Kum Nye Tibetan Healing Exercises

 ‘Kum Nye’ translates as ‘body massage,’ and may initially appear to the observer, to be a collection of Yoga exercises to keep the body supple and strong. However, as Tarthang Tulku explains, ‘Kum Nye goes deeper- it’s like a combination of Yoga and meditation’. Kum Nye exercises work to unite awareness of physical body, subtle body (or Ku) and mind through mindfulness of breath and sensations. As understanding and experience deepen with practice, this Tibetan ‘Kum Nye’ yoga loosens the practitioner’s long-held tensions and habitual tendencies to enable deeper levels of relaxation and profound awareness of ‘mind.’ 

Kum Nye has its roots in Tibet, and is found in the written tradition of Tibetan medical and Vinaya Buddhist texts. Since the eighth century, Tibetan culture has assimilated knowledge from Ayurvedic medicine and other influences from India, China, Nepal and Persia. Knowledge of how life-energy governs physiological, mental, and emotional wellbeing led to the development of Kum Nye postures, breathing and self-massage exercises to balance subtle flows and remove blockages to energy flow. The Kum Nye that we are practicing here, was adapted to suit modern needs, and systematized by Tartang Tulku, who originally learned it from his father and gurus in Tibet (Tarthang Tulku, 2007).

                                 Tarthang, T (2007) Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga. Dharma Publishing