Summary: The Wim Hof method, and Tummo Meditation, are accessible means of self-regulating the nervous system by means of breath control, visualization, and gradual, non-forced cold exposure. The following is a report of a week-long trial during which I taught myself how to heat my body when exposed to below freezing temperatures, suggesting that at a very low cost investment in time and energy, anyone can learn to consciously control their autonomic nervous system, under the adage ‘if I can do it, anyone can.’ Also included are the method followed, instructions for both, and with my understanding of the effects of each.

Interested in claims made my Wim Hof, and wanting to learn how to increase control over my physiological system, I undertook a two-phase trial to explore Tummo Meditation and a modern derivative, the Wim Hof Method. As it turns out, conscious thermogenesis and consciously controlling the nervous system is far easier to learn than I had anticipated.

Phase 2: Practical Application, was expected to take a week, but after two days in alpine conditions, results were satisfactory enough that I cut the trial short. I also experimented with other meditative techniques such as bandhas, visualizations, and various asanas in order to assess their viability in assisting with the practice, and got some good views along the way.

Keep in mind: any and all claims are entirely subjective. I’m not doing this to prove anything, if you want scientific proof and graphs, there’s boatloads online already. The point of this post is to share my experience, nothing more.

Background: the Wim Hof Method and Tummo Meditation

The Wim Hof Method (WHM) has made the rounds over the past few years with some pretty serious claims, all backed up with scientific credibility. WHM breathwork decreases blood acidity, Wim Hof himself has accomplished spectacular things, and is a real personality:

Another, more ancient method of withstanding cold exposure, Tummo meditation, consists of a combination of breathing techniques and visualization that claim to allow control over, among other things, one’s body temperature. Monks can do crazy things, like raise the temperature of their fingers by over 8 degrees C, and dry out wet sheets in sub-zero temperatures:

These two methods are similar, but distinct, and I set out to learn how our relationship with cold can be used to further meditative practice, as well as to learn how to self-regulate my nervous system at a deeper level.

Bottom Line: totally doable

In 5 days of mild cold exposure (40-50F) for several hours, and 2 day/night cycles in the mountains at 25-40F + wind chill with light clothing, I believe that I understand the basics of Tummo and Wim Hof at a practical level. I will continue the practice in a more controlled fashion as time goes on, and further develop my control over my autonomic system.

Longer term psycho-physiological changes will occur in their own time, especially if the adage ‘one level of clothing less than comfortable’ is followed. My relationship with cold has changed after only a week. Long story short, by accepting cold as a phenomenon, and not a state of being, cold can serve as a faithful ally, an aide in concentration, and can assist in achieving deeper states of meditation.

Quick to learn, takes time to master

As might be expected, true mastery, and those spectacular feats accomplished by Himalayan monks and Wim Hof himself require substantial time; physiological changes, such as converting adipose tissue to brown fat to allow for increased thermogenesis, takes at least a couple weeks, at least according to mice studies, and that doesn’t even touch on the persistent mental concentration required for sustained Tummo states of inner heat. So this whole thermogenesis thing has low starting costs, but a long tail.

How to do the Wim Hof Method (WHM)

The basic version consists of a three-phase breathing pattern. This video talks briefly about some of the thinking behind it, and lets us see into Wim Hof’s thinking:

Phase 1, controlled hyperventilation. 30-40 cycles of powerful breaths in that fully fill the lungs, and then passively release the breath (don’t actively exhale). Repeat this cycle at a steady but rapid pace.

Phase 2, hold on the exhale. Let all the air out of your lungs, and hold for as long as possible. When the urge to breathe kicks in, observe and witness the impulse as it builds.

Phase 3, hold on the inhale. When the urge to breathe becomes particularly strong, inhale fully and hold for 15 seconds or so, then let it go. Start another cycle of controlled hyperventilation afterwards.

As with any breathwork, especially involving hyperventilation, tingling, light-headedness, and more are part of the territory. You know yourself, so if you’ve turned on your oven too hot, so to speak, turn it back down.

This video describes the basics of how it works, what it does, and the process:

How to do Tummo Meditation

Tummo stems from the Tibetan Kagyu tradition. Think Himalayas. Like WHM, it consists of breathing and cold exposure. Unlike the baseline WHM, there is a visualization component. Most sources suggest that it is to be used while seated; I tried it while hiking, and found it still to be useful, especially when applied in conbination with the WHM. Sometimes, especially at altitude, you just need a bit of extra air, in which case 30 deep breaths comes in handier than a half dozen.

