It hit me how in control I was of my body and mind, and I started to tell everyone I know how much 20 days of cold showers had benefitted me. I surprised myself by handling two minutes the same way I had handled 30 seconds in the beginning of my journey. Thanks to my breath, I was able to observe how clear I felt - my mind, my body, everything. But I continued to breathe and instead of psyching myself out before cranking the dial to cold, I just did it without thinking and let my body adapt accordingly. If I thought 90 seconds was daunting, two minutes was dreadful. The final five days consisted of two minutes of cold water at the end of my showers. This was the week I realized that the method was working its magic. Around this time, I realized my average resting heart rate was lower than it had been in a long time, and I started to enjoy things again. If I told my body it wasn’t cold, it would warm up. This made my showers easier, as I was able to use my mind to find a sense of calm in the cold water. So, I focused on my breathing, and my average hold time continued to increase. I could easily handle 60 seconds, but a minute and a half? But I learned from the method that anybody can achieve the goal - all you have to do is breathe through it. I discovered that it was crucial for me to start my day with the practice If I waited to do it, my stress levels were higher and harder to navigate by midday. I could feel the anxiety that had flooded my mind for months starting to melt away. Only seconds into my cold showers, my body was warming itself thanks to my breath. But I found myself able to hold my breath longer. This felt overwhelming, and I wasn’t sure if I could do it. The second five days doubled the cold water exposure to 60 seconds. I found myself able to stay more focused at work than I had been in weeks, maybe months, and I started to feel like myself again. Toward the end of the week, I was able to easily do it. But the breathing techniques taught me to focus on the breath. After the breathing exercises, I showered and added 30 seconds of freezing cold water to the end of each shower. I started my days with 15 to 20 minutes of Hof’s guided breathing technique: three rounds of 30 deep breaths followed by holding my breath as long as I could. Thus, began my four-week journey with Wim Hof. I casually tried one of the breathing exercises, and I was instantly hooked. It outlines three main tools for achieving a healthier, happier life: the breath, the cold and the mind.
Wim hof breathing techniques full#
I dove into research and got my hands on the Dutch extreme athlete’s book, The Wim Hof Method: Activate Your Full Human Potential. I remembered watching Goop’s series, The Goop Lab on Netflix, and revisited the episode about the Wim Hof Method. As someone who pre-pandemic never experienced this level of anxiety, I knew I needed to find a solution. After having my first panic attack, I realized I wasn’t utilizing my breath as much as I should be. So how could someone possibly be bad at breathing? Well, I recently discovered I’m not so great at it. Breathing is a simple task, right? It’s so basic we don’t even realize it’s happening.
0 kommentar(er)
