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Wim Hof - Feel the Cold and do it Anyway
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This discussion was created from comments split from: Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!.
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Fascinating. Sharp as fuck. Wow.
True thing:
I always used to guide people, after my Qi Gong classes, through a meditation, to illustrate how powerful the mind is. I used to instruct them to visualise eating a slice of lemon, and without exception, they would all recount having their salivary glands activated, with that weird little sharp poking sensation right by their jaw joint... Some people would even wince as if actually sucking a slice of lemon.
I think Wim just takes it a leeeetle step further...
Yeah he’s pretty remarkable isn’t he? He was tested at the Radboud UMC for his ability to control his immune system, and he proved pretty conclusively that his methods work. I’ve been taking cold showers and doing his guided breathing exercises for a few days, and it seems to do good things.
I'm very inclined to give it a go. I watched the video on his breathing instructions, and also saw the effect of the exercise on one of the participants... amazing...
ETA: Have watched a couple of other videos with him...Very interesting. Followed breathing exercise, and took a cold shower. Too early to say definitively what effect it had, of course, but it felt fine...
Yes, I have found it very invigorating. It helps to do rapid, deep breaths when you first hit those cold showers, let alone the ice baths (which I haven’t tried yet).
I do this guided breathing set… sometimes 4,5 times a day…
Yes, I'd like to get a regular routine going...
It's great that his son is on board and working with him to raise his profile...
I followed his recommendation to begin with a warm shower and turn it to cold, and start with 30 seconds. He accepts that people need to go at their own pace, but even so, he encourages people to challenge their own pre-conceived ideas and 'fears' and go that step beyond their comfort zone. It's effective.
It's becoming a ritual:
Cup of tea.
See husband off to work
Breathing method
Plank
warm shower turning to cold
Horse stance
breakfast: Green olives, blanched almonds, and an apple.
Coffee.
Then, the day begins.
Very cool.
I am going to do the 11 minute breathing exercise after some family time. I highly doubt I'll do ice baths or his extreme retreat but I love the idea.
I have found that the first 20 seconds of a cold shower are the worst... once you surpass that time, it gets easier... I managed a whole minute this morning... working up to 10 minutes...
I have 3 temperature settings: Hot (2 red bars) Hot/warm (one red bar) and Cold (one blue bar). There is also an intensity regulator that goes from hot, and gradually round to cold.
so I can gradually decrease the temperature, according to where I point the selection indicators on both settings.
Works well for me.
I'm going to try the cold shower and if it takes, I'll make it a regular practice. That's out of the comfort zone big time.
The breathing exercise is something I will for sure incorporate. Thanks!
It was good... The 2nd time holding the breath I knew he would say it is ok to let go before he says let go a second or so before he said it.
I'm building up. On the final round of breathing, I let the breath out and held for 2 minutes 3 seconds, and held my breath for 1 minute 55. You know, on paper, it doesn't look like much, but I then held the plank position - third time of ever doing it - for 1 minute 49 seconds.
@David, for the completely uninitiated he recommends starting cold showers for 5 seconds and incrementing by 5 seconds every day. 5 seconds sounds a measly amount, but when you first begin doing this, it's the longest 5 seconds you'll ever know.
Tee Hee! Fun pun intended … 🥶
Some may enjoy/other forms of breathing/pranayama eg.
https://www.sclhealth.org/blog/2019/08/try-these-simple-breathing-exercises-to-calm-yourself-down/
Cold showers going well. ✅
The below is from my cousin. Apparently she 'truly understands' Glad somebody, somewhere does …
Big Brother Boris Johnson too no doubt …
Absolutely love Wim Hof!
This man is completely authentic and he's having huge positive results. This stuff is deeply connected with the eastern philosophical understanding of how our bodies work, and how we are connected with our environment. He demonstrates how mind and body are not separate entitles that can be studied exclusively from each other, yet in the west they are, and from this crude, censored curriculum given to our entire western medical community clunky diagnoses and prescriptions are then given to an unwitting public in order to manage disease for financial profit.
To truly understand what this man is really doing requires the acceptance that our western big pharma institutions that are running all large corporate media, all large social media corporations, and our governments, are not doing things in our interests and have not done so for many decades at least, certainly not since Rockefeller. It is the “Rockefeller Oath”, just re-named the “Hippocratic Oath”... 'double speak' which has become so fashionable in this brave new world.
In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is master.
