What is Tummo Breathing?
Tummo breathing is a collection of ancient tantric breathing practices that combines deep breathing and mindfulness to increase health, vitality, spiritual development, and, in some cases, body temperature. The practice was developed by Buddhist monks and literally means inner fire. The benefits of Tummo breathing are immense. Tibetan monks used the practice for spiritual development and as way of staying warm in cold temperatures. A practitioner would prove worthy by sitting out in freezing temperatures wrapped in wet blankets. If the practitioner could steam the blankets dry without getting cold, they would be recognized as proficient.
Safety, Precautions and Disclaimer
Talk to your doctor before practicing these methods if you are taking any medications or have a history of seizures, stroke, high or low blood pressure or respiratory problems. Not recommended if you are pregnant.
It’s important that you use the technique responsibly. Consult your doctor and a trained professional before attempting anything that could be considered dangerous or extreme.
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My Personal Experience
I have been doing Tummo/ Wim Hoff breathing along with Cold Water Exposure for over three years now and can honestly say it has changed my life for the better. I have realized many of the benefits explained here and it also helped me to overcome my alcohol addiction and thrive in sobriety.
Tummo breathing has been popularized by ‘The Ice Man’ Wim Hoff who holds a number Guinness Book world records for enduring freezing cold temperatures. His most well know record is for sitting in an ice bath for nearly 2 hours.
This article focuses on the Benefits of the Wim Hoff version of Tummo breathing combined with Cold Water Therapy. Instead of wrapping oneself in wet blankets and sitting outside in a blizzard, which is praise worthy, though a bit cumbersome. I use ice baths, cold water plunges and cold showers for a simpler version of cold water therapy.
Table of Contents
Cold Water Therapy Benefits
Cold water Therapy is, you guessed it, immersing your body in cold water. Cold water therapy has been around since ancient times and has many benefits.
A study in 2000 found that body immersion up to the neck at 14°C (57 degrees Fahrenheit) for one hour had the following bodily responses:
- Increased Metabolic Rate by 350%. The higher your metabolic rate, the more calories you burn at rest.
- Plasma noradrenaline concentrations increased by 530%.
- Plasma dopamine concentrations increased by 250%. Dopamine is most notably involved in helping us feel pleasure as part of the brain’s reward system.
- Cortisol concentrations tended to decrease. Lowering cortisol lowers stress.
Another study in 2004 concluded that:
Regular winter swimming significantly decreased tension, fatigue, memory, and mood negative state points. Regular winter swimming also significantly increased vigor-activity scores; relieved pain in people who suffered from rheumatism, fibromyalgia, or asthma; and improved general well-being in swimmers.
Benefits of Tummo Breathing when Combined with Cold Water Therapy
Relieves Stress
Tummo Breathing and cold water therapy allows you to manage stress by actively and consciously putting yourself in states of stress (purposefully getting into freezing cold fuk!ng water!) and then practicing relaxing in and calming yourself down from the stress of the cold. This type of stress is called eustress and is a beneficial type of stress (similar to exercise). By practicing this, your body is no longer as affected by other stress stimuli, resulting in feeling less stressed-out day to day.
Reducing Stress and Anxiety
When you do feel stressed out, you now know how to bring yourself out of it because it is something you regularly practice. This can have a huge impact on your stress and anxiety levels, allowing you to be more relaxed and present.
The breathing and focus techniques allow you to center yourself in the present moment by feeling your breathe going in and out. This sounds simple but it is extremely important when it comes to “getting out of your head”. By doing deep, conscious breathing you are aligning your mind and body in the present moment. When you feel your mind slipping out of the present and into a dark hole of stress, you can consciously steer it back to your breath which immediately puts your mind and body back at ease.
Tummo Breathing Benefits Related to Stress Relief
Improves Sleep
Insomnia is common among adults and is often caused by stress and anxiety. Reduced levels of stress and anxiety lead to a calmer mind which improves sleep quality and quantity. Practicing Tummo Breathing before bed can help make falling asleep easier and improve the quality of your sleep.
Improves Digestion
Many studies have noted the connection between stress and gastrointestinal disorders. Tummo Breathing benefits include helping to lower inflammation in the gut and relax your digestive system as well as your mind.
Reduces Muscle Tension
Both cold water therapy and reduced stress levels help with reducing muscle tension, so you get a double benefit in this instance! Cold exposure diminishes fatigue by reducing muscle pain and accelerating recovery of fatigued muscles
Increases Energy
Stress and anxiety are energy draining. Reducing stress and anxiety naturally increases your energy levels.
Lowers Blood Pressure
While lower levels of stress help lower blood pressure, cold water therapy also has a positive effect on the veins and arteries. Cold exposure contracts the veins and arteries in a process known as vasoconstriction and vasodilation. This gives your blood vessels a workout, keeping them limber and flexible.
Reduces Inflammation and Boosts Immunity
Tummo breathing and cold therapy together enhances how the immune system regulates itself. In a 2014 clinical trial 24 randomized healthy volunteers were split into 2 groups. 12 participants underwent 10 days of meditation, breathing, and cold exposure and the other did not. On the 10th day, all participants were given an E. coli endotoxin.