Traditional Tummo meditation couples the breathwork and baseline visualizations with symbols to summon spiritual knowledge. Visualizing a candle, radiating heat from the abdomen, and then expanding its intensity and configuration, eventually spreads conceptual heat across the entire body. In the spiritual tradition, the heat rises and becomes more brilliant with every breath, ultimately reaching the crown of the head. Heat and light are metaphorical life energies, rising from the body to flower in the mind.

If you are not familiar with meditation and visualization, you may find this more difficult and less immediately effective than WHM. As with any practice dealing with neural activation / energy, the more you do it, the more neural pathways you recruit, and the better you get. From what I’ve found online, the Tummo texts are generally shrouded behind esoteric mysticism, which makes them less than approachable for the masses. The Tibetans claim that after 6 weeks, boom you’ve got it, but since they tend to practice 10 hours a day, you can expect it to take 500 hours of practice to really ‘get it.’ If you’re already practiced in other forms, it probably takes less time.

What follows is my understanding of the meditation, and absent a visit to Tibet for a double check, seem to work just fine. I’ll get the sanity check with a Kagyu at a later date and may update this then.

Tummo Body Position:

Sit upright, but in a comfortable position. Swastikasana, sukhasana, lotus, half-lotus, take your pick. Place palms over each other, between lower ribs and the navel. Imagine your hands to absorb, radiate, and reflect heat.

Tummo breathing and visualization routine:

Fully exhale, expelling all the air from your lungs. This is the beginning of the round.

· Deep breath in. This is the first of 5. On the inhale, establish visualization 1, and breathe out fully.

Visualization 1: Picture a centimeter thick channel like a tube through your torso from the top of your head to your perenium / cervix.

· Deep breath in. This is the second of 5. Establish visualization 2, and breathe out fully.

Visualization 2: Picture two side channels from each nostril, going up to the forehead (ajna), then moving down to either side of the main channel, merging at your belly, right where your palms meet at the navel.

The central and side channels. The side channels flow down, while the central channel flows up

· Deep breath in. This is the third of 5. Establish visualization 3, and breathe out fully.

Visualization 3: Picture your body as an empty, hollow tube, with no internal organs, no weight, only light. Think of yourself as a flute through which the breath flows.

· Deep breath in. This is the fourth of 5. Establish visualization 4, and breathe out fully.

Visualization 4: Picture a candle flame inside you at your navel where your palms meet (manipura / lower dantien).

· Deep breath in. This is the fifth of 5. Bring all the images together as one, and hold the breath on the inhale for about 5-15 seconds.

At this point, you may feel a lot of tension/pressure in your head. Notice where all of that is, then drop all tension, energy, and air from the head into the gut. It helps if you swallow it down. Expand the abdomen where your hands meet, as though the flame you pictured is now glowing. Drop your shoulders, and press the energy even farther down from the throat.

· Final, slow exhale: drop all tension and energy to the abdomen, expand it, and breathe out through pursed lips in a laser-like exhale, as slowly as possible, while focusing on visualization 5. You can keep the abdomen expanded or let it go in during the exhale.

Visualization 5: Take that candle flame and make it glow into a small hot, ball of fire with the outbreath.

With each round, the visualizations become easier to maintain. I found it good to imagine each breathe in through the nostrils to build the inner flame, and each outbreath to stoke it, as though I had a no-kidding fire in front of me. It helped to have an actual fire in front of me that I was tending, and I paired that with the inner, visualization practice.

This video describes the basics of the practice and leads you through a wonderful step-by-step introduction to the practice:

Method

I’ve done the cold shower thing before, and rode my bike ten miles to school for years in Michigan winter, so I’m no stranger to cold. But living in Los Angeles for any amount of time absolutely destroys your cold tolerance. Knowing this, I decided to acclimatize myself through progressive, non-forced cold exposure, while watching videos and researching Tummo techniques and Wim Hof. The most informative resources I found are listed at the end of this post.

Phase 1: Progressive cold exposure to establish baseline.

General rule of thumb was: an article of clothing less than required for comfort.

· 12/26-12/28: Sitting out at night in shorts and a t-shirt at 45-50 degrees while reading, writing, or working for 3 hours a night for 3 days.

· 12/29: 5 mile walk at 40-50 F with long sleeve shirt and light pants.

· 12/30: 5 mile walk at 40-50 F to the beach with long sleeve shirt and light pants.

