The yoga of Naropa related to the inner light is known as “Tummo” or the “Yoga of Inner Heat.” Tummo is one of the Six Yogas of Naropa (Nāro Chö Drug), a set of advanced Tibetan Buddhist practices passed down from the Indian master Naropa. These practices are part of the tantric tradition and aim to help practitioners achieve profound meditative states and spiritual realization.

Tummo and the Inner Light

Tummo focuses on generating inner heat through visualization, breath control, and meditative focus on the central energy channel (avadhuti). While it is often associated with the physical sensation of heat, it also involves cultivating awareness of the inner light or “clear light” (prabhasvara in Sanskrit, ösel in Tibetan).

The practice of Tummo works with complex concepts, the subtle body—channels (nadis), energy currents (prana), and vital essence (bindu)—to dissolve mental obscurations and awaken the inherent luminous nature of the mind. The inner light experienced in Tummo is considered the radiance of the mind’s natural state, revealed as practitioners advance on the path.

Visualization and the Role of Inner Light

In Tummo, practitioners often visualize a flame at the navel center (manipura chakra), which grows and spreads warmth through the body. This heat is not just physical but symbolic of the burning away of ignorance and emotional afflictions. As the practice deepens, the inner light—representing clarity and wisdom—becomes more apparent.

This luminous state is sometimes described as the “clear light of bliss,” where the practitioner experiences an inseparable unity of profound awareness and emptiness (shunyata).

Connection to Phosphenes

The luminous phenomena experienced in Tummo meditation, particularly during deep states of focus and energy awakening, have parallels with the inner light seen during phosphene meditations. Both involve an experiential awareness of light that arises not from external sources but from within. In Tummo, this light is a direct manifestation of the awakened mind and the dynamic flow of prana through purified channels.

Tummo’s Role in the Six Yogas of Naropa

Tummo serves as the foundation for the other five yogas, as its mastery facilitates the realization of subsequent practices:

1. Illusory Body Yoga (Gyulu) – Understanding the illusory nature of reality.
2. Dream Yoga (Milam) – Lucid dreaming as a path to awakening.
3. Clear Light Yoga (Osel) – Realizing the fundamental luminous nature of the mind.
4. Bardo Yoga – Preparing for and navigating the intermediate state after death.
5. Phowa Yoga – Transference of consciousness at the time of death.

Modern Relevance

Tummo has gained attention beyond Tibetan Buddhism, particularly for its techniques involving breath and body heat regulation. Practices inspired by Tummo, such as the Wim Hof Method, draw on similar principles, though without the full spiritual framework.

In its authentic form, Tummo remains a profound path to experiencing the inner light and transforming one’s understanding of reality. It is important to experience it ours3elves and do not caught up in otherone’s concepts such as the nadi’s and the chakra’s etc. Those are all metafors for something beyond normal description, I would call it exploring the wisdom of the body. If wisdom arises, compassion happens naturally.