Upon endotoxin injection, the trained group — while performing their learned techniques — showed a marked increase in the anti-inflammatory IL-10 and epinephrine levels in the blood compared to the untrained. Levels of pro-inflammatory chemicals and flu-like symptoms decreased by 56% in the trained group as well. As the authors summarized: ‘The present study demonstrates that… the immune system can indeed be voluntarily influenced. Healthy volunteers practicing the learned techniques exhibited profound increases in the release of epinephrine, which in turn led to increased production of anti-inflammatory mediators and subsequent dampening of the proinflammatory cytokine response elicited by intravenous administration of bacterial endotoxin.’
Increasing Your Immune System Efficiency
An inflammatory reaction, however, is a defense mechanism that quickly clears up a dangerous infection. Certainly, downregulating it wouldn’t be ideal as pathogens would remain in the body and cause more serious issues down the road. But that isn’t the case. And here is why: Shortly after the endotoxin administration, the leukocyte (i.e., white blood cells responsible for killing pathogens) counts heightened up to 2–3-fold in the trained group. This is an intriguing phenomenon not seen in anyone in the control group. Everyone had similar baseline leukocyte counts.
This means that the trained group was able to mount their leukocytes more effectively — needing less assistance from inflammatory chemicals. Their immune system became so efficient that they can take care of a pathogen without experiencing any unpleasant symptoms. This means that the pathogen was powerless against these trained people and could not induce any ill health. And all of these are possible with just 10 days of training. Imagine years of training could do.
Immune System Regulation for Autoimmune and Inflammatory Diseases
The authors of the 2014 PNAS study wrote: “These results could have important implications for the treatment of conditions associated with excessive or persistent inflammation, such as autoimmune diseases.”
In 2019 a randomized clinical trial recruited 24 patients with axial spondyloarthritis — a type of autoimmune condition that affects the joints — to receive either no-training or 8-weeks of breathing, cold exposure, and meditation training.
The Tummo training worked! Those trained patients displayed reduced levels of various inflammatory biomarkers compared to the untrained. And there were no side effects.
As chronic and excessive inflammation is a root cause of most, if not all, diseases, Tummo breathing methods in conjunction with cold therapy show great potential in dampening inflammation without compromising the ability of the immune system to eradicate pathogens. These methods suppress the inflammatory reactions while strengthening the leukocytes. The keyword is ‘regulation’ Tummo breathing and cold therapy enhance how the immune system regulates itself.
Tummo Breathing Benefits Related to Inflammation Reduction and Boosting Immunity
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Helps Manage Asthma
Tummo breathing techniques increase lung capacity which can help manage the effects of asthma. Reduction of stress and inflammation and immunity regulation can also help with asthma symptoms
Relieves Eczema and Acne
Eczema and acne are both caused by auto immune disorders and stress. Reducing stress levels and regulating your immune system can help clear up eczema and acne.
Relieves Headaches
Headaches can be caused by stress and inflammation. Reducing stress and inflammation will relieve these types of headaches and help ease headache pain.
Other Tummo Breathing Benefits
Improves Focus
Combining the breathing technique and cold exposure with a mindfulness meditation, as the practice is meant to be done, improves focus and concentration. Doing Tummo breathing on a daily basis will significantly improve focus and your ability to concentrate on tasks and live in a more mindful manner.
Helps With Weight Loss
How To Do Tummo Breathing
- Start by lying down or sitting in a comfortable position.
- DO NOT practice while standing, driving, swimming or in any other situation that passing out will cause injury. There is a small possibility of loosing consciousness during this breathing technique so do it in a safe environment and do it gently, especially at the beginning. Big deep breaths can also pull muscles you are unused to using so be gentle and take it easy.
- Relax and concentrate on your breathing.
- Fully inhale starting with your abdomen then completely fill your chest. Relax to let the breath out, do not force your breath out.
- Repeat 30 times.
- After 30 times breathe 90% out and hold your breath until it becomes uncomfortable.
- When you feel the need to breathe, inhale fully and hold for 10 to 15 seconds.
- This completes one round. Do 3 rounds.
- Watch an instructional video on Wim Hoff Breathing.
Tips
- Only do on an empty stomach so morning is usually the best time. I do mine every day when I first wake up. It energizes me and gets me ready for the day.
- Breath in as much as possible through the nose, but if this is difficult for you, mouth breathing is OK too.
- Don’t do the breathing routine more than 2 times per day.
- Witness your breathing and your body during the exercise. During breath holds focus on the sensations in your body. If your focus wavers and you start thinking about something else, merely note that you lost focus and go back to witnessing your breathing. Do not judge or criticize yourself for your loss of focus. A huge part of improving focus and concentration is the act of bringing your concentration back and re-focusing on that specific location, in this case, your breathing and body.
How to do Cold Water Therapy
The easiest way to start off is to have your normal hot shower but for a short period in the middle of your shower turn the shower to cold. Over time try to get the water colder and colder and do it for longer until you can last at least 2 minutes in 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degree Celsius) water or colder.
Cold water plunges are another great way to increase dopamine and decrease cortisol levels. You can do this in your bathtub or any nearby cold or cool body of water. To get the full benefits, the water should be 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius) or below.
Most of all, stay safe and have fun!
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