IMPORTANT NOTE: As WHM method has recently advised, do not begin using cold showers if you have already begun feeling symptoms of a cold or flu. This may only worsen the condition.
I made a little note at the end of my last 90-day stretch of work that I was in search of a more “reptilian” state of mind. A compressed form of saying “simple, direct, clear, undiluted, objective, resolute”.
By coincidence, when listening to a podcast, I stumbled across the Wim Hof method in early November, which touts exactly these reptilian qualities under its umbrella of promised payoffs.
“The Iceman”. He has a course, a website, and a team behind him these days. Budget being what it is, I’ve not bought the full course, but have used anecdotal reports of what’s freely available to the public, and an introduction of his to the topic, to cobble together the basics.
To be totally reductive for a second, here’s the blueprint: 30 deep inhalations, 30 natural exhalations, full exhale, then an abnormally long time without oxygen, then a deep inhale when the urge takes you, hold for 15 seconds, exhale. Repeat 3 times, then a freezing cold shower.
There are mindfulness techniques of which to be mindful, but this seems to be gated off, quite rightly accessible only to those who have the decency to pay a bit of money. (I’m sharing information that’s already freely out there, and that Hof would gladly tell you himself.)
I’d toyed with cold showers since I was in my teens, as sports science had instructed me to for recovery benefits, but I was never resolute in my application.
Anyway, along comes this guy. I’ve bitten. For four months I’ve been biting.
The benefits started to show almost immediately. For one, within a couple of days, I loosened the grip I have on my asthma inhaler. This doesn’t strike me as a particularly unexpected result. The lungs themselves are getting as much of a workout with this routine as they have in nearly 3 years. “Giving them a run out” doesn’t seem like a bad idea for anyone.
It started working wonders for energy levels instantly, and within a week I was also sleeping much better, probably as I was using more of the day well, and wound down at the right time.
I’ve learned to use the exercise in a way that works for me, and when it’s needed most. I’m normally my least productive around 4-7pm, so I’ll strike at around 3pm. It’s like pushing a reset button – far more effective and long-lasting than any strength cup of coffee, without the jitters that come with it.
Who knows what benefits will spring up as the months progress. Can’t hurt to try, right?
The C-word
The freshest pandemic hysteria feels a touch different to those we’ve had created for us in the past. It seemed to me that roughly every 5 years we were warned of an apocalyptic end, just as we are with those deadly storms, which mostly seem to devastate one area and leave the rest of us relatively untouched. There seems not to follow too much talk of the help (or lack thereof) given to those who actually WERE turned upside down with nowhere to go.
The tin-foil-hat-wearing cynic in me assumes all of this is just the government’s way of keeping people from thinking about “bigger things”. Keep the average person’s circle of concern extremely tight with threats of physical harm, because under those conditions, everyone just thinks about survival, not how the country is run. I know, I know, I’ll give you a moment to stop rolling your eyes.
This pandemic appears far more legitimate to me at least, having read a little more over the last few days. Media of all types has certainly done its part to make us act like complete fools as usual, once again letting fear be the driving force behind our actions. Anyone with young, sick or elderly relatives probably SHOULD be concerned, but what divides success and failure in the approach to and treatment of these conditions is the spread of information, not fear.
Time would be far better spent reading up on sensible, preventative measures than letting media sweep us all into a figurative storm, potentially as dangerous as a real one.
Wim Hof’s the guy, for my liking. A Dutch man who thought outside the box a little. His ideas have been largely dismissed for years, thanks to our unwavering trust in pharmacology (essential as that has been to lowering our mortality rate and reducing suffering over the last few hundred years).
He doesn’t have a marketing and communications degree, dress presentably, act “seriously” or speak perfect English. Oogly boogly!
First of all, how the hell’s my Dutch? A little rotten to be honest, if my last weekend in Belgium was anything to go by. It’s the information available that I’m interested in.
There are only so many controlled endotoxin trials he can be subjected to, and we can pretend to ignore, before it’s surely time to start hearing him out.
We’re talking about a simple idea, which has the POTENTIAL to improve immune, respiratory and endocrine function, sleep, sports performance and levels of focus, while reducing inflammation, stress, anxiety and susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, migraines, and viruses.
Feels like a leap, doesn’t it. Not a very big one, if we’re just talking 15 minutes a day to implement. Once I’ve dug my way out of this little financial hole, I’m buying that entire course. I’d owe it to the guy even for the last four months of just feeling really good, forget everything else!
For now, I’m sticking to the basics, as I have been doing, and enjoying the spoils as they are. I’ll take a little immune robustness in particular right now, I don’t know about you!
Don’t forget: As WHM method has recently advised, do not begin using cold showers if you have already begun feeling symptoms of a cold or flu. This may only worsen the condition.
Full information and further steps via the link below.
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