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The Wim Hof Method

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LongTimeWaiting

LongTimeWaiting

Rising Star
I always heard about Wim Hof, how I should look him up, and how his method is life changing. After putting it off for a while I decided to research it all. The steps are very clear and easy so I said why not?


The first go around I notice a slight tingling sensation in my face, the second go around my face is vibrating. All my negatives thoughts escape me and I'm left with the feeling of taking on the world.


There's a science behind the method and studies to prove it works. I didn't believe them at first but I slowly walked into my freezing pool one day and felt nothing but my presence. It was incredible and exhilarating.


The only thing you need is yourself and, optionally, cold water. I'll break down the steps but you should look them up for yourselves.

Step 1) Get comfortable, sit, lay, or stand.

Step 2) Inhale through your nose using your midriff and exhale through your mouth like you are blowing up a balloon. Repeat ~30 times

Step 3) After letting out your 30th breath, hold for as long as you could, or until you gasp.

Step 4) Breathe in through your nose and out of your mouth and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat ~4 times.

Step 5) Recover or repeat the process until the desired effects.


Wim talks about healing through breathing and cold water. He says we're able to control everything in our body, even our immune system. He fought off e. coli using this method. He fought off the cold, other sicknesses, and even depression and anxiety. This isn't something you should think about doing, it's something you should do. There's a rabbit hole of information to discover, look for yourself and see. (I want to say Wim did not fight off e. coli, I misread the study, his response system responded differently to the e. coli, but it's not evidence he fought it off, and it was a harmless strain as well. I still believe this method is worth pursuing.)
 
Wim Hoff is a very interesting individual and quite a good sense of humor. I have heard him and him methods a few times but have not yet tried them for myself. Let us know how you progress.
 
Sounds like a breating technique practiced by many different religions, albiet a little changed with the last part added on...
 
The technique has proven to be effective against basically an overactive immune system, by increasing levels of cortisol.

Point is.....is there a downside? I've always heard that when levels of cortisol are too high for too long, that is a major cause of aging and all kind of diseases.

And i must say that he does look old for his age. Especially compared to what he looked like, just a few years ago.
 
Neat, I will try this. I have been using breath to better understand the cold for some tome now, it's something quite amazing when you can be all so relaxed in the hard bitting cold,let it go through you.

An important object of focus is the mouth, imho. It's very expressive body part, linked to the belly, saliva production and the lips are connected a lot to the back of the neck (as to open the gate so to speak). There's also magic happening when you get the inhale(nose)exhale(mouth) in the right way, makes some fuzzy butterflies and all, the rivers flow.
 
So this is directed primarily to dragonrider and his warning about cortisol. I just wonder where to find more detailed info on this. I have been practicing this technique for about a year or year and a half about once a week, and sometimes more.

The most potent effect was to go into a cold Vermont creek right as I finished and I would feel heat rise up through my butt and spinal column.
 
I'm trying to find out more about this myself. I'm very interested in this method, and i know that there has been some scientific research going on, on his method.

Thus far, this is what i have been able to find out: contrary to what he says, his breathing method lowers the levels of oxygen in the blood, instead of increasing it. As a result, the blood temporarily becomes more alkaline, and the amount of adrenaline released because of this is equal to that of someone who goes bungeejumping. What also happens is that a lot of a substance called interleukine-10 is being produced, wich has anti-inflammatory effects.

In a different study, high levels of cortisol where found, but that study had only himself as a testsubject, so maybe that study should be considered less valid.

But summarizing i think you could say that what his method is doing, is causing stress or arousal, wich temporarily lowers the body's immune response.

This is what adrenaline, interleukine and cortisol do. They bring the body in a fight or flight mode, redirecting all off the body's energy.

This can be good, but it could also be a bad thing. I think it depends on your situation.

If you already have a lot of stress, you probably don't need more of it. If you have an auto-immune disease, it may be realy helpfull though, to lower your immune response.
 
I had heard about Wim Hof technique for a long time and pretty much dismissed it. However 6 months ago I thought I'd give it a try and was astounded by the results. Apart from psychedelics nothing has had such a big impact on my life.

Having said that, I quickly found ways of adapting the technique to get more out of it. The whole cold water thing I don't find useful (and where I live there's no such thing as cold water unless you put it in the fridge).

I tend to do 3 or 4 cycles of 40 breaths, all through the mouth. I will then breathe out, hold the breath and go fully into body sensing whilst letting the internal dialogue go to a minimum. Once I reach my limit of holding it (but without straining ever) I will then take a huge breath in and hold it there and repeat the sensing. After that I go on to the next cycle. This has involved a lot of experimentation.

I've also tried a form of "holotropic breathing" where basically you continue the breathing with no pause for 45 minutes. This is pretty amazing work and can bring up almost anything but especially useful for dealing with deep seated trauma. You need to set aside 2 hours as you'll be "processing" what comes up a long time after you finish breathing. Obviously this is not something you'll be doing every day, maybe once a fortnight or once a month. Medicinal Mindfulness in Boulder, CO, does regular workshops in this.
 
Thanks dragon rider. That gives me more to go on to look into the effects and possible downside. I will say that in my experience I do not find myself getting in obvious stress or fight/flght mode. I do get a strong state of alertness, but a calm alertness. I may be somewhat immune from beathing techniques since I play the flute and can swim underwater longer than most. I have tried holotropic breathing on my own but with little effect.Wim Hof stresses the importance of the cold water more than some who do this practice.
 
dragonrider said:
In a different study, high levels of cortisol where found, but that study had only himself as a testsubject, so maybe that study should be considered less valid.
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Hey dragonrider, can we assume high levels of cortisol is always negative or is there a possibility to induce stress in a healthy manner? I haven't felt particularly more stressed since I start but I will try to make a note if I am.

And i must say that he does look old for his age. Especially compared to what he looked like, just a few years ago.
Click to expand...


Wim does look a bit more aged than most at his age but I was thinking because he's always outside that could play a factor too.


To add to my original posting, I've been reading a book called "The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath" and it seems Wim took a few of their methods. The book delves deeper and lists a few more exercises. It even touches upon the science behind the breath even though there is a lot of spirituality to it.
 
Wim is crazy adaptable to northern cold, climbing mountains in winter in shorts, ice baths. He also has been tested for his capacity to fight off bacterial and viral infections, being injected with same and recovering very quickly.
He seems now to think that there is more of a mental aspect to what he can do than just the breathing technique.It seems like he has felt his way into the same abilities and methods used by Tibetan monks to do similar things.
 
i did this before blasting off once and boy did it propel me further then ever...never did it again but then im a pussy , lol ;)
 
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