a pleasant cleansing through Tummo breathing. So if you already have advanced spiritual and meditative knowledge, Tummo meditation is the perfect way to further develop your spiritual skills.
But even as a beginner, you can feel your inner fire stirring and spreading with our exercise. If you kindle this fire more often, you will notice how vital and healthy you become.
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Studies
(1) Kozhevnikov M, Elliott J, Shephard J, Gramann K. Neurocognitive and somatic components of temperature increases during g-tummo meditation: legend and reality. PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e58244. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058244. Epub 2013 Mar 29. PMID: 23555572; PMCID: PMC3612090.
