Would you like to feel your inner fire gently warming you and protecting you against 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 already belongs to the advanced meditation techniques. We explain here what Tummo meditation is all about and how you can ignite your inner fire even as a beginner.
What is Tummo Meditation?
Tummo meditation is a tantric meditation technique. The word "tummo" comes from Tibetan and means "inner fire". So, as the name suggests, the meditation is about generating heat through specific breathing and visualisation techniques in order to increase one's own body temperature. This may sound a little unusual at first, but Tummo meditation already has a long tradition that proves its effect.
Can Tummo increase the body temperature?
Tummo is a traditional Tibetan technique and was first recorded in writing in the 11th century. Since then, researchers have repeatedly studied Tibetan monks who, seemingly unfazed, meditated in freezing environments while scantily clad. The scientists were able to prove that certain meditation techniques can actually increase one's own body temperature. The temperature of the practitioners' fingers was even measured to increase by up to 8°C.
You may have heard of the so-called "ice man" Wim Hof. The Dutchman got the nickname because he has already set several world records for enduring cold temperatures. For example, he managed to last 73 minutes in an ice bath and climbed Mount Everest to 7,400 metres wearing only shorts. He was so successful in all this because he developed his very own version of Tummo Meditation for himself.
So you see what is possible through meditation and mental power. With a little practice, Tummo Meditation has been proven to enable you to influence the temperature in your body. But how does it actually work exactly?
Vase Breathing and Visualisations: How Tummo Works
We all have an inner fire, but unfortunately we often don't use it.
In Tummo Meditation, it is precisely this fire that is ignited. This happens through two concrete aspects: on the one hand through the so-called vase breathing and through a concentrated visualisation.
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 resulting energy of vase breathing. As a result, warm light radiates through your whole body and creates cosy warmth.
Through visualisations, this warmth can then be intensified and held longer. For this purpose you can imagine everything that has to do with heat.
Think of flaming flames creeping up your spine. However, it is enough to concentrate on a certain part of the body to keep the flames there. You can also focus negative thoughts that are to be transported outwards and thus burned.
All 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, Tummo Meditation cannot be practised by everyone immediately.
For whom is the Tummo Meditation Technique suitable?
Experts advise beginners not to go straight out into the cold and try Tummo meditation. This meditation technique requires certain meditative skills and spiritual knowledge and is too risky for the inexperienced. Those who meditate unprepared in the cold risk hypothermia.
Extensive training and specific guidance by a trainer are necessary to practise this meditation effectively. Therefore, Tummo is particularly suitable for advanced practitioners who wish to further develop their skills.
If you would still like to try Tummo, but have little experience with meditation, you don't have to give up now. Here we give you a small instruction for a simple exercise with which you can try Tummo meditation even as a beginner without great risks. You don't have to spend much time at all! Just follow the instructions and you can get started.
Learning Tummo Meditation: Instructions for Beginners
Here you will find a step-by-step guide that will help you learn to use your inner fire, even if you are new to med itation. However, please remember that the Tummo Method is one of the most difficult meditation techniques. Therefore, you will probably not become a master overnight, but that is quite normal. With a little patience and perseverance, it is not difficult to see the first results. So start practising right away!
1. sit comfortably
Tummo meditation requires some concentration and is therefore best done while sitting. So first sit upright and comfortable, preferably in lotus or cross-legged position, and close your eyes.
2. imagine channels going through your body
Now imagine that a channel about 1 cm thick runs through your body from your perineum to your head. Think of two side channels running to the left and right of it. However, all 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. Where otherwise your organs and your inner life are, there is now nothing. 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 connects again in the central channel at your belly button. Now imagine a small but very warm ball of light that is located exactly where your breath is bundled. Your breath ignites this fireball and makes it extremely hot.
5. enlarge the ball
Concentrate on enriching the ball with more and more energy. For example, you can tense your pelvic floor to hold the ball of fire. The flames will become 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 you have collected from the fireball. Feel how it flows through your channels and blasts all blockages. The fire cleanses your chakras and your whole body. All negative thoughts are burnt away by the fire. Only pleasant heat remains, which you canconsciously feel and direct into those parts of your body that need healing.
7. repeat the exercise a few times
In the beginning, you should only practise the exercise for about 2-6 minutes. When you are more familiar with the method, you can meditate for longer. The more often you practice this meditation, the more skilled you will become at specifically warming your body. To make the exercise more difficult, you can try holding your breath slowly for 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. However, please make sure that you do not perform the meditation in a cold environment without guidance! The more experienced you become with Tummo Meditation, the more you will notice how your body and mind benefit and are healed.
Gentle Healing through Tummo Meditation
Why do people voluntarily expose themselves to cold temperatures to meditate? Well, Tummo meditation has a number of health benefits. 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 increases 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, and at the same time your mind is sharpened.
But your mind and psyche also benefit from Tummo Meditation. When the heat flows through your body during meditation, both adrenaline and happiness hormones are produced. In addition, the fire literally 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 Meditation.
So if you already have advanced spiritual and meditative knowledge, the Tummo Meditation is just the right thing to further develop your spiritual abilities. But also as a beginner you can feel with our exercise how your inner fire stirs and spreads further and further. If you light this fire more often, you will notice how vital and healthy you become. So let's get started!
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