Although the typical range for body temperature ranges between 36.1°C and 37.2°C, the normal body temperature is registered at 37°C. But did you know that Tibetan monks have the capability to increase their body temperatures through meditation?
Tibetan monks can increase their body temperature with their minds, according to 1982 Harvard research. Meditation alone allowed “g-tummo” yoga practitioners to demonstrate how to increase the temperature of different body areas.
A Scientific Study About “G-Tummo” Practitioners
Dr. Herbert Benson is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the former director of the Benson-Henry Institute (BHI). At BHI, Dr. Benson continues to pioneer the field by conducting studies on Mind-Body Medicine’s effectiveness in reducing stress’s negative consequences.
Benson went to Tibet in 1981 to meet with three Buddhist monks who were skilled practitioners of g-tummo yoga, a style of exercise known for raising body temperature through focus. He wanted to know if there was any evidence to support the claims made by g-tummo practitioners that they increased their body temperature.
G-tummo is a specialized practice, and few people are familiar with its procedures. Tibetan practitioners consider the g-tummo meditation technique, which aims to manage inner energy, one of the most sacred spiritual disciplines in the Indo-Tibetan schools of Vajrayana Buddhism and Bon.
Since it is linked to descriptions of great body heat in the spine, the practice is also known as psychic heat.
The intricacies of the g-tummo method are little understood. Remote Chinese provinces of Qinghai and Sichuan, also known as eastern Tibet. are home to most of the few monasteries that continue a thorough practice of g-tummo.
The Results of the Study Conducted
Based on a study by Benson published in Nature in 1982. Detectable body temperature changes likely accompany advanced contemplative states because meditation is linked to changes compatible with decreased sympathetic nervous system activity.
With the assistance of H.H. Dalai Lama, g-tummo or hot yoga is an advanced kind of Tibetan Buddhist meditation practiced by three people who live in Upper Dharamsala, India, and we have looked at this possibility.
In a study conducted in February 1981, They discovered that these three participants could raise the temperature of their fingers and toes by as much as 8.3°C. We present this finding here.
In that study, Benson concluded that vasodilation, the widening of blood vessels to lower blood pressure, was the most likely mechanism to account for the increase in finger and toe temperature.
When Benson’s research team conducted a follow-up study in 2000, they discovered that when participants performed g-tummo, certain brain regions that control specific autonomic bodily functions, such as vasodilation, appeared to be active.
However, as discussed in a 2013 study that aimed to replicate the work of Benson and his colleagues, other academics believe that the findings of Benson’s research have been exaggerated in the media:
According to the research, there are two distinct types of g-tummo practice, F.B. and G.B. Each has its temperature patterns and brain (EEG) correlates.
The temperature findings support the claims made by the practitioners that F.B. meditation is used to raise body temperature. In contrast, G.B. meditation makes maintaining a high body temperature easier. (Source: Snopes)