Arousal-Based Meditation Counteracts Mindfulness’ Mellowness

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) has two branches. The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) branch slows the body down. PNS dominance elicits a relaxation response, whereas activating the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) branch revs up the body via fight-or-flight mechanisms. Arousal-based meditation and breathing techniques such as Tibetan Buddhism's Tummo create "inner fire" by reducing PNS dominance and increasing phasic alertness.

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Contrary to popular belief, mindfulness-based meditation and breathing exercises that trigger a relaxation response in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) aren't ideal for every situation.

Calming the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) by taking a deep diaphragmatic breath followed by a long, slow exhale (which stimulates the vagus nerve) isn't always the best way to elicit peak performance. Some high-stakes challenges, such as being a Top Gun and flying fighter jets, require SNS-driven "inner fire" and bursts of laser-focused attention, also known as "phasic alertness."

Mindfulness-based practices can effectively quell fight-or-flight stress after a stressful event by increasing parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) dominance. However, during stressful events that require phasic alertness and peak performance, mindfulness can reduce arousal and attentional control in counterproductive ways.

Arousal-Based Meditation Practices Can Ignite an "Inner Fire"

A new study from the National University of Singapore (NUS) highlights the benefits of arousal-based meditative practices such as Tummo (inner-fire breathing) that trigger PNS withdrawal as indexed by lower heart rate variability (HRV). Lower HRV is associated with decreased vagal tone and increased phasic alertness. These findings (Kozhevnikov et al., 2022) were published on October 7 in the peer-reviewed journal Current Research in Neurobiology.

In some situations, it's better to be hyper-alert than laid back. Vajrayana meditation practices, such as "forceful breath" practiced by some Tibetan Buddhists during Tummo, are known as "thunderbolt vehicles" because they negate the relaxation response by purposely activating the SNS' fight-or-flight mechanisms.

"Arousal-based meditation practices push practitioners to their limits, so they can stay focused on the task, being free from any distracting thoughts, even in the most threatening situations," first author Maria Kozhevnikov said in a news release.

"This form of [arousal-based] meditation would be useful for individuals in situations that do not allow for mindfulness-related meditation for stress reduction, such as a pilot flying a plane in a battlefield," she added. The latest NUS research suggests that arousal-based meditations can help people stay "super alert" by increasing their attentional capacities on demand.

How Does Forceful Breath During Tummo Meditation Create "Inner Fire"?

In Tibetan Buddhism, Tummo is the goddess of fire and passion. Among tantric Buddhists, Tummo also refers to the "inner fire" created during meditative practices involving "forceful breath" and visualizing a deity.

The forceful breath technique that Tummo practitioners performed for this study is an arousal-based meditative practice characterized by long inhalations followed by quick, forceful exhalations. This "inner fire" breathing technique hacks the autonomic nervous system by decreasing vagal tone and parasympathetic activity, which increases SNS arousal and phasic alertness.

"Different Tummo-type practices exist, varying in the intensity of their breathing techniques, goals, and visualization content," the authors explain. "The type of Tummo practice performed by the practitioners in this study was Forceful Breath, the goal of which is to raise the 'inner fire.'"

In addition to increasing phasic alertness and inhibiting the PNS' relaxation response, arousal-based meditative practices also strengthen top-down control of executive functions and thinking processes. "During the years of practice, Tummo experts become highly proficient in reaching and controlling states of heightened arousal and related [neural] activity. Thus, they can develop these states quickly and efficiently and flexibly regulate their top-down control processes," Kozhevnikov et al. write.

Relaxation-Inducing Mindfulness and Arousal-Based Meditation Produce Very Different Effects

During arousal-based meditation practices, attentional control isn't modulated by the ongoing monitoring of one's thoughts as it is during mindfulness-related practices. Therefore, Kozhevnikov and co-authors propose that arousal-based meditative practices and mindfulness-based meditative practices "cannot be grouped into a single category of meditation in terms of their physiology and neurocognitive processes."

Although arousal-based practices and mindfulness-related meditation can both be described as "attention-based, regulatory training regimes," they are quite different. The latest (2022) research shows that within the autonomic nervous system, arousal-based meditation supports PNS withdrawal as indexed by lower HRV, stronger top-down control, and intense alertness. On the flip side, mindfulness-based practices promote a relaxation response and mellowness supported by PNS dominance, higher HRV, and vagus nerve stimulation.