Medical Applications - Tum-Mo
In the Bön religion, the practice of medicine is considered to be inseparable from the spiritual path. Of particular interest to western medical researchers is the way in which some adepts are apparently able to control their body temperature through a meditational practice known as tum-mo (Tibetan: gtum mo – ‘inner fire’). Although still practised in Tibet, it has become endangered due to the political situation between Tibet and China.
With the view that such abilities could have considerable applications for contemporary western medicine, the Kalpa Group initially funded a pilot study at the Mind/Body Medical Institute at Harvard University, a non-profit scientific and educational organisation dedicated to the study of mind/body interactions and their healing capacities.
Experiments replicated the traditional practice whereby monks’ bodies are wrapped in wet sheets in freezing temperatures and then utilise tum-mo to dry the sheets. A range of advanced technologies were deployed, including thermal imaging (conducted by Dr Maurizio Seracini), were used to measure and codify brain-wave activity, metabolic oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide elimination, and respiratory rate, skin and internal temperatures. The initial results have increased understanding of how the heat of tum-mo is generated, and how the body's physiological function, organs and the immune system are affected.
The Kalpa Group believes that the study of the physiological changes accompanying tum-mo could lead to a significant addition to modern medical knowledge, and are planning a further two-year research project which will include both Eastern- and Western-trained doctors, as a full understanding is only possible if the evidence is studied by both traditions.