The healthier people get, the less medicine they need. This is logical. What seems to be less accepted is that people are responsible for their own health. This reliance on outside factors to maintain our minds and bodies as we would wish them to be, means we are giving away our power to others, who manipulate, control and influence us according to their agendas. People need to realise that ultimately, we have to take complete, total and unique responsibility for who we are.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to do that. That being said, I really admire the man, his efforts and the results. He's like a frozen Shaolin.
Though it did happen to me by accident when I was about 17 years old. We were on LSD and I thought the ice was thicker than it was and to catch up to my friends I decided to run across the creek. I went right through but was able to grab onto thick weeds at the edge. It was past bus time and I had a long walk to get to warmth.
I didn't think I could do it either but this morning's breath-work was the best I have had so far, and my cold shower felt fantastic. So much so that I actually preferred it to the warm shower I had to begin with... I went from warm, to cold and back to warm - then I hit the cold again, for the hell of it. I also held the plank position for over 2 minutes, which for me, given that I'm not really into physical exercise, was outstanding...
I bought - and am reading - the book.
I have been doing some showers starting with cold and then going to warm towards the end, not sure if I prefer that. It was great anyway, when stepping under the cold shower I do some rapid deep breathing and the sensation of cold eases more quickly. Thanks Wim!
I start off hot, and wash accordingly, then during the rinsing phase (!) I turn the heat down to cool... and finally I go all out for cold, but he explains that most domestic cold water is below 16 degrees C anyway, so it's perfectly suitable. It will no doubt get colder in the winter, given that most pipework is outside. So acclimatising myself now seems to be the perfect thing to do.
I can stay under a cold shower for quite some time, but that's with the temperature selector set to ONE bar hot, and the dial turned right up to 100% cold.
Turning the temperature selector to complete Cold, is something I am working up to, because honestly, the first time I did it, it took my breath away and felt extremely alien and uncomfortable. So, I am not going to torture myself by taking an immediate plunge. But I am determined I am getting there...
Great Breathing this morning, followed by a good warm-cold-hot-cold shower immediately afterwards. Stayed under for well more than a minute although I didn't time it...Felt well all day. Pretty sure it's having some definite good effects.
Today? As above....
Cold showers in the morning for the win!
Can't wait until December....! WillI be so brave then?? If I take a cold shower every day, I certainly hope I will be acclimatised by the winter time!
Or, "Cold showers in the morning for the 'Wim!'...?
This interview with Russel Brand and Wim Hof was nice…
I have heard that Wim Hof’s method is related to the Tibetan practice of tummo, the inner fire which supposedly sustains advanced practitioners in the snows in Tibet.
Yes he mentions it a few times in his book...
I managed to stay under a cold-cold shower this morning for well over 2 minutes. I didn't actually time it, but it was certainly much longer than any time i have done before. It felt extremely exhilarating. In fact, I was reluctant to stop...
today as yesterday, but even longer. felt very good... almost tempted to go for another shower now, just for the helluvit....!!
17 minutes under a cold shower. Felt so good.
I've tried this out for the first time today. I will be attempting to keep this practice..
Dr. Michael Moseley also takes cold showers, and advocates breathing sessions. Although there is no mention of Wim Hof, I am absolutely certain that Dr Moseley has definitely encountered him.
I've attempted the cold shower 6 times and I still can't stay more than a second or two when I hit pure cold. I am enjoying this but I don't think my spirit would be so high about it if there was no warming up afterwards.
I think I may be keeping that one as well.
I can, as long as I bellow at the top of my lungs. After 5 seconds or so, it settles down. Have not yet tried swimming among icebergs. Once covid is over I may book a flight to Alaska and.... No, I'm only joking...
Alternating with hot, or finishing with it, is also very beneficial.
From "Wim Hof FAQ'':
So carry on with the cold/Hot.
I actually do several rounds of 'breathing' during the day. When out on walks with my dog, I release/hold, inhale/hold, but only for ten paces each...
I found a way of enduring the cold shower in a way that works for me. I Start the shower on cool, to begin with. I Step in gradually, one leg at a time, until I can comfortably engage with full coverage... then when my body is acclimatised to the coolness of the water, I switch it to cold. The "shock" is far less 'impressive' and not such an ordeal. Wim Hof calls the cold "Merciless but Righteous". Personally I prefer 'Ruthless But Righteous', which is alliteratively memorable... but this morning's shower was actually pleasurable, and I honestly thoroughly enjoyed it, and was reluctant to close it off.
Dr Moseley says he looks forward to his shower and "does a little dance", even singing as he showers. I totally got where he was coming from, this morning.
Is this breathing method helping me to get high using my own endocannabinoids?
Quoting Wim: "Weed is great (...) but if you are able to get high on your own supply it would be better"
All you 'Polar Bears': Whatever ticks your clock. As long as you do no harm to others.
