Level Up Your Meditation with Inner Fire: What I Learned From Tibetan Buddhism as a Non-Buddhist

 I love stories of superhuman ability.

When I heard stories of Tibetan monks drying a wet towel in a cold room by placing it on their shoulders and raising their body temperature through meditating, I was intrigued. I looked into the research, seeing these individuals could raise their peripheral body temperature by 8.3 degrees Celsius. Tummo meditation utilizes a technique called vase breathing (forceful breathing) as well as visualization to enter a deep focus and influence bodily processes.

A book was recommended called The Bliss of Inner Fire, which explained the technique.

Believe in the placebo

As a non-Buddhist, I got lost in much of the terminology, but the book espouses that you don’t actually have to believe any of it. Going through the motion of imagining the process gives the same result.

Vase Breathing

·       As you breathe in, air enters two small channels on either side of your spinal cord

·       It goes down and filters into your stomach (naval) chakra (forcefully push the air through this filter)

·       As you release the breath, it shoots up the spinal cord like an arrow (think of releasing or even pushing out the air)

Visualization

·       Eventually, a small flame forms in your stomach chakra

·       Air fuels it, making it bigger and hotter

·       The flame travels up the spinal cord to the heart chakra, where it melts the lining of the wall

·       This chakra fluid drips down into the fire and acts like gasoline to make the fire explode up

·       The flame continues up the body into the throat chakra (thyroid), the third eye chakra (prefrontal), and crown chakra (occipital)

Be aware of your entire body

When you force the air into your stomach chakra, your whole body should be tense. All your muscles contracting, tight fists. Then when you release the air out like an arrow, just let go and push it out. You’ll feel your body temperature rise and you may even start to sweat as I did my first attempt. This meditation requires high focus, but you’ll enter a flow state quickly. I think aside from any bodily benefit, the focus of this meditation makes it a great tool.

Cycle this meditation                                                                                          

When I do this meditation, I cycle it, alternating with a calm mindful meditation. The main reason is I get exhausted when I use vase breathing for more than 5 minutes straight, but this is something to work up to.

Overall, I think that tummo meditation is a great tool to increase awareness of your body and hone your focus. It is a more intense meditation, so alternating it with mindfulness is a great juxtaposition.