Lung-gom-pa

Lung-gom-pa (T. rlung sgom pa རླུང་སྒོམ་པ) is a Tibetan term that means "breathing meditation."

The term translates as follows:

• rlung (pron. "lung") means "air" or "breath"
• sgom pa (pron. "gom pa") means "meditation"

In her book Magic and Mystery in Tibet, the Belgian-French explorer Alexandra David-Néel used this term to refer to the tantric technique of swift-footedness, which is a yogic ability to swiftly travel over great distances by foot. This book was first published in 1929, based on David-Néel's travels through Tibet between 1911 and 1925. The Tibetan name for a practitioner of swift-footness is rkang mgyogs pa (pronounced "kyang gyok pa").

According to David-Néel, while trekking across Tibet, she encountered a man moving with unusual speed over long distance. The man "seemed to lift himself from the ground. His steps had the regularity of a pendulum [...] the traveler seemed to be in a trance." Her trekking guide explained the sight by telling David-Néel "lama lung gom pa," most likely meaning to convey that the yogi was in a state of deep meditation. David-Néel subsequently used the term "lung-gom-pa" to describe the technique of swift-footedness in her book. The book includes several accounts of David-Néel witnessing this technique.

See also:

• Anāgarika Lāma Govinda, Chapter 18 - Trance Walking and lung-gom training in The Way of the White Clouds, wisdomlib.org