All of this is well and good, but since researching something for a day or two and hanging out in the cold doesn’t compare to actually doing it, I decided to head to the mountains and see what I could learn, and kicked off Phase 2.

Phase 2: Practical Application

Over New years, I rode my motorcycle up the Angeles Crest to Mount Baden Powell region. At all times, kept the jacket in the bag. At temperatures ranging from 30-40 F with minor to moderate wind chill, with a long sleeve shirt and thin pants, I found that I felt very cold, but through continued application of the Wim Hof method and Tummo meditation, was able to keep myself from being damaged by exposure.

· 12/31 day: rode up to the mountains in temperatures approx 40 to 50 degrees. Careful not to force myself too hard while operating machinery (see warning below), took it easy on the hyperventilation and all the rest. Even still, the meditation helped. Set up camp.

Basecamp

· 12/31 night: Made a small fire and practiced Tummo and Wim Hof, alternating every 30 minutes or so. 35 degrees at sundown, below freezing shortly thereafter. The fire helped, but on its own was not enough to ward off the cold; I kept it purposely small and stayed far away, only getting close when my hands began to verge away from ‘painful and swollen’ to ‘numb.’

· 1/1 day: Left for a spring I’d passed a few miles back, came across a sign that said, ‘tellan spring.’ Figured sure, let’s follow the sign, and went a couple miles up a mountain. The path to the spring was iced over, and after making some headway, I had had enough close calls to turn back (no crampons and a pointed rock for an icepick didn’t do me any favors). Kept going up the mountain and ended up on top of Mount Baden-Powell, which was gorgeous.

The wind was moderate, temperatures without the windchill just above freezing, and I had the same long sleeve shirt on. When I started to really feel the cold, I would do a couple rounds of Wim Hof, or Tummo. I found WH to be better at ramping up my core temperature quickly, or at least, helping me ignore it more, and I felt that mostly due to holding the breath on emptiness, sparking whatever adrenal response happens. I found Tummo to be better at maintaining a sustained anti-cold response, if slower at getting started. But honestly, they worked together pretty well. Made it up and down the mountain, and then to the spring and back. I found that my hands suffered the most, and although they never really reached the ‘numb’ state that comes with real danger from cold exposure, they stayed on the far edge of ‘lots of pain and very swollen.’ I imagine that if I had kept my ears exposed, I’d be saying the same there, too.

At the top of Mount Baden-Powell, overlooking Los Angeles

· 1/1 night: Huddled at the fire for about 4 hours. Explored bandhas, mudras, and different visualizations. Hands were still the main source of cold trauma. Visualizing drawing heat from the palms to ‘stoke the inner flame’ seemed to have a positive effect.

· 1/2: Realized that had blocked out a week, and after the first day and a half, that I had already set out to achieve what I wanted: a practical understanding and working knowledge of generating ‘inner fire,’ and there was no reason other than masochism to continue in the mountains. I could further develop my practice in more controlled conditions with access to cold showers, ice baths, open ocean swims, and scantily-clad nights. Headed back to the city.

Takeaways

Like with most meditative practices, you can do the visualizations and all that every day for a year, but nothing beats being out in the environment. Consistent cold exposure is required to really see results — you can fool the mind, but you can’t fool the body.

Default breathing did not adjust in the allotted timeframe, and sleeping was relatively difficult because of the cold. Thermogenesis seems to require continual concentration, which is lost during sleep. Nights were cold — I had an alpine bivy and a summer bag with me, necessitating drastic measures. I put on my jacket and added my guru (a stuffed yoda) for added warmth.

Wim Hof Takeaways

Wim Hof is far more approachable as a method for most people. It seems to take advantage of the ‘life impulse’, the desire to breathe, and sparks an adrenal response to an expected oxygen shortage that minimizes our pain receptors. This makes it a more active practice when compared to Tummo: it floods your body with adrenaline and helps you to ignore the cold, rather than heat you up against it.

While walking, the hold on the exhale is substantially lessened, most likely because of oxygen demand.

I can see why WHM has seen great strides in bringing well-being to people.

Tummo Takeaways

Tummo does seem to be more of a sitting, static meditation, rather than the more active WHM. Considering the visualization aspect, Tummo is more meditative and seems to provide more sustained, direct control over body heat without sparking the survival-type response as the exhale hold with WHM does. When the pursed lips laser exhale is drawn out, you still get the adrenal rush, but it’s far gentler, like a slow-motion dive into water, instead of a cannonball.

