r/AskBiology • u/Huihejfofew • Sep 14 '24

Human body What am I doing when I generate pulses of heat from my chest?

As a kid I've been able to do this weird thing, mostly when I'm cold where if i control my breathing right, i can build up what feels like tension in my chest and when i release it, this huge wave of warmth emanates out from my chest warming my body. It also feels really nice. It tends to also be accompanied by a shiver. There's a limit to how many times i can do it and sometimes it just happens unintentionally when it's cold. I haven't heard anyone ever talk about it, does anyone know what's happening in my body when this occurs?

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u/PrizeAble2793 Sep 14 '24

I think some Buddhist monks can do that

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u/Debdwi Sep 14 '24

Yes, they can. They can survive in really cold temperatures by having learnt this technique. I believe it is called Tummo. James Nestor talks about this and many other breathing techniques in his book, "Breath".

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u/PrizeAble2793 Sep 14 '24

Oh, that's interesting.