Tummo is a Tibetian word that means ‘a fierce woman’. It is an ancient meditation technique. The practice originated from the Himalayas thousands of years ago. Tummo meditation was originally used by Tibetan monks who would meditate for hours in freezing temperatures wearing only thin robes until their whole bodies were hot.
It is a type of meditation that concentrates on the heat in one’s body. One does this through breathing and visualisation techniques that are used to enter into a deeper inner state. This helps in boosting a person’s inner heat.
This type of tantric yoga helped them burn all thoughts that are sinful or encourage wrongdoing! It also helped them maintain their body temperature to continue practising Buddhism and not freeze to death. They showed how one could practice Tummo using three wet clothes; keep these on your naked body in temperatures cold enough for ice baths!
Table of Contents
Step by Step Guide for Tummo Meditation
Tummo Meditation is a great way to learn how to breathe. It’s the perfect technique that you can practice following the steps described as under:
Total Time: 2 hours
Sit Comfortably on a Mat
Now cross one leg over the other, so they are at a 90-degree angle from each other. Then place your hands over the knees.
Close Your Eyes
Focus on your breath and clear all the wrong thoughts. These can mess with your mind and disturb your peace within yourself. Thoughts come in from every direction looking for a chance to ruin everything, so make sure that doesn’t happen. Remain focused on what matters the most: staying centred and balanced within yourself no matter how hard it might seem.
Visualise
Once you can focus, visualise sushuma or central channel that runs vertically downwards and right in front of the spine. Envision this as a hollow tube as wide as a finger.
Channels
Now, visualise your left and right nadis or lateral channels. These are thinner than the central channel. They begin in the right and the left nostrils, travel upto the top of the head, then curve and move downwards from the sides of the central channel. After that, they curve towards the inner side and connect to the central channel. This channel has a width of approximately four fingers and lies just below the navel.
Red Hot Ball
You may find the latter visualisation slightly difficult. So, practice regularly and have patience. Once you can visualise it, think of it as a red, hot, shining, seed-sized ball or ember in your central channel near the navel.
Boost the Embers
To boost ember heat, contract internal muscles of the pelvic floor. This will aid in bringing air from the lowest chakra to the ember.
Inhale a full breath from your nostrils
While inhaling, visualise the air entering the nostrils. After that, feel them moving through your left and right channels. This air will then move through the central channel near the belly button. The air is now in proximity to the ember heat.
Stop inhaling
As you stop inhaling, swallow and then push your diaphragm gently downwards to the air energy to keep it in place.
Breath Hold Retention
Hold your breath as long as you can. Beginners are suggested to hold it only for 5-15 seconds. Do not hold on to your breath longer than you should. And while you are retaining your breath, stay focused on the ember near the navel. Envision the heat growing and swelling out.
Breath Retention End
After you can no longer hold your breath, gently exhale through the nostrils and relax your body muscles. Envision the air rising up via the central channel and disintegrating. Note the hot ember growing hotter while the heat spreads out to clear the chakras and warm the crown chakra’s energy.
Focus
While this is taking place, maintain your focus on the burning ember at your navel.
Repeat
After you finish your first exhalation, tighten up your muscles. Again inhale and push your diaphragm down. Then exhale the air via the central channel again.
Repeat the process at least seven times. Heat ember will grow stronger and stronger with each breath.
Seventh Breath
By the seventh breath, you should envision the ember burning hot. This heat will clean up all the negative energy in your chakras. Once you complete the last breath, you would feel at peace and completely blissful.
Benefits of Tummo Meditation
Tummo mediation proves useful in several ways. Some of them are explained below:
Enhances concentration
Tummo meditation is a quick and mysterious approach to mindfulness. It uses centred attention, visualisation and breathing activities. All you have to accomplish is use your breath, creative mind, and attention all at the same time for this technique. Regular practising Tummo mediation strengthens and sharpens awareness of what’s happening now. It also builds up strength by raising vitality levels into uplifted states of mindful attentional focus. This energy is known as kundalini energy.
Improves Overall Health
Tummo is a practice that harnesses the energy, which is known as Prana in India, Reiki or Chi in Japan and China. Stress makes us waste this essential life force in daily living, but Tummo teaches us to use it wisely to not diminish ourselves or undermine our well being. Thus you improve your health and vitality by mastering the art of Tummo meditation!
Better Physical health
Tummo meditation and some other meditation techniques have the power to improve our mental health and boost our physical health. Various studies show that these types of meditation techniques effectively improve conditions such as anxiety or depression while preventing some chronic diseases like arthritis from developing. It can also improve blood pressure, minimise menopausal symptoms, help with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), and help quit smoking.
Open chakras
The chakra means “spinning wheel.” It is a convergence of energy, thoughts/feelings and the physical body. But how to open them? Tummo meditation can help you accomplish it quickly. The main goal for the exercise is enlightenment and personal well-being. When you clear the chakras, you enter the channels that help you find extraordinary bliss as well as clarity about yourself and others around you.
Builds confidence
When you practice Tummo meditation regularly, it helps you connect the power centre of the sacral chakra (the second chakra). In traditional yoga, this chakra is related to sexuality, physical power and vitality. This is the energy source for strength to perform amazing feats like Shaolin monks from China in martial arts. It also helps in using your energy wisely by focusing it on something productive that will help improve yourself instead of being wasted all around without purpose.
All bliss and Joy
The energy derived from tummo meditation will leave you feeling joyful and blissful. It will invigorate you and make meditation more enjoyable than ever before! With inner bliss, you can control addiction, i.e., chasing pleasure. This cultivation of the mysterious Kundalini energy makes all other pleasures inferior, drinking coffee, eating chocolate, or having sex.
Steer clear of obstacles
The inner fire mediation with Tummo meditation helps one arouse the internal energy that impacts the ego. It is said that those who practice Tummo regularly remove obstacles and difficulties from their lives and achieve success. In this time of overwhelming negativity, it’s important to remember that the best way we can combat these negative forces is by practising powerful techniques like meditation. Tummo meditation is one of them.
Some tips for practising Tummo meditation effectively.
- Start with small sessions in the beginning. You can increase the length gradually.
- Do not hold breath beyond your body’s capability.
- As you advance, make your mediation exercise more challenging.
- Practice every day to maintain the results
- Have patience. Do not expect results immediately. Long term results from tummo meditation take time and consistent practice.
- If you fail after practising several types, you may try your hands at other types of mediation.
Is Tummo mediation similar to Wim Hof Method?
Yes, the two share some similarities, especially the breathing exercises. While the Wim Hof Method makes your immune response stronger by influencing the autoimmune nervous system, the Tibetian monks can increase their body temperature by igniting their inner fire with a tummo. Both techniques enhance your ability to control your breath effectively and make you physically, mentally and psychologically stronger.
Some Frequently Asked Questions about Tummo Meditation
What is the correct breathing technique in tummo meditation?
The breathing technique is quite similar to pranayama in yoga. It includes inhaling, retention, exhaling and empty retention. Breathe in and out via nose tip and focus while holding your breath.
What is G Tummo Meditation?
G tummo meditation initially controls the inner energy to changing the body temperature manually sans any resources other than the brain.
Is tummo meditation dangerous?
No. the practice is not dangerous as perceived by many. However, you should begin with a trained professional.