As for me, a nice soak in a sauna/hot tub will do.
Have fun.
Yes, but the health benefits are quite remarkable. The advantages to having a 15-second cold shower are breathtakingly phenomenal...
Yesterday, prior to doing the breathing, I held the plank for 20 seconds. Immediately after doing the breathing, I held it for 2 minutes 7 seconds.
And I showered very comfortably afterwards. Ah, bliss!
ETA: Wim's method includes luxuriating in a sauna after exposure to ice/cold, in order to warm the body and stimulate the immune system. He loves warmth!
Ok, just because this seems to have turned into a "Diary-come-blog" on how I rock my own world every morning. feel the cold and do it anyway...
This morning:
4 cycles of 30 wim-breaths, followed by plank, 2 minutes 34 seconds. and a 5 minute cold shower, which I had to almost force myself to turn off.
I would video all this to prove my achievements, but it's kinda difficult to do single-handed...
I met a gentleman today who is a personal trainer who specialises in helping older people get, and keep, fit... He's heard of Wim Hof ("Oh yeah, I know... The Iceman...!") and he was most impressed with my habitual regimen!
We chatted for a while.
He's aiming to keep in touch with me and get some tips, would you believe!
Last night I did a wim-breah cycle before sleeping and it was very effective.
After a nice workout, a bit of the cold water is nice.
Of course, so is a hot cocoa. But that is for another time,
This morning: 4-minute* plank, 6-minute shower.
ETA: (*It's only fair to add that I held it for 3 minutes, then paused for about 30 seconds, and then began again, and held it for another minute... So really it was 3, pause, 1....)
One thing I have noticed is that I was in danger of developping high blood pressure as my mum had in her mid to late 60's... I've been measuring it for the past 6 weeks or so, and in the last 2 weeks, it's dropped to well within safe and acceptable levels.
I take it every day, 3 times first thing in the morning with 5 minute intervals, and 3 times last thing at night, again, spacing the readings out by 5 minutes.
Since following the Wim Hof Method, my blood pressure has stabilised to a standard norm, but my resting heartbeat has gone from an average of 60 beats per minute, to an average of 47 BPM.
(So according to the above, I'm 'An Athlete'... Well, it made me laugh...!)
Held the plank this morning for an uninterrupted 4 minutes. Considering I haven't been doing it for long, that quietly astonishes even me...
Best shower ever this morning at 7 minutes under the cold. Is it worrying that I'm almost at the point where I prefer it to a hot shower?
Ok, I'll keep it brief.
Plank 3:30 (because the phone rang. Thank you Mother.)
A ten-minute shower half-fills a bath. Shower, 10 minutes. Bath, 5.
Here endeth today's announcement.
This bitch don't take no mo' shit.
>
I have to say the more I do this the more "invincible" I feel.
I did some physical exercise today, in order to avoid the dreaded "Bingo Wings" so many women develop in middle age. Frankly, they're not nice. So a bit of toning won't go amiss. But With every passing day, I feel better, more grounded and my head is clearer than it's ever been.
Whoever* said "Mens sana Corpore sano" knew what they were talking about.
Mental clarity means better perception, and my daily mantra is "Where the Mind goes, the Body follows". So it stands to reason that if I develop and cultvate a good mindset, my body does likewise. My only gripe is, that if I go on like this, I'll die in perfect health...!
:
(*The Roman poet, Juvenal, 1st C AD.)
I found this article, the other day... It's one of The Guardian (Newspaper) "Long Reads", so I do suggest you make yourselves comfortable and grab a nice drink, maybe a biscuit... It's beautifully written, and I also put it on Fb, where Brian, Our Hallowed Founder read it. He very much appreciated it....
I read it to my Mum today, and she got tears in her eyes. It;s quite moving, but exhilarating, too...
I hope you enjoy it.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/mar/23/how-cold-water-swimming-cured-my-broken-heart
I have also joined a Club that practises Open Water swimming. I visit a lake, this wedneday, and another on Friday. I am also a Fb member of a group called LOST = Lincoln Outdoor Swimming Tribe. They regularly meet for a dip in a local river. One of the Entry questions to the Fb Group, was "What cake do you enjoy?" So there's also a super social side to it too!
I think it’s super that you are doing this Federica, there is a lot to be gotten out of being comfortable with the cold. Wim Hof (however super his technique is) was not the first to discover this, my mother lived for a long time along the south coast of England and would go swimming in the sea for large parts of the year, and that sea water can get pretty cold. So yeah, recommended.