Russia -- Scientists Search for Medical Secrets in Himalayas - Buddhachannel : le portail du bouddhisme dans le monde

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - A group of St. Petersburg scientists have returned from the Himalayan Mountains after learning the secrets of an almost-extinct form of Tibetan yoga that they hope can be used to cure diseases in the West.

<< Rinad Minvaleyev (r) practising Tum-Mo yoga in the Himalayan Mountains during a recent expedition to discover its secrets. Irina Akhipova / For The St. Petersburg Times

The scientists have recently completed a two-month mission to find traces of Tum-Mo, a form of Tibetan Buddhist yoga that preserves body temperatures through excessive production of internal heat despite the body's exposure to extremely cold mountain climates.

The technique could be applied in areas with extreme cold climates, such as Russia, to prevent and treat heart disease, cancer, tuberculosis, pneumonia and influenza if developed, Rinad Minvaleyev, a physiologist, mathematician and the team's senior researcher, said.

"In fact, Tum-Mo is about the human being's adaptation to low temperatures where thermo-dynamic functioning of a human liver is activated to further regulate the heating process," said Minvaleyev, referring to a mathematical formula he co-established last year.

I have been fascinated by this tumo yoga for quite a while - this Russians aren't the first ones to study it - Dr. Benson from the US has done some studies some time back and since then the fascination has been there. Tumo seems to be, at least at the beginning, include a lot of Pranayama, which can heat up the body enormously.