The visualization may be daunting for people who do not have an established meditative practice. After each round, you will find the visualization to be easier and easier to maintain. Picture the glowing ball of fire in your navel / manipura as spreading fire throughout your body. It took me about 10, maybe 15 minutes to really get in the groove of this and to start feeling a positive change in my body temperature. I imagine it takes less time with more practice.

I found the body position of Tummo to be key, and generally kept my hands over my core all day while in the mountains. Holding hands over dantian / manipura may be a way to conserve body temperature and keep them close to the core’s heat. The image below describes why:

The hands and feet get the least amount of heat from your core. Placing them near your core and your arms along your torso keeps them much warmer.

The trickiest part for me was shifting the energy from the head to just above the navel so that I could breathe out. The throat tends to constrict, since you’re holding your breath. Pushing energy into the navel / manipura / lower dantien, and then breathing out, took a bit of muscular finagling to get smoothly. But when it was sub-zero, at night, I found my breath misted a lot more, especially as my breathing rate increased in response to the cold, which I took as a positive sign that my core temperature was keeping up with the temps.

Meditation and the Cold

Obscene cold is the best non-life threatening means of forcing intense states of concentration that I yet have come across.Cold is unforgiving, it is relentless, and it doesn’t go away. If by concentration you can stave off the cold, then you will concentrate, no question about it.

You experience cold as a phenomenon. Like a stomach ache: you feel it coming on, you feel it at its most powerful state, and then you feel it go. All the while, you know that you are not the cold. With Tummo meditation, or Wim Hof, you do not identify with being cold, but experience it as simply something that you can witness. It becomes less ‘I am cold’ and more ‘there is cold.’

So, if you feel a stomach ache, but do not identify with it, or are able to witness the experience of cold, what does that mean for, let’s say, depression? What is it that is cold, what is it that is depressed? The cold is there, but so are you. The depression, the anxiety, the fear, they are all there, but so are you, and you are not them. Cold exposure is a free, accessible way to trigger a state change away from the self-referential constructs of anxiety and fear, and in modern society you are in complete control over your exposure to cold. by regularly facing a little bit of cold, I believe, as so many others do, that many people could shock themselves out of their own thought-loops and back into reality.

Warnings

Do not attempt to do either of these while driving. Several times while going up Mount Baden Powell, when holding on the exhale, but especially when pulling all the tension from head to abdomen, an absolutely massive headrush came over me. I distinctly remember one time, when I had to steady myself against a tree. It was close, but I almost slipped down an ice floe, which would probably would have at least seriously injured me. If I had been driving, I would have caused an accident. So pay attention.

Conclusion

I was out for three nights and two days, and I can say without pride that I got the basics down and understand the main gists of both methods and where they differ. I’m just a regular guy, so if I can do it, anyone can do it. I’ve done my best to explain the myriad nuances, but you have to try it for yourself to ‘get it.’ I’ve been very cold at many periods of my life. Once, while laid out in an ambush at infantry officer training during a sleet storm storm in a Virginia winter with nothing but a poncho over me, I was so cold I shivered uncontrollably and made whimpering animal noises before I passed out. I wish I had known this at the time, and at several other similar points in my life.

Final notes: Experimenting with Bandhas, etc.

I brought other meditative and yogic techniques into this trial in an ad hoc fashion, just to see what would happen. Like everything else in this post, take it with a grain of salt.

Experimented with uddiyana bandha (exhaling and pulling the abdomen and diaphragm up and in) on the Wim Hof exhale. It gives an extra few seconds to the hold, and provides increased control over the impulse to breathe. It’s worth a try if you want to push yourself a bit, but the resultant headrush on the inhale might be a bit heavy if you’re not prepared.

Experimented with maha bandha (all three locks) on the final inhale of the Tummo meditation, then releasing jalandhara bandha while holding mula and uddiyana during the slow exhale, in a similar fashion to Shambavi Mahamudra (as taught by the Isha Foundation). This seemed to provide a greater focus and, if the visualizations are firmly established, made the ‘inner flame’ glow that much brighter.

Body positioning and various asanas had slight effects, but primarily on the breathing patterns and the amount that I could exhale / inhale. Preliminary results suggest that inversion poses might have positive affect when applied during the breath retention phase of WHM.

Resources

Tummo Meditation Instructional Video

Wim Hof Method Instructional Video

Step-by-step Tummo instructions

The Bliss of Inner Fire PDF

Nabhi Kriya, which is a more movement-focused way of generating ‘